Entertainment goes beyond competition
The Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ offers so much more than just championship sport.
Wonderful entertainment, cuisine, exhibits and special features are offered to the more than 200,000 fans who attend the ‘Masters’.
This year fan favourites at the event are sure to be the Band of the Parachute Regiment and the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Musical Ride.
These programs will be complemented by the tradition of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and the Blues and Royals of Her Majesty’s Household Cavalry.
Add to these the antics of the wildly popular Spruce Meadows Prairie Dogs and athleticism of the Canine Watersports Canada roster and fans, no matter where their sports and entertainment interest lie, are sure to be delighted.
Band of the Parachute Regiment
Every year, through the generosity of GE Canada, the international flavour of the ‘Masters’ tournament is enhanced by performances by a British military band. Over the years, an annual rotation has allowed Spruce Meadows fans to enjoy performances from a variety of different British marching bands.
This year, Spruce Meadows is thrilled to welcome and host the iconic Band of the Parachute Regiment.
Highly trained musicians, they are recruited from bandsmen and women from across the army. Once selected, they are entitled to wear the coveted Airborne Forces Maroon Beret in uniform. The Band of the Parachute Regiment features marching band and concert band capability, in addition to a number of smaller ensembles, including quintets and quartets, a fanfare team and a big band.
The Band of the Parachute Regiment maintains a heavy schedule of both military and civilian engagements throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. Its ambitious calendar of commitments has included visits to the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Iraq, Qatar, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Norway, France, Holland and Afghanistan.
Through the generosity of GE Canada, the Band of the Parachute Regiment will perform for Spruce Meadows audiences. Particularly enthralling will be its presentation during Friday’s Mercedes-Benz ‘Evening of the Horse’ on the International Ring, when the band’s music will accompany an impressive choreographed fireworks display.
Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Musical Ride
The Lord Strathcona Mounted Troop perpetuates Western Canada’s cavalry heritage and culture through a colourful display of living history. Established to commemorate the original mounted cavalry regiment of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) raised in 1900 for the Boer War, its first volunteers were from the towns and ranches of Western Canada.
The Troop is made up of volunteer members of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), an active armour unit in the Canadian Forces that traded-in horses for tanks in the 1930s.
Many of the soldiers are veterans of Afganistan and other peacekeeping tours. The Troop’s annual Musical Ride tour combines traditional cavalry drills and revives the time-honoured sport of “tent pegging,” which is not seen anywhere else in North America, all performed in period uniforms accompanied by music.
To replicate the authenticity of equipment, members of the Troop fabricate their own tack and lances at their in-house workshop. Governed and presented through the generous support of ATCO Group and the Ceremonial Mounted Troop Foundation, the Strathcona Mounted Troop is a non-profit organization and registered as a charitable association under the Companies Act of Alberta.
Although the Troop is made up of members of the Canadian Forces, as a ceremonial troop, it receives very little financial support from the Department of National Defence. Annual operating costs are funded through corporate sponsorship, donations and honorariums that include care for the horses, uniform maintenance, tack production and administrative costs.
The Troop is the official Colour Guard for all major Spruce Meadows show-jumping tournaments. Other duties include VIP escorts, ceremonial parades and vedettes at formal events, all with the aim of imparting western cavalry traditions to as many Canadians as possible for future generations to appreciate.