It was all anyone could talk about during this year’s Royal Horse Show – Eric Lamaze’s triumphant return home to Toronto for this year’s Royal! The 2008 Olympic champion made his presence felt straight out of the gate by winning the first class of the international show jumping division, the $37,000 McKee Family International Challenge, on Wednesday, November 6. Riding his 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medal partner, Fine Lady 5, Lamaze rocketed to the top of the leaderboard, taking victory in the speed class with a time of 47.90 seconds to edge out fellow Canadian, Erynn Ballard, who stopped the clock in 49.43 seconds riding Judge hof ter Zeedycke.

Eric Lamaze Makes Triumphant Return to The Royal

PHOTO – Fans were thrilled to see Eric Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 in action at the Royal Horse Show.
PHOTO CREDIT – Jump Media

“I said if I ever come back to The Royal, it’s going to be to win!” said Lamaze, 51, who brought his two top horses, Fine Lady 5 and Chacco Kid. “If I’m going to be on my home ground, I wanted to bring the best.”

Lamaze grew up competing at the annual event in his early career. Since relocating his training base to Europe in 2006, he has only returned to The Royal on two occasions with the last one being in 2011.

Eric Lamaze Makes Triumphant Return to The Royal

PHOTO – Eric Lamaze held an open question and answer session with fans, moderated by Adam Cromarty, before signing autographs.
PHOTO CREDIT – Jump Media

After winning the first class, Lamaze continued to dominate the international show jumping division with top placings in all six classes he contested. He and Fine Lady 5 came oh-so-close to capturing two more wins, settling for second in Thursday’s featured event, the $85,000 Big Ben International Challenge, as well as Friday night’s $50,000 Canadian Open International Challenge. At the end of the week, it was no surprise that Lamaze took home the Leading International Rider and Leading Canadian Rider titles, both presented by GroupBy, while Fine Lady 5 received the Leading Canadian Horse Award, presented by Lothlorien.

Prior to the $85,000 Big Ben International Challenge, a special ceremony was held to honour Ian Millar’s retirement from international team competition. Speaking to a packed house in the Coca-Cola Coliseum, Lamaze gave a heartfelt tribute to the 10-time Canadian Olympian, who he has ridden alongside on numerous occasions over the past three decades. Unquestionably the two most successful show jumping athletes that Canada has ever produced, Lamaze and Millar are united in friendship by a common goal – representing their country and their team to the best of their abilities.

Eric Lamaze Makes Triumphant Return to The Royal

PHOTO – Eric Lamaze (center) receives the Leading Canadian Horse Award, presented by Lothlorien, for Fine Lady 5 from John and Ariel Grange.
PHOTO CREDIT – Ben Radvanyi Photography

Lamaze also held a special question and answer session, open to the public, on Friday evening, which was followed by an autograph signing session presented by his saddle sponsor, Bruno Delgrange. No questions were off-limits, and Lamaze spoke openly about the difficult challenges he has faced, both in his career and personal life, and how he has managed to overcome them. Emotional, poignant, and honest, all in attendance were blown away by his candor and left having had a true glimpse into the Olympic champion’s incredible life story.