Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze and Hickstead placed fourth in the Rolex Top 10 Final held as part of the CSI5* Brussels Horse Show in Belgium. Photo by Cealy Tetley

November 28, 2008 – Brussels, Belgium – Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, placed fourth in the Rolex Top 10 Final, featuring the top 10 ranked riders in the world, held as part of the Audi Equestrian Masters horse show in Brussels, Belgium.

Hot off their victory in the $100,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix in Toronto, ON, on November 12, Lamaze and Hickstead traveled to Belgium to contest the Rolex Top 10 Final which sees the 10 best riders in the world go head-to-head for a total of €150,000 in prize money. Lamaze is currently ranked the number two rider in the world behind Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum of Germany.

In the first round, Lamaze and Hickstead had one rail down at fence number 10, a skinny vertical. The pair returned to jump clear in the second round, exploding over the fences to the delight of the crowd in the packed Brussels Expo.

“It is too bad we had a rail in the first round because Hickstead was jumping really well, he felt really good,” said Lamaze of Hickstead, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Ashland Stables of Wellington, FL, and Lamaze’s own Torrey Pines Stable. “He was distracted in the warm-up ring with so many things going on, but he came back to focus really well in the second round. We are ready for the Grand Prix on Sunday.”

As the only rider to post two clear rounds, victory went to Michel Robert of France riding Kellemoi de Pepita, who claimed €37,500 in prize money plus a Rolex timepiece. With one time fault incurred in the first round, Australia’s Edwina Alexander placed second with Isovlas Itot du Chateau while Marcus Ehning of Germany had the fastest time of the riders who incurred four faults to place third with Plot Blue.

Earlier on Friday evening, Lamaze placed second in the €50,000 Prix Rolex Classic featuring fences set at a height of 1.55m. His partner was Take Off, an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Artisan Farms, who is just beginning her grand prix career.

Following the CSI5* Brussels Horse Show, Lamaze and Hickstead will next compete in the CSI5*-W Geneva Horse Show in Switzerland from December 11-14.

Rider Country Horse Faults Time
1. Michel Robert France Kellemoi de Pepita 0:0 44.37
2. Edwina Alexander Australia Isovlas Itot du Chateau 1:0 49.19
3. Marcus Ehning Germany Plot Blue 0:4 42.12
4. Eric Lamaze Canada Hickstead 4:0 42.71
5. Gerco Schroder Netherlands Eurocommerce Seattle 4:4 41.61
6. Albert Zoer Netherlands Sam 8:0 42.52
7. Jos Lansink Belgium Sea Coast Silvana 4:4 45.19
8. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum Germany Shutterfly 0:8 49.33
9. Ludger Beerbaum Germany Coupe de Cour 12:8 44.01
10. Steve Guerdat Switzerland Tresor V 12:8 44.89