The Rolex Clock Is Running on Richard Vogel's Grand Slam Attempt

Richard Vogel arrives at Spruce Meadows one Major from history, with United Touch S facing the arena where Scott Brash completed the feat in 2015. Share this article Richard Vogel arrives at Spruce Meadows with the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping within reach. Victory at The Dutch Masters was followed by another Major success at Aachen; win the CPKC 'International' Grand Prix in Calgary and the German will have captured three consecutive Majors, completing a feat achieved only once before. Scott Brash and Hello Sanctos were the combination who managed it, securing the third successive victory at Spruce Meadows in 2015. Eleven years later, the same vast grass arena is where Vogel will attempt to finish his own sequence. The 2026 CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament runs from Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 September. Its showpiece Grand Prix comes at the end. For Vogel, rather more than another trophy is attached to it. A third consecutive Major would complete the Grand Slam The important number is three. Vogel has already won consecutive Rolex Grand Slam Majors at The Dutch Masters and Aachen. Victory at Spruce Meadows would extend that run to three and complete the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. He will make the attempt with United Touch S, whose stride and temperament appear particularly well matched to an arena where horses are asked to deal with dimensions rarely encountered elsewhere. Vogel knows the distinction. 'I love the Spruce Meadows arena. It gives you a truly unique feeling. Horses like United Touch S really love it and can grow in that environment but for a less experienced horse, or a horse that is a bit more on the shy side, it can be very challenging. The size of the obstacles and the length of the pole is totally different than anywhere else.' That last detail matters. Spruce Meadows is not merely big in the way sporting venues tend to call themselves big. Its fences can reach 1.70 metres and stretch beyond 4.5 metres. Scale changes the picture for horse and rider alike. Spruce Meadows is not built for comfortable endings Set near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Calgary, the arena has a peculiar ability to make elite riders look briefly mortal. Delicate combinations punish imprecision; the size of the fences asks for scope; the jump-off then demands speed without much sympathy for untidy decisions. Margins that look trivial from the rail become decisive at full pace. A round might occupy barely a minute. The consequences can hang around considerably longer. Brash knows that better than most. He has won at Spruce Meadows in 2015, 2016 and 2025, returning last year with Hello Jefferson a decade after the victory with Hello Sanctos that completed his Grand Slam. 'Spruce Meadows holds so many incredible memories for me and the Rolex Clock Tower is iconic. It's really part of the history of the event. For a rider entering the arena with your horse, it's one of the few entrances where you really feel the enormity of the occasion. A round might only last 60 seconds, but those 60 seconds can live with you for a lifetime.' United Touch S may be Vogel's best answer to the scale The attraction of United Touch S here is not difficult to see. Vogel describes a horse that can grow into the arena rather than shrink from it, and that distinction is especially useful at Spruce Meadows, where physical dimensions are only part of the examination. The partnership also gives Vogel continuity at the precise moment when novelty would be an unnecessary luxury. A rider chasing a third consecutive Major already has quite enough variables without introducing another deliberately. Fuchs and Brash have their own history to chase © Rolex / Ashley Neuhof There is, naturally, a field full of people with no particular interest in providing Vogel with a ceremonial afternoon. Martin Fuchs can equal Brash's record of three victories in this competition after winning aboard Leone Jei in both 2023 and 2024. Steve Guerdat arrives fresh from securing the individual World Championship crown in Aachen, while Daniel Deusser and Sophie Hinners join Vogel among the German riders who claimed team gold there. The Grand Slam may be Vogel's story entering the week. Nobody else is required to respect the script. Spruce Meadows is where Brash finished the job The three-metre Rolex Clock Tower has stood over plenty of defining rounds. Rolex first partnered with the Spruce Meadows show jumping competition in 1989 and became presenting sponsor of its Grand Prix in 2014. The piece of history Vogel is pursuing is precise: three Major victories in succession. Brash reached that mark at Spruce Meadows in 2015. Vogel arrives in 2026 with victories in the previous two and the opportunity to become the next rider to finish the sequence. Two consecutive Majors have created the possibility. Spruce Meadows decides whether it becomes a Grand Slam.