Connolly’s RED MILLS Brand Ambassador Scott Brash (GBR), has made history by becoming the first and only rider to win the three equestrian Majors consecutively, claiming the pinnacle of equestrian sporting achievement: the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping title and an incredible 1 million euro bonus.
In a sport with top-level competition all year round, winning just one of the three Majors is a goal that motivates all riders. However, to dominate top sport consistently takes a truly unique horse and rider partnership – a legendary one that will remain etched in the annals of the sport.
Riding his formidable horse Hello Sanctos, who, along with his entire team of horses, is fed exclusively on Connolly’s RED MILLS, Scott Brash started his Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping campaign by winning the Rolex Grand Prix at the greatest indoor show in the world, CHI Geneva in December 2014. In May 2015, he then went on to claim the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen, the title to which every rider aspires. The final part of this Grand Slam challenge came with his third victory in the CP International presented by Rolex during the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’.
The build-up to the grand prix was dominated by warm weather and a buzz of excitement from the large crowd who knew they could be watching history being made. But conditions changed on the day of the CP International presented by Rolex and the riders were faced with wet conditions and a drop in temperature. Forty horse and rider combinations started the competition with twelve going through to the second round. As Scott Brash had posted the fastest time in the opening round, he had the benefit of watching his fellow competitors jump round what course designer Leopoldo Palacios described as “the biggest course on the circuit”.
The tension inside the Spruce Meadows International ring was electric as the huge crowd went silent each time a new partnership entered. Poles dropped and faults accumulated, and for a while it appeared that a single time fault from Brazil’s Pedro Veniss and the 2013 Grand Prix winner, Pieter Devos, would be enough to take them into a jump-off. With Scott Brash the last to go, he knew that a clear round would win him the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping and the record bonus.
As he has done on so many previous occasions riding Hello Sanctos, he rose majestically to the challenge and went clear barely touching a pole throughout his winning round.
