Eric Lamaze Leads Two in a Row to Start ‘North American’ Tournament at Spruce Meadows

Eric Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Calgary, AB, Canada – The ‘North American’ Tournament CSI5*, presented by Rolex, kicked off at Spruce Meadows on Wednesday with three feature competitions in the International Ring and two wins in a row for Canada’s Eric Lamaze. The ATCO Energy Cup 1.50m saw a win for Lamaze and Rosana du Park, and the PWC Cup 1.55m wrapped up the day with a second victory for Lamaze aboard Fine Lady 5.

The ‘North American’ Tournament CSI5*, presented by Rolex, runs July 6-10 to conclude the 2016 Spruce Meadows Summer Series. Highlights include the ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Saturday, July 9, and the Enbridge Classic Derby on Sunday, July 10.

Spain’s Santiago Varela is the course designer in the International Ring for this week’s competition. Varela concluded his first day with 27 entries in the PWC Cup 1.55m, and a six-horse jump-off that saw a top three finish for Canada. Lamaze and Fine Lady 5, a 13-year-old Hanoverian mare (Forsyth x Drosselklang II) owned by Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines Stable, won the jump-off with the fastest clear round in 42.67 seconds. Tiffany Foster (CAN) guided Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines’ Tripple X III to second place honors in 44.81 seconds, and Yann Candele (CAN) jumped the Watermark Group’s Showgirl into the third position in a time of 45.01.

Tiffany Foster and Tripple X III (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Hardin Towell (USA) also jumped clear over the short course in 45.48 seconds to place fourth aboard Jennifer Gates’ Emilie de Diamant AS. Richard Spooner (USA) and Show Jumping Syndication Intl.’s Cristallo were fast in 43.14 seconds, but dropped one rail to finish fifth. Alberto Michan (MEX) had two down in the jump-off with Ilan Ferder and Tal Milstein’s Gigolo van de Broekkant to place sixth.

Commenting on his winning mount, Fine Lady 5, Lamaze stated, “Fine Lady is a great story. Artisan Farms purchased her for me. We were not sure where we were going, but we knew for sure we had a winner in the 1.50m. She had proven that with her previous rider. Sometimes you click with a horse and you get a little bit more, but I feel like she would do anything for me. She is a fantastic mare with a lot of heart and she just keeps jumping well. She is confident and I know her really well, so she is turning into a really special horse for me.”

Detailing the tiebreaker, in which he was last to go, Lamaze detailed, “Tiffany had the misfortune of going first in the jump-off. So many of these competitions at Spruce Meadows are won with the last rider going in, as you are able to get a feel for the track and how fast you need to go. Going last is definitely a big advantage in most competitions here at Spruce Meadows.”

Eric Lamaze celebrates his second win on Wednesday with Cal Jacober, Office Managing Partner Western Canada, PWC. (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Speaking of her own jump-off with Tripple X, Foster added, “It was actually a really nice jump-off for my horse because he has a really big stride and it was really open. If you just looked at the two of our horses standing next to each other, mine is a lot bigger than Eric’s. For me to gallop on a big stride is actually not that fast for me, but I thought my horse jumped great and I was really happy with him.”

With the Olympic Games in Brazil approaching, and the Canadian Show Jumping team yet to be announced, the riders are hoping for the best and feel confident knowing that they are performing well with their top mounts.

Speaking of the top three finish for Canada, Lamaze concluded, “It is all in the Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines family, and any time we can pull this off I think it is a great day for all of us. We all cheer for each other. We are there through the bad days and the good days and some times it all goes our way.”

The ATCO Energy Cup 1.50m speed competition saw a first win for Lamaze earlier on Wednesday competing with Rosana du Park out of 57 entries and 22 clear rounds. Lamaze put his name on the trophy for the fourth time after also taking victory in the competition with Hickstead in 2005, Coriana van Klapscheut in 2010, and Fine Lady 5 in 2014. He and Rosana du Park, the 11-year-old Selle Francais mare (Kannan x Ukase) owned by Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines Stable, clocked the winning time of 65.40 seconds.

Conor Swail (IRL) and Dillinger, owned by Susan and Ariel Grange, placed second in 66.67 seconds. Rich Fellers (USA) and Flexible, owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman, finished third with their time of 69.43 seconds. Leslie Howard (USA) took fourth place aboard the Utah Group’s Utah in 71.55 seconds. Lucy Deslauriers (USA) guided Lisa Deslauriers’ Hester to fifth place in 72.19 seconds, and Howard also took the sixth place prize in 72.19 seconds aboard Peter Howard’s Donna Speciale.

Commenting on his win, Lamaze stated, “There are a lot of 1.50m competitions throughout the summer tour and they are all important, but for me, to win in the International Ring always means much more. To see Hickstead and Coriana and Fine Lady’s names on this trophy just brings back some great memories.”

Seventeenth in the order of 57, Lamaze had to wait many rounds to see if his time held up for the win, but he felt confident in his round.

“You never know for these competitions,” he admitted. “The only thing I can say is that she (Rosana du Park) is extremely fast and I did leave a stride out from the Liverpool to the vertical. I am the only one that did six strides there. I think I had a pretty good trip. It went as I thought it would, but there are always riders behind you that watch you go, and get an idea where to knick you here and there. I was lucky enough today; Conor came pretty close.”

