August 29, 2006 – Aachen, Germany – Canadian Show Jumping Team member Eric Lamaze is in second place following the opening day of competition on Tuesday, August 29, at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

In the opening speed round, where the objective is to leave all of the jumps up in the fastest time, Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, was the 84th of 116 competitors to attempt the challenging track set by renowned course designer Frank Rothenberger of Germany. Lamaze put in a blistering fast round riding Hickstead, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Torrey Pines and Ashland Stables. His time of 78.40 seconds put Lamaze into the lead until American favourite Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY, stopped the clock at 77.62 seconds to win on opening day riding her 2004 Olympic team gold medal partner, Authentic.

"It was my plan all along to attack this course, I wanted to be competitive from the beginning," said Lamaze following his round. "Hickstead’s very quick and he’s careful, he has been here in Aachen before and has had tremendous results this summer. I think we’ve arrived here in great form. It’s great to get the first day over with and to have a sense that the horse is jumping well. There are always so many things that can happen. To get the first day under your belt with that result gives you great confidence."

The crowd of 38,000 spectators was gasping as Lamaze negotiated the course, which had an added element of difficulty in that heavy rains fell mid-way through the competition, leaving standing water on the grass field. The crowd erupted in cheers as Lamaze brought Hickstead home safely to take over top spot from American McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, riding Sapphire.

"Not only was it fast, it was an electrifying performance," said Terrance Millar, chef d'equipe of the Canadian Show Jumping Team in reference to Lamaze's ride. "It was kind of wild! Eric was planning to go for it, especially at the last fence, which was set at an odd angle by the in-gate. It shows Eric's mastery because the horse already had his eye on the gate and was drifting. It was an amazing, exciting round!"

Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, ON, had the second-best Canadian performance of the day, finishing in 49th position. As the first Canadian on course, Henselwood incurred just four faults at fence six, an airy oxer, riding Special Ed, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Juniper Farms. Henselwood's original time of 85.95 seconds, plus the four faults converted into time penalties, gave her an adjusted final time of 89.95 seconds.

Ian Millar of Perth, ON, is currently in 80th position individually with In Style, an 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Susan Grange. The eight-time Olympian had trouble keeping In Style's attention in the large stadium and incurred 12 jumping faults to bring his total time to 96.36 seconds.

Chris Pratt of Belfountain, ON, incurred just four faults, but his slow time left him in 100th position riding Rivendell, an 11-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Susan Grange. Pratt faulted at fence eight, a large triple bar, before Rivendell refused fence nine. Pratt regrouped and continued to jump the rest of the course cleanly, stopping the clock at 104.06 seconds to give him a total time of 108.06 seconds.

"I just didn’t get close enough to the triple bar, Rivendell was completely out of range," explained Pratt, 37, who is making his major games debut. "It’s no fault of his, I misread the line. He was a little shaken up, and he just needed to circle to recover. I’m happy with how he finished up.

"Rivendell rises to the occasion, but he is a nervous horse," continued Pratt. "His mileage at this level is limited, and he’s never seen anything like this. Quite honestly, neither have I! But I feel more confident now that I have had a round in the big stadium."

The Team competition will be held over two days, with the first round of the Nations' Cup being held on Wednesday and the second round held on Thursday evening. Team Medals will be presented at the conclusion of Thursday's competition. Of the 25 nations competing, Canada is currently in 14th position with a total team score of 15.93. The Netherlands leads with 6.01, the United States is second with 6.85, and Brazil, competing with only three riders following last week's withdrawal of Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa, is in third with 6.99.

In addition to determining the World Champions, the Team competition also acts as a qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games with the best five teams earning their tickets to Hong Kong, where the equestrian portion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be staged.

The order of go for the Canadian Team in Wednesday's Nations' Cup will be Lamaze, Pratt, Henselwood, and, riding as the anchor, Millar. As for the Canadian Show Jumping Team's chances, Lamaze said, "I think our team will pick up a little bit tomorrow. The butterflies will be gone and we can improve on our result from today."

In the Individual competition, Tuesday's speed round will be added to the team scores to determine the top 25 riders that move forward to Saturday's individual competition. Currently, the top three riders in the standings are Beezie Madden (USA), Eric Lamaze (CAN), and Gerco Schroder (NED).

Held every four years, the 2006 edition of the World Equestrian Games runs from August 20 to September 3 with the show jumping portion scheduled for August 29 to September 3. Featuring seven disciplines recognized by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the World Equestrian Games sees more than 800 equestrian athletes vying for the title of World Champion. Over 500,000 visitors are expected to attend the Games. For more information, please visit the official 2006 World Equestrian Games website, www.aachen2006.de.


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Jump Canada is a committee of Equine Canada responsible for all hunter, equitation and jumper activities in Canada from the grass roots to the international level. Jump Canada is governed by a board of directors, the majority of whom are elected by the stakeholders in the sport. For more information regarding Jump Canada programs and activities, please visit www.jumpcanada.ca.