Local Olympians given send-off for Beijing Olympics 2008

The members of Canada's show jumping team were given the chance to take a final bow before heading off to the Olympic Games, which open this week in Beijing. The equestrian events will be taking place in Hong Kong. The team members were recognized Sunday, just prior to the start of the $100,000 Marquest Asset Management World Cup Grand Prix, as part of the Caledon Summer Festival, held at the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave. Matt Glasgow (left) of Horsefeathers Equestrian Jewellery, presented ceremonial inscribed pocket watches to Eric Lamaze, Chef d'equipe Torchy Miller, Ian Millar, Jill Henselwood and Mac Cone. Plenty of confidence is evident in the members of the Canadian show jumping team, as they head for the Olympics.

The four of them were given a big sendoff Sunday, just prior to the start of the $100,000 Marquest Asset Management World Cup Grand Prix, as part of the Caledon Summer Festival, held at the Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave.

The day was especially sweet for Schomberg Olympian Eric Lamaze, as he ended up winning the event.

By clearing this final fence in Sunday's jump-off, Schomberg's Eric Lamaze nailed first place in the $100,000 Marquest Asset Management World Cup Grand Prix. He was riding Tempete van het Lindehof. Photo by Bill Rea His Olympic teammates Ian Millar of Perth and Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills were also taking part in the event. King City's Mac Cone was not competing Sunday, but he was keeping an eye on protege Mark Samuel, who finished fourth.

Lamaze was in a hurry after Sunday's victory gallop, saying he was on his way to Florida.

Although the Olympics, which are scheduled to open Friday, are being held in Beijing, China, the equestrian event will be some distance away, in Hong Kong. Lamaze said he's planning to leave for the games Friday, meaning he will miss the opening ceremonies. He didn't appear to be too upset about that, however.

"We're going to stay with our horses," he explained.

Lamaze and his mount Hickstead claimed individual bronze and team silver at the 2007 Pan American Games. Hickstead, a 12-yearold Dutch Warmblood stallion, is owned by Torrey Pines Stables and Ashland Stables.

"I feel good about my horse," he said Sunday. "I feel good about everything right now."

Cone is a veteran of one prior Olympic Games, 1996 in Atlanta, and was part of Canada's silver medal Pan Am team last year. He will be aboard Ole, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Sara Houstoun and Larry Evoy. With Ole, Cone won the $60,000 Kilkenny Cup Grand Prix in Wellington, FL, and was a member of Canada's second place team in the $75,000 FEI Nations' Cup, presented by CN, in Wellington, FL, in March.

Cone was also speaking confidently about his mount.

He said Ole has been in eight Grand Prix calibre events, and has turned in clear rounds in seven of them. "He's shown an awful lot of consistency," he remarked.

As well, he expressed good feelings about his teammates.

"We're all real close and tight," he said. "We work really well together."

He added that the separation between the equestrian events and the rest of the games is not a big deal. He recalled the equestrian location at the Atlanta games was about an hour from the Olympic Village.

"We're kind of used to that," he said. "This will be no different."

Millar is heading into his ninth Olympic appearance, and he joked that he wasn't concerned about the inexperience of his teammates. "I think they'll rally to the cause quite nicely," he said.

"There's nothing better than riding for Canada," he commented after Sunday's event.

Henselwood will be on Special Ed in Hong Kong and Millar will be riding In Style. The Olympic horses were already on their way to the games Sunday, so the three Olympians were on different mounts.

Lamaze rode Tempete van het Lindehof to victory Sunday. The pair was among seven horse-rider combinations to jump clear over the first round test set by Canadian course designer Michel Vaillancourt and advance to the jump-off.

When Lamaze returned for the jump-off, Keean White of Cambridge held the lead with a clear round in a time of 42.27 seconds on Celina Z, an eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Lindsay Schiassi. Lamaze was able to shave more than a full second off the leading time, stopping the timers at 41.02 seconds. White and Celina Z settled for second place.

White had two mounts in the jump-off. He and his other horse Vienna Rouge, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Angelstone Farms and Linda Ratcliffe, took a spectacular fall at one of the jumps. Both horse and rider were able to walk away without assistance.

"Michel is a good course designer and I think he built a fair course," said Lamaze, currently ranked number three in the world. "It all came down to only two double clear. It was a good class."

For the victory, Lamaze was partnered with a horse he had not competed with since the 2005 season. Having gained grand prix experience under Lamaze, Tempete van het Lindehof has been shown in recent years by his amateur owner. With Lamaze's Olympic mount, Hickstead, on his way to Hong Kong and his other string of horses making their way back from Europe where Lamaze was showing last week, he picked up the reins on Tempete van het Lindehof, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Ashland Stables.

"I rode a horse that I hadn't ridden in years, so it was fun to be back on him, he jumped well," said Lamaze, who also won Friday's $25,000 Caledon Equestrian Park Open Welcome riding Tempete van het Lindehof. "It was the last time before we leave for the Olympics to have everyone, all the team members, together, and the crowd was happy that we were here. It was really nice."

Third place went to Henselwood, riding Black Ice. Although the pair had a good time of 41.03 seconds, a rail fell at the second to last obstacle.

Millar was riding Redefin, owned by Susan Grange of Cheltenham, but the pair picked up four jumping faults on the course, and didn't make it to the jump-off.

The $100,000 Marquest Asset Management World Cup Grand Prix is one of six World Cup qualifying events held in Canada this year. Following the close of the Canadian World Cup League, the top two Canadians in the standings will be invited to contest the 2009 World Cup Final in Las Vegas.