20 SIDELINES MARCH 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 22
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES JUNE 2012 3
Eric Lamaze and Hickstead
captured Team Silver and
Individual Gold Medals at the
2008 Olympic Games.
Photo by Cealy Tetley
Eric’s gold medal was all the more astonishing considering
how long he had to wait. Having first ridden for the Canadian
Team in 1993, it would be another 15 years before Eric finally
made his Olympic debut.
The Beginning
As a young boy growing up in Montreal, Eric didn’t come from
an affluent background, instead relying on sheer talent to put
him on horseback. A family friend owned a stable, and it was
there that Eric first starting taking lessons at the age of 12. His
natural ability was quickly recognized and he was soon riding
and showing horses for owners and trainers in the junior jumper
and junior hunter divisions. His first time showing at Toronto’s
prestigious Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the final event of
the Canadian show season which riders must qualify for, Eric
claimed both the Junior Hunter and Junior Jumper Championship
titles.
As a teenager, Eric worked for Roger Deslauriers and Jay
Hayes and also spent time in the United States as a working
student for George Morris.
Eric credits two Canadians with helping him make the
successful transition from junior rider to young professional:
Hugh Graham, the first person to send Eric to Europe to buy
horses, and Tom Gayford, who gave him the ride on his first
grand prix horse, Big Deal.
“Tom was the coach and chef d’equipe of the Canadian team
at the time, so it was an honour that he believed in me,” said
Eric, of the 1968 Olympic Team Gold Medalist. “Meanwhile,
Hugh introduced me to Eddie Creed, who rented me space in
his barn. It was an old polo barn that needed some work and I
literally had $1,500 in my bank account, which was less than the
rent. We struck a deal where I moved in and cleaned everything
up in exchange for a few months of free rent.”
With 10 stalls rented from Eddie at his property just north of
Toronto, Eric was in business. Operating under the name Torrey
Pines Stable, Eric started buying
Thoroughbreds off the track and reselling them as hunter and
jumper prospects.
When Eddie purchased Cagney for Eric, it opened the door
to the international level of the sport. The pair would go on
to represent Canada at the 1994 and 1998 World Equestrian
Games and the 1995 and 1998 World Cup Finals, in addition to
claiming two Canadian Show Jumping Championship titles at
Spruce Meadows, where the Irish-bred horse was a fan favorite.
To this day, Eric says, “I have rarely felt that kind of power in a
horse.”
A string of top
grand prix horses
succeeded Cagney
including Rio
Grande, the prolific
Hanoverian stallion
he rode at the 1996
World Cup Finals
and Mill Creek
Raphael, his partner
for the 2002 World
Equestrian Games.
Then, along
came Hickstead. While other top riders had passed on the small
Dutch Warmblood stallion, Eric took a chance on the seven-
year-old in partnership with John Fleischhacker of Ashland
Stables. At the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Eric
and Hickstead gave the world a glimpse of what was to come by
producing jaw-dropping performances.
Team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2007 Pan
American Games in Rio de Janeiro were followed a month later
by a win in the coveted $1 million CN International at the Spruce
Meadows Masters Tournament. “That is the grand prix that
everyone tries to win and it just so happens to be in Canada,”
said Eric. “It was such a magical day and the atmosphere
was amazing. The crowd was ready to have a Canadian win
that class. It was great that I could do it! Winning that class is
something I will remember forever.”
Weeks after the biggest win of his career, Hickstead
underwent colic surgery just before he was scheduled to depart
for an indoor European tour. Luckily, the little horse rebounded
with no complications and, by the 2008 Spruce Meadows
summer tournaments, was back in top form, winning the
$200,000 CN Reliability Grand Prix and the $200,000 Queen
Elizabeth II Cup. There was no doubt that Eric and Hickstead
were ready for their
Olympic debut.
2008 Olympic
Games
Before the
individual accolades
came the team
competition.
Tensions mounted
for the Canadians
on the second day
when Mac Cone
was forced to withdraw an injured Ole. With only a three-man
team and no drop score, the odds were firmly against Canada
to medal. However, the clear rounds just kept on coming and
Canada found itself in a two-way jump-off for the gold medal
against the United States. In the end, Canada settled for the
team silver.
“I was confident with the team we had there,” said Eric, of
Canada’s chances. “Everyone was capable of doing the job, but
{
“It was such a magical day and the atmosphere
was amazing. The crowd was ready to have
a Canadian win that class. It was great that I
could do it! Winning that class is something I
will remember forever.”
- Eric Lamaze
}