Always a cool character, Rosana du Park proudly accepted her winning ribbon and cooler, and led the victory gallop to the thrill of fans.

Eric Lamaze raises the trophy for his first win of the day with Pat Creaghan, President, ATCO Energy. (Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Commenting on the mare’s professional demeanor, Lamaze stated, “She is pretty cool; she is a great show horse. She is a worker and she just knows where she is.

“She is my Hickstead of the speed classes that can also jump a 1.60m if I ask her to once in a while,” he continued. “She is a really experienced speed horse and I was saying how great it is to come to Spruce Meadows with one of those. Other riders have younger horses or maybe horses that are not quite as fast. I love to have one that can compete in these classes that you know you can win with. It kind of sets the tone for the week.”

For a complete tournament schedule and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.

Final Results: PWC Cup 1.55m
1 FINE LADY 5 Hanoverian / M / 13 / Forsyth x Drosselklang II ERIC LAMAZE (CAN) Artisan Farms & Torrey Pines: 0/0/42.67
2 TRIPPLE X III AES / S / 14 / Namelus R x Catango Z TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN) Artisan Farms & Torrey Pines: 0/0/44.81
3 SHOWGIRL Selle Francais / M / 16 / Gold de Becourt x Elf III YANN CANDELE (CAN) Watermark Group: 0/0/45.01
4 EMILIE DE DIAMANT AS Belgian Sport Horse / M / 12 / Diamant de Semilly x Flipper d Elle JACK HARDIN TOWELL JR. (USA) JKG LLC: 0/0/45.48
5 CRISTALLO Holstein / G / 18 / Caretino x Cicero RICHARD SPOONER (USA) Show Jumping Syndication Intl: 0/4/43.14
6 GIGOLO VAN DE BROEKKANT Belgian Sport Horse / G / 10 / Hearbreaker x Concorde ALBERTO MICHAN (MEX) Ilan Ferder & Tal Milstein: 0/8/46.50
7 PARETTE Brandenburg / M / 10 / Pessoa VDL x Barinello LISA CARLSEN (CAN) Lisa Carlsen: 3/102.70
8 MARTHA LOUISE Swedish Warmblood / M / 12 / Maloubet de Pleville x Wolfgang CONOR SWAIL (IRL) Susan & Ariel Grange: 4/87.92
9 ZILVERSPRINGS Dutch Warmblood / G / 12 / Silverstone x Emilion ELIZABETH GINGRAS (CAN) B Gingras Equestrian Ltd: 4/90.67
10 CARTIER Oldenburg / G / 11 / Cartoon x Sheyenne de Baugy ANTONIO MAURER (MEX) Mario Onate: 4/93.06
11 LORDAN Warmblood / G / 12 / Lordanos x Landor S NAYEL NASSAR (EGY) Nayel Nassar: 4/93.51
12 LA BAMBA Swiss Warmblood / M / 11 / Lordanos x Chameur ANTONIO CHEDRAUI (MEX) Antonio Chedraui: 5/94.30

Final Results: ATCO Energy Cup 1.50m
1 ROSANA DU PARK Selle Francais / M / 11 / Kannan x Ukase ERIC LAMAZE (CAN) Artisan Farms & Torrey Pines: 0/65.40
2 DILLINGER Belgian Warmblood / S / 9 / Contender x Capitol I CONOR SWAIL (IRL) Susan & Ariel Grange: 0/66.67
3 FLEXIBLE Irish bred / S / 20 / Cruising x Safari RICH FELLERS (USA) Harry & Mollie Chapman: 0/69.43
4 UTAH Dutch Warmblood / G / 15 / Andiamo x Jus de Pomme LESLIE HOWARD (USA) Utah Group: 0/71.55
5 HESTER Belgian Warmblood / G / 11 / Wandor Van De Mispelaere x Palestro Vd Begijnakker LUCY DESLAURIERS (USA) Lisa Deslauriers: 0/71.70
6 DONNA SPECIALE Dutch Warmblood / M / 8 / Cavalier x Concorde LESLIE HOWARD (USA) Peter Howard: 0/72.19
7 CONTENDROS II Hanoverian / S / 9 / Contendro I x Drosselklang II ANDRES AZCARRAGA RIVERA TORRES (MEX) Jaime Azcarraga: 0/72.67
8 HH WHISKY ROYALE Zangersheide / G / 11 / Wonderful Vant Beugelhof x Kannan QUENTIN JUDGE (USA) Double H Farm: 0/73.01
9 EH ALL OR NONE Hanoverian / G / 10 / Abke x Grannus JACLYN DUFF (CAN) Windermere Stables: 0/73.30
10 BABEL Warmblood / G / 9 / Billy du Lys x High Flyer PATRICIO PASQUEL (MEX) Patricio Pasquel: 0/74.45
11 ZALERNO Dutch Warmblood / G / 12 / Berlin x Espri GONZALO AZCARRAGA RIVERA TORRES (MEX) Jaime Azcarraga: 0/74.79
12 ATLANTIS T Dutch Warmblood / G / 11 / Padinus x Guidam BRIAN MORTON (CAN) Grafton Farm: 0/74.99