Hickstead, one of alltime great jumping stallions, dies in arena

AUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Hickstead, a stallion who was “really a one in a million” and who had taken Canadian Eric Lamaze to individual gold at the 2008 Olympics, died in the arena Sunday 6 November just after completing a 13-fence jumping competition in Verona, Italy.

The competition was stopped at the request of the riders, who gathered in the arena to pay their respects to the horse described by the Lausanne-based FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale) in a statement after the race as “one of the greatest horses of all time”. The riders observed a minute of silence to share their sympathy with Lamaze for his loss.

Lamaze was riding the horse Sunday, which had drawn 22nd of 39 on the startlist. The Verona event was the fourth in the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011-12 season.

The cause of death is unknown.

He was owned by Torrey Pines and Ashland Stables Inc. The stallion was born in 1996 in The Netherlands and was a Dutch Warmblood.

Lamaze and Hickstead won the $1 million CN International in 2011 for the second time, at Canada’s Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament in Calgary, Canada.