72/ MARCH/APRIL 2012 THE RIDER
Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze Sets His Sights on London
New Ontario Business Profile
Southwestern Ontario’s New All-In-One Horse Store
PF Equine is operated by Lindsay Piggott who has been involved with horses since childhood. It is an all-in-one horse store offering quality tack, horse care and stable supplies, Buckeye® Nutrition, Rip- O-Bec Bedding, and premium custom grown hay. With many years of hay pro- duction under the family’s belt as well as their personal interest in the horse world PF Equine evolved mid November 2011. Their specialty is feed and quality is
“Eric Lamaze riding Olympic hopeful Luikka, owned by Artisan Farms.” Photo Credit – Sportfot
Wellington, Florida – Looking forward to the 2012 competition sea- son, reigning Olympic champion Eric Lamaze has added several new horses to his show jumping stable following the tragic loss of his 2008 Olympic gold and team silver medal partner, Hickstead, in November.
Lamaze, 43, of Schomberg, ON, has acquired seven new hors-
es. Five were registered as Canadian-owned by December 31, 2011, as per International Equestrian Federation (FEI) requirements, in order to be eligible for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Three of Lamaze’s new horses are Olympic hopefuls. Verdi is a 10-year-old grey Dutch Warmblood gelding (Heartbreaker x Mr. Blue) acquired from Stephanie van den Brink of The Netherlands while Luikka, a 10-year-old Anglo European mare (Luidam x Renville), was formerly owned and ridden by Shane Breen of Great Britain. Both Verdi and Luikka are owned by Carlene and Andy Ziegler’s Artisan Farms of Wellington, FL, in partnership with Lamaze’s Torrey Pines Stable.
The third Olympic prospect, Derly Chin de Muze, is a nine- year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (For Pleasure x Nabab de Reve) that Lamaze owns in partnership with John Fleischhacker’s Ashland Stables, who also owned Hickstead. Fleischhacker’s daughter, Ash- ley, trains with Lamaze and is currently competing under his tute- lage this winter in Wellington, Florida.
“There is still a long way to go before London, but these are the three horses that we are targeting towards the Olympic Games,” said Lamaze, who suffered a shocking and emotional loss when Hick- stead collapsed and died of a heart attack during a World Cup quali- fying competition in Verona, Italy, on November 6. “Losing Hick- stead was obviously very difficult, but with these new horses, the Olympics can now very much be a reality again. I am really excited for the future.”
Two new eight-year-olds have found their way into Lamaze’s
stable. Hunter’s Scendix, a Hannoverian stallion (Stakkato x Dinar), is co-owned by Torrey Pines Stable and LVS Hunters of Belgium while Wang Chung M2S, a Dutch Warmblood stallion (Royal Bravour x Ahorn), is co-owned by Torrey Pines Stable and breeder Tom Reed of Morningside Stud in Ireland.
Lamaze also has two new seven-year-old horses that he consid- ers to be exciting prospects for the future. Both owned by Artisan Farms, Cachaca 4 is a Westphalian stallion (Cornet Obolensky x Pinocchio) while Evano S is a Belgian Warmblood gelding (Nabab de Reve x Mellinor).
Coaching is also a major commitment for Lamaze and several top show jumping athletes train with him including 17-year-old Caitlin Ziegler of Mequon, Wisconsin. In 2011, Caitlin Ziegler made history at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada, by becoming the youngest rider to ever win in the International Ring, claiming victory in the $31,000 1.50m AON Cup. This season, her mounts include Valencia, Touch Down, Take Off, Dollar Van’T Eigenlo DH, Butragenia, VDL Groep Camara, and Herald 3. “Caitlin is a very good up-and-coming rider who made her mark last year, and will continue to do so this year now that she is able to do some bigger classes,” said coach Lamaze, noting that age restrictions prevented Caitlin from competing above the two-star grand prix level last year. Lamaze also trains Caitlin’s father, Andy Ziegler, who competes in the Masters division despite only taking up the sport a few short years ago.
Tiffany Foster, 27, is a short listed Canadian Show Jumping Team member who trains with Lamaze. After making her Nations’ Cup debut for Canada at the 2011 Spruce Meadows “Masters” Tour- nament, Foster was subsequently named to the winning Canadian team for the Buenos Aires Nations’ Cup in November. Foster has declared Southwind VDL and Victor for 2012 Olympic considera- tion, and will also ride Quilea de St. Druon, Vitesse, and Whitney this season.
“I would say I spend 80 percent of my time teaching and coach- ing and the other 20 percent riding,” explained Lamaze who also coaches Colombia’s Daniel Bluman, who placed seventh at the recent 2011 Pan American Games to earn an individual berth for the London Olympics, and Alexandra Paillot of France whose father, Christian Paillot, is Chair of FEI Group I. “We definitely have one of the biggest teams of people competing at the grand prix level, and a really great support staff who make it all possible.” Following the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, the entire team will move to Belgium in April, returning only to North Ameri- ca for the Spruce Meadows summer tournaments in Calgary, Cana- da. In order to pursue their international show jumping careers, Lamaze and his students will be based at a new stable outside Antwerp that was recently purchased by Carlene and Andy Ziegler. For more information, please visit
www.torreypinesstable.com.
key. Their custom grown, premium hay is brought in from Western Canada where hay production and harvesting conditions are optimal. PF Equine customers love a trip into the warehouse to take in the great smelling hay where they can’t help but comment about how green it is. All of the hay is analyzed to ensure quality as well as proper feed rates and concentrate/sup- plement combinations are met. Buck- eye® Nutrition offers a wide range of feed choices in order to meet every horse’s individual needs. They are also offering FREE Nutrition Consultations by appoint- ment. Rip-O-Bec supplies all of their wood bedding and they are able to offer their customers three different flake sizes as well as wood pellets at very competitive prices.
The newest additions to the business are the “tack shop”, where they carry a wide variety of items for both English and Western disciplines, performance to
repair, grooming and care, as well as everyday stable needs, and servicing Woodbine Racetrack with premium feed and bedding. They are currently the only tack shop in Western Ontario carrying the all-natural EcoLicious Equestrian horse care and grooming products – Canadian made products with many fantastic reviews.
PF Equine is also currently sponsor- ing two organizations for the 2012 season – the Area 1 QH Promotional Association and the Encore Presentation Trick Riders. The Encore team will be raffling off a
Billy Cook Roper Saddle that PF Equine donated as a fundraiser. Tickets will be available through the team, at PF Equine and also at their booth at Can Am! The team showed off some of their trick roping skills at the recent PF Equine Open House. PF Equine wishes everyone a great season of equine filled activity and hope you will pay them a visit out in Watford! For more information, visit
www.pfe-
quine.ca and look for their ad in this issue of The Rider.
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