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"For every horse there is one rider and for every rider there is one horse”
- Old horseman's proverb
Hickstead and Eric Lamaze’s Lovestory
By Ambassadors Research Staff
There is no doubt that Eric and Hickstead regarded one another in that way. The Canadian Netherlands-bred show-jumping horse Hickstead, who helped win Canada a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics showed why he was to be regarded among the world’s legendary athletes. In Rome he finished in nearly flawless form before falling and dying as a result of a massive heart attack. He competed until the very end and gave everything to the sport and his rider. The rider, Eric Lamaze from Scoumberg, Ontario, was Canada’s only double medalist winning a silver in the group competition to go with the individual’s gold. Both made money winning $3.7 million. The horse became the world’s top show-jumper and Lamaze the premier rider. In the end, even as his powerful legs buckled because of a catastrophic rupture of his aorta, the horse managed to protect the rider, setting him down lightly. Video footage of the incident showed clearly how the horse gave his rider a gentle glance before a very emotional and public death.
At the Olympics in Beijing 2008
At age 15, the world’s best show-jumping horse cleared 13 obstacles in stellar fashion and just as he finished his work, sank to the ground in front of the crowd in Verona, Italy. He had won the Olympics in front of millions and he died in front of millions as well. The horse had made its rider the number one ranking rider in the world. He hoped to defend his Olympic medal in London in summer 2012, but sadly it would not be with his partner Hickstead.
Sudden deaths of horses are very uncommon, about 1 in 10,000. At 15, Hickstead was reaching the end of his career but others have competed longer. Big Ben, the champion horse ridden by Miller retired at 18 and died at 23. Milton, the ghostlike White Horse ridden by Whitekar retired at 16. Idle Dice ridden by American Rodney Jenkins who won 3 Grand prix by 21 did not retire until 24.
About 200 Canadian equestrians at a Jump Canada Hall of Fame in Toronto held a moment of silence for Hickstead. Forty-three year old Lamaze reflected on his loss of Hickstead saying, “What these horses do for us is incredible. They become part of our families. It is not like breaking a hockey stick or tennis racket.” Eric has one last dream in mind—going to a second Olympics to defend his title at the London games. He said he also needs to help the Canadian team which is weak at the moment.
Akaash Maharaj, Chief Executive Officer of Equine Canada and the National Equestrian team said, it is a bit like falling in love. You can hope for it, you can plan for it, but you cannot make it happen. By the time the competition was over, the horse had taken the rider to a gold and silver medal. Lamaze will struggle to find a replacement horse for the upcoming competitions.
Ziegler, an American who owns some horse that Lamaze rides, was one of the people who convinced him that it was a sport that he loved and had a passion for. He purchased two new prospects: Verdi - which was previously ridden by the young Dutch Stephanie Van Den Brink, and 10-year-old mare Luikka, formerly ridden by Irishman Shane Breen.
Lamaze was especially excited about Verdi, but also he likes Luikka, which has the ability to jump over huge obstacles and is very brave. He is quite excited about racing again with a different horse after Hickstead - with renewed Olympic hopes of success.
While Lamaze might be a repeat winner at the London Olympics with another horse, his lovestory with Hickstead cannot be re-written.
Monument for Hickstead in Calgary
