Spruce Meadows, St. Tropez, and La Baule by the Numbers
Breaking down the field strength and top-ranked combinations across this week's three major five-star competitions at Spruce Meadows, St. Tropez, and La Baule.
Three five-star shows, one weekend. St. Tropez has an open top five with four horses within 11 Elo points of each other. La Baule is the deepest field of the three with 114 horses and a Nations Cup before Sunday’s Grand Prix. Spruce Meadows brings the Calgary grass test where the venue has a way of sorting things out on its own terms.
01 • St. Tropez • LGCT CSI5*
LGCT Grand Prix of Ramatuelle • Saturday
The four highest-rated horses here are separated by 11 Elo points, and none of them has a clear edge in clear round conversion. Peder Fredricson brings two horses, and Alcapone des Carmille carries the best round-by-round clear rate of any horse near the top of the order.
Last 12 months at CSI5* 160+ level. Classifications = competitions entered. Clear rounds shown as cleared / total rounds (excludes jump-offs). W = wins, P = podiums.
| Horse | Rider | Nat. | Elo | Class. | Clear rds | W / P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z | Thibeau Spits | BEL | 765 | 21 | 14 / 28 | 2 / 6 |
| Dorette Old | Marlon Modolo Zanotelli | BRA | 760 | 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 |
| Alcapone des Carmille | Peder Fredricson | SWE | 754 | 19 | 13 / 22 | 2 / 6 |
| Checker 47 | Christian Kukuk | GER | 754 | 18 | 8 / 21 | 4 / 4 |
| Esi Rocky | Anastasia Nielsen | MON | 747 | 6 | 3 / 7 | 0 / 0 |
| Eic Up Too Jacco Blue | Max Kühner | AUT | 739 | 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 1 |
| Delux van T & L | Niels Bruynseels | BEL | 736 | 5 | 3 / 5 | 0 / 1 |
| Wathnan Quaker Brimbelles Z | Abdel Saïd | BEL | 734 | 11 | 2 / 13 | 0 / 0 |
Spits and Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z lead on Elo with two wins and six podiums from 21 classifications. Fredricson’s Alcapone des Carmille sits 11 points back but has cleared 13 of 22 rounds, the strongest conversion of any horse in the top group. Kukuk and Checker 47 share the 754 Elo mark and have the best win rate of the four, with four wins from 18 classifications. Modolo Zanotelli’s Dorette Old is rated second overall at 760 but has only three rounds at this level and is yet to produce a clear as they are still a newer combination. Abdel Saïd runs two horses with sharply contrasting records: Wathnan Quaker Brimbelles Z has cleared two from 13 rounds, while Wathnan Zasou vom Claashof (Elo 713) is fresh off his first win and carries two podiums from six classifications.
02 • La Baule • CSIO5*
Nations Cup • Friday | Rolex Grand Prix Ville de La Baule • Sunday
The biggest and strongest field of the three shows. La Baule has eight horses above 760 Elo, where St. Tropez has one and Spruce Meadows none. The Nations Cup on Friday adds a team dimension before Sunday’s Grand Prix, and with the World Championships on the horizon, expect squads to be treating this week seriously.
Last 12 months at CSI5* 160+ level. Classifications = competitions entered. Clear rounds shown as cleared / total rounds (excludes jump-offs). W = wins, P = podiums.
