Spruce Meadows facts for kids
| Address | 18011 Spruce Meadows Way SW |
|---|---|
| Location | Foothills County, Alberta |
| Coordinates | 50°53′06″N 114°06′02″W / 50.88500°N 114.10056°W |
| Owner | Spruce Meadows |
| Surface | Grass, sand, pavement |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Expanded | 2019 |
| Tenants | |
| Cavalry FC (CPL) (2019–present) | |
Spruce Meadows is a cool sports place near Calgary, Alberta. The Southern family built it, and it opened in 1975.
It's famous for its huge horse riding area, especially for show jumping. It's about 505 acres big! Linda Southern-Heathcott, who used to be an Olympian in horse riding, is now in charge of Spruce Meadows. She even competed in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games!
Spruce Meadows is also home to Cavalry FC. This is a soccer team that plays in the Canadian Premier League. The team is owned by the same people who own Spruce Meadows. Their stadium, called ATCO Field, holds 6,000 fans. It was built in early 2019, turning a horse jumping field into a soccer pitch.
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Horse Riding Tournaments at Spruce Meadows
Spruce Meadows hosts many exciting horse riding events every year. There are six big outdoor tournaments and eight indoor ones. The indoor events are called the 'Nakoda Series'. These are great for younger or newer riders to get better.
The outdoor season starts with the 'Summer Series'. This is a five-week-long tour with several big tournaments. These include the CSI 'National', 'Continental', 'Pan American', and 'North American'. The biggest event of the year is the CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament in September.
These tournaments are very well-known around the world. They bring in top riders and their amazing horses from many different countries. Spruce Meadows was even named the best show jumping facility in the world in 2001–02 and 2003–04!
Spruce Meadows also helps breed and train special Hanoverian horses. Every year, they have a fun "Name the Foal" contest. People get to help name three baby horses! This contest is very popular. When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation shows the tournaments on TV, they often show profiles of these special foals.
ATCO Field: Home of Cavalry FC
A 6,000-seat soccer stadium was built at Spruce Meadows. It's on the "Meadows on the Green" horse ring. This stadium is the home field for Cavalry FC. It can also still be used for horse riding events!
The stadium has a large covered grandstand with 4,500 seats. There are also 1,500 more seats in other areas. It was built so it can be made bigger in the future if needed. Cavalry FC played their first game there on May 4, 2019. They won 2–1 against York 9 FC, even though it was snowing!
History of Spruce Meadows
Building Spruce Meadows started in 1973. It officially opened in 1975, and the first horse tournament was held in 1976. Today, about 500,000 people visit Spruce Meadows each year. It has stables that can hold up to 1,000 horses!
Spruce Meadows is open to visitors every day of the year. It's a place for all seasons. Besides horse shows, it also hosts meetings and trade shows. Spruce Meadows even has its own TV studio! They make a show called Spruce Meadows Chronicles. This show about show jumping is seen in over 100 countries.
In 2018, it was announced that Spruce Meadows would start a new soccer team. This team, Cavalry FC, would play at a new stadium built at their facility. Construction for the new grandstand began in late 2018. By early 2019, the stadium was ready for the team's first season.
Spruce Meadows and its Neighbors
The Southern family has owned Spruce Meadows since it began. For a long time, it was far outside the city. But now, the city of Calgary has grown. Spruce Meadows is now right next to neighborhoods like Bridlewood, Somerset, and Silverado.
Because of this growth, Spruce Meadows is now part of Foothills County. It used to be part of the City of Calgary. This change happened on January 1, 2011.
In the late 1990s, the Southerns asked the City of Calgary to change a road name. They wanted the part of Highway 22X near Spruce Meadows to be called Spruce Meadows Trail. And it was!
