William Whitaker and Upper Class (Spruce Meadows Media Service)

Calgary, Alberta - Competition continued at the Spruce Meadows 'Masters' with two great competitions for show jumping on the Friday schedule. William Whitaker (GBR) became the fifth rider in the Whitaker family to record a victory at the Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament. He and Upper Class were the fastest of three double clears to win the $210,000 Tourmaline Cup 1.60m. The $125,000 ATCO Electric 'Circuit' Six Bar had a large starting field of 23 entries, and it was Kyle King (USA) on Quigley and Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) with Faustino de Tili who tied in the final round for first place.

The Spruce Meadows 'Masters' runs through Sunday, September 14, with Saturday's $300,000 BMO Nations' Cup and Sunday's $1.5 Million CP International, presented by Rolex – the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping – as the feature competitions of the week.

The $210,000 Tourmaline Cup 1.60m had 54 entries, and five were clear to advance to the jump-off. The fastest of the three double clears were William Whitaker and Upper Class, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Concorde x Indoctro owned by Elisan AB, with a time of 46.01 seconds. Marc Houtzager and Sterrehofs Uppity jumped into second place with a clear round and a time of 46.64 seconds. Lauren Hough and Ohlala had another top finish this week with third place in 47.10 seconds.

This is Whitaker's first time competing at Spruce Meadows, and his first victory here. “It's something I've dreamt of as long as I can remember,” he expressed. “It's a show that's always been on my bucket list. To come and win a big class like that in my first time here is fantastic.”

Whitaker has been riding Upper Class for three years, having taken over the ride from his girlfriend. “He's a great horse. He's been on really good form this year and won two grands prix. I'm really privileged to have a horse that can come to such an impressive place like Spruce Meadows, and I know I can go to work with him straight away. He's a really good addition to my string.”

Going into the jump-off, Whitaker had a plan. “He's quite a naturally quick horse anyway. I knew the areas where I had to take my time and where I could make up a little bit of time,” he explained. “It was quite big out there, so I thought not to take too many risks, but I needed to be fast enough to get the pressure on the others.”