October 8, 2009 – Salzburg, Austria – Olympic Show Jumping Champion Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, won the €20,000 OWD Trophy on Thursday, October 8, at CSI4* Salzburg, Austria.

From a starting field of 53 horses, Lamaze and Take Off posted a clear round in a time of 48.71 seconds. Germany’s Lars Nieberg was second with a time of 49.27 riding Quiletta du Domaine while Switzerland’s Beat Mandli placed third after stopping the timers in 50.10 seconds with Indigo IX.

Lamaze also contested the €20,000 Salzburg Masters with his Olympic horse, Hickstead, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Torrey Pines Stable and Ashland Stables. Looking ahead to the big money competitions on the weekend, Lamaze opted for a conservative clear round, stopping the clock at 54.78 seconds. Pedro Veniss of Brazil had the winning time of 52.67 seconds with Amaryllis.

“Take Off was really good – she is always good,” said Lamaze of the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Artisan Farms. “With Hickstead, I just went for a clear round. I am competing here for the first time, and the show is really nice. It is indoors with a lot of different competitions going on such as dressage.”

Following CSI4* Salzburg, Lamaze, currently ranked number two in the world, will compete at CSI5*-W Lyon, FRA, from October 28 to November 1. He will then take part in the Global Champions Tour Final, which features the top 25 ranked riders in the series competing for more than €1.4 million in prize money, from November 11-14 in Doha, Qatar.