On a spring morning, Spruce Meadows feels like a mirage at the edge of the city. Just past the city’s southwest suburbs, across bustling Stoney Trail, sit 500 acres of emerald fields, glinting ponds and towering trees broken only by ribbons of immaculate white fencing.
Though just outside Calgary’s city limits, it feels a world away — a European oasis in the foothills. Riders clad in white breeches and tall black leather boots lead regal horses along tree-lined paths. Families settle beneath the shade. The competition rings are set for elite show jumping.
“People come here and say, ‘I had no idea,’” says Spruce Meadows president and CEO Linda Southern-Heathcott. No idea that a world-class competition venue like this exists 30 minutes from downtown, or that it’s free to enter most days.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, Spruce Meadows hosted its first two tournaments, the National and Masters equestrian competitions. Today, the founding vision remains clear: it’s a place built for Calgary as much as for sport.
From fields to fame
Spruce Meadows opened in 1975 — the project of Marg Southern and her husband, Ron, the founder of ATCO, the Calgary-based energy, utilities and infrastructure company. Their motivation was not commercial, but community oriented. Their daughters, Linda and Nancy, were avid equestrians, but the impact of Spruce Meadows’ growth would ultimately reach far beyond the Southern family.
Over five decades, the Southerns transformed acres of raw grassland into a world-class sports and entertainment venue hosting international equestrian sport, professional soccer matches, concerts and festivals. Yet the founding purpose has never shifted.
“The vision is simple,” Southern-Heathcott says. “It’s a place for the community, but it also gives local athletes the chance to compete on an international stage, here at home.”
It is neither cheap nor easy to fly your horse to competitions. Spruce Meadows helped local riders punch above their weight in a sport dominated by European circuits. The same philosophy later guided the decision to bring Cavalry FC, Calgary’s men’s professional soccer team, to the site, creating a domestic pathway for Canadian athletes to find professional opportunities.
“Competitors travel from all over the world to compete in the International Ring, and Calgarians have access to amazing sport in their backyard,” says Samara Heinrichs Prak. The Calgary trainer has been at Spruce Meadows since 2009 and has been bringing her students and horses there since 2016. “As a kid, it’s a facility I aspired to compete at, and I moved to Calgary specifically to be involved in the industry it provides for us.”
The international reputation of Spruce Meadows grew through a series of strategic partnerships. Early competitions such as the Nations Cup — one of the most prestigious team show-jumping events in the world — helped put Calgary on the global equestrian map.
Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, a pivotal moment for Spruce Meadows. NBC used the facility as a hospitality hub, staging nightly rodeos in the indoor ring. “They taught us how to host sponsors,” Southern-Heathcott says.
Soon after, the facility lifted the roof of the West Grandstand and added skyboxes, professionalizing hospitality and cementing long-term partnerships; roughly 20 sponsors have now been with the venue for 50 years.
Today, Spruce Meadows is one of only four venues that make up the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. To earn that privilege, a venue must demonstrate operational excellence, rigorous safety standards and world-class care for both human and equine athletes.
Those high standards are visible in Spruce Meadows’ springy turf footing designed to reduce strain on the joints of horses, full on-site veterinary facilities (staffed throughout competitions), and a robust emergency-response system that includes a helicopter pad, dedicated first-responder teams, and co-ordinated protocols for both riders and horses during events and competitions.
In 2025, Her Royal Highness Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, took on Royal Patronage of Spruce Meadows — a formal acknowledgement of its sporting excellence and community initiatives.
A civic space
Equestrian sport has long carried a reputation for exclusivity, and Southern-Heathcott is candid that more work is needed to reach new audiences. Her approach is practical: lowering barriers, creating more points of entry and making people feel they belong.
Spruce Meadows isn’t just for the horsey set. “Not everybody’s going to like show jumping or horses,” Southern-Heathcott acknowledges. “But they may like to walk around the grounds and sit on a bench by a statue and just love the green space that my mom planted.”
For many Calgarians, Spruce Meadows is not discovered through elite sport at all, but through everyday life — playground visits, seeing horses train, a stroll beneath nearly 5,000 trees that Marg Southern planted or having a green space to let children run around. Spruce Meadows also hosts school tours, church gatherings and family programming.
When there is no ticketed event, entry is free, and visitors can bring their own food. “You don’t have to buy a hot dog from us,” Southern-Heathcott says. “You can bring your own picnic.”
Despite its prestige, Spruce Meadows has remained a genuinely public space, built by one family for all families to enjoy. “You typically see three generations here — children, parents and grandparents,” Southern-Heathcott says.
Operating year-round, Spruce Meadows is now anchored by the restaurant Foxtrot at Spruce Meadows and Café Foxtrot — a deliberate shift toward making it part of everyday Calgary life. Southern-Heathcott places the venue alongside the National Music Centre, the Calgary Stampede and WinSport as part of the city’s identity.
“Calgarians shoot for the stars,” she says. “We dream big — and attain big.”
Looking forward
A sustainability program led by Southern-Heathcott’s son, Ron Heathcott, has helped Spruce Meadows’ environmental impact. In recent pilot projects, 62 per cent of waste, and then 89 per cent, was diverted from landfill through recycling and composting; all horse manure is composted.
The venue also has an internal water supply system. During Calgary’s 2024 water crisis, Spruce Meadows operated without drawing on city water. Electric and hybrid vehicles are gradually replacing older fleet vehicles, and charging stations are part of the site’s infrastructure.
As Spruce Meadows enters its next 50 years, Southern-Heathcott believes the next generation — including her own children — will reshape the venue in ways she cannot fully predict, just like when she took over leadership from her parents. “Globally, I’d like Spruce Meadows to be a household name,” she asserts. With the work that has been done so far, Southern-Heathcott’s shot at the stars certainly does seem attainable.
Notable Events at Spruce Meadows
Cavalry FC Home Matches
Starting in April, ATCO Field becomes the soccer pitch for Cavalry FC home games, transforming the equestrian grounds into a lively stadium.
The National Tournament, Presented by Rolex
One of the crown jewels of the summer calendar, the National Tournament from June 10 to 14 draws elite riders from around the world to compete in the International Ring.
Spruce Meadows International Christmas Market
In November and December, the grounds are transformed into one of Calgary’s largest and most popular European-style Christmas markets.