| Horse | Rider | Nat. | Elo | Class. | Clear rds | W / P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Touch S | Richard Vogel | GER | 789 | 12 | 11 / 17 | 4 / 6 |
| James Kann Cruz | Shane Sweetnam | IRL | 784 | 16 | 11 / 19 | 0 / 10 |
| Dynastie de Beaufour | Nina Mallevaey | FRA | 779 | 15 | 16 / 21 | 2 / 6 |
| Bond Jamesbond de Hay | Gregory Wathelet | BEL | 778 | 9 | 8 / 14 | 1 / 4 |
| Eddy Blue | Darragh Kenny | IRL | 774 | 9 | 7 / 12 | 1 / 1 |
| Ermitage Kalone | Gilles Thomas | BEL | 772 | 12 | 10 / 18 | 2 / 6 |
| Iron Dames Singclair | Sophie Hinners | GER | 769 | 16 | 13 / 20 | 0 / 3 |
| Otello de Guldenboom | Daniel Deusser | GER | 768 | 24 | 12 / 29 | 1 / 4 |
| Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte | Steve Guerdat | SUI | 768 | 12 | 7 / 17 | 4 / 4 |
| Bisquetta | Laura Kraut | USA | 766 | 12 | 10 / 18 | 3 / 4 |
Richard Vogel and United Touch S lead the field at 789 Elo, with four wins and six podiums from 12 classifications and 11 clear rounds from 17. Vogel also brings Phenyo van het Keysersbos (Elo 717). Shane Sweetnam’s James Kann Cruz (784 Elo) is one of the most interesting profiles in the whole weekend: ten podiums from 16 classifications but still waiting for a first win this year. Darragh Kenny’s Eddy Blue (774 Elo) has a tighter record but has converted, with one win from nine classifications and seven clear rounds from 12. Ireland has ten horses entered in total. France leads all nations with 25 entries, and Nina Mallevaey’s Dynastie de Beaufour (779 Elo, 16 clear rounds from 21) is the home combination with the best round-by-round numbers in the whole field. Steve Guerdat’s Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte (768 Elo) is tied with United Touch S for the best win rate in the top ten with four wins from 12 classifications.
03 • Spruce Meadows • CSI5*
RBC Grand Prix of Canada, presented by Rolex • Saturday
The smallest field of the three shows and the most open by Elo. Ireland has three combinations in the top five, and Canada will be hoping for a result in front of the home crowd.
Last 12 months at CSI5* 160+ level. Classifications = competitions entered. Clear rounds shown as cleared / total rounds (excludes jump-offs). W = wins, P = podiums.
| Horse | Rider | Nat. | Elo | Class. | Clear rds | W / P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landon de Nyze | Mark Bluman | COL | 735 | 4 | 2 / 4 | 0 / 1 |
| Theo 160 | Conor Swail | IRL | 720 | 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 |
| Ideaal ES | Chris Pratt | CAN | 702 | 4 | 2 / 4 | 0 / 0 |
| Clonterm Obolensky | Conor Swail | IRL | 701 | 7 | 1 / 7 | 0 / 0 |
| Farrel | Daniel Coyle | IRL | 699 | 3 | 2 / 3 | 0 / 1 |
| Contago | Eugenio Garza Perez | MEX | 693 | 8 | 4 / 9 | 0 / 1 |
| Oscar-A | Sameh El Dahan | EGY | 691 | 11 | 3 / 12 | 0 / 1 |
| Kayenne Z | Kyle King | USA | 689 | 13 | 5 / 15 | 1 / 3 |
| Django II | Katie Laurie | NZL | 687 | 7 | 1 / 7 | 1 / 1 |
Mark Bluman leads on Elo with Landon de Nyze (735), though the sample is still small at four classifications. Conor Swail brings two horses: Theo 160 (720 Elo, one classification) is rated second in the field but has very limited data at this level, while Clonterm Obolensky (701 Elo) has seven classifications but only one clear from seven rounds. Daniel Coyle’s Farrel (699 Elo) has the best conversion of the Irish trio with two clear rounds from three. For Canada, Chris Pratt and Ideaal ES (702 Elo) lead the home contingent, with Amy Millar (Jagger HX, Elo 646), Nicole Walker (Panter JVH, Elo 675), and others adding depth. Kyle King and Kayenne Z (689 Elo, one win and three podiums from 13 classifications) have the strongest win record outside the top five. Finally, Katie Laurie returns this week with Django II (687) after claiming the win in last week's CSI5* Grand Prix in Calgary.
EquiRatings Preview • All Elo ratings and statistics based on the last 12 months at CSI5* 160+ level, current to the date of publication.