2/ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 THE RIDER


Eric Lamaze Continued from Page 1.


the closest to catching Lamaze, stopping the clock in 41.37 aboard Clearwater while four-time U.S. Olympic medalist Beezie Madden placed third with a time of 42.28 seconds riding HHS Hercules. Two-time Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster of North Vancouver, BC, also jumped double clear to finish fourth with a time of 42.46 riding Brighton for Andy and Carlene Ziegler’s Artisan Farms. Lamaze once again found himself leading the


WEF Challenge Cup victory gallop with Chacco Kid. Paired with Lamaze for two years, the 12- year-old Oldenburg gelding (Chacco Blue x Come On) is owned by the Chacco Kid Group, comprised of Sara and Rick Mershad, Carol and Ludi Sollak, and Carlene and Andy Ziegler. “To compare the two different weeks, I


thought the course last week was more technical, only producing nine clear while today’s course was more straightforward with a generous time al- lowed,” said Lamaze, 49. “I’m really happy to have Chacco Kid in my


string of horses, and I’m really happy for the Chacco Kid Group to be rewarded with two wins in a row with this horse that they entrusted to me,” continued Lamaze. “Last year I didn’t really take any chances with him in the jump-off, but now he’s learning to go fast so I thought ‘why not?’. This is an opportunity to get to know your horse and to


take some chances. If you are ever in a situation where it is the largest prize money or the biggest competition in the world, you’re going to feel bet- ter taking some risks as you know that you’ve done it before.” Experience is something Lamaze knows all


about, having competed in six consecutive World Championships and three Olympic Games, includ- ing 2008 when he was the Olympic Champion rid- ing Hickstead. A respected coach as well as athlete, Lamaze is known for having brought nu- merous young riders up to the top level of show jumping sport and is currently working with sev- eral highly-competitive students. One of those stu- dents is Spencer Smith of the United States, who placed tenth in the $35,000 Equinimity WEF Chal- lenge Cup Round III riding Rivale du Barquet. “I’m really proud of Spencer; he is showing


tremendous progress and is really coming into his own,” said Lamaze of his 21-year-old student. “In the one year that I have been training him, Spencer has learned so much and is showing great maturity in his riding. He has two nice grand prix horses under him now, and, through his finish today, has qualified for Saturday night’s grand prix. I’m very happy with his results.” In addition to coaching Smith, Lamaze will


saddle up Chacco Kid for Saturday night’s $132,000 CSI3* Adequan Grand Prix. Lamaze, who divides his time being training bases in Wellington, FL, and Brussels, Belgium,


Eric Lamaze is presented as the winner of the $35,000 CSI3* Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup Round III aboard Chacco Kid, owned by the Chacco Kid Group comprised of Sara and Rick Mershad, Carol and Ludi Sollak, and Carlene and Andy Ziegler. Photo by Starting Gate Communications


All-Breed Trail Challenge 2000-2017 The All-Breed Trail Chal-


lenge started like many other horse clubs and groups, around a kitchen table. It was initially con- ceived by Blaine Nicholls, Brenda Donn, April Souwand and Pat Carter on January 18, 2000 as a trail futurity, called the


Pat Carter All-Breed Trail Chal- lenge. Trail course practice days were held as fundraisers for the Challenge. In the early years, some practices were held in the morning, with a show in the af- ternoon. The first clinic with Tim “the Trail Man” Kimura from


California, was held at Hellyer’s (now Fletcher’s Horse World) in spring 2000 as a way to generate interest in the trail futurity. Rules were developed and equipment (poles, bridges, waterboxes, flowerboxes) was scrabbled to- gether from the directors of the


club. Over time, funds generated from clinics (featuring Pat Carter and Tim Kimura) and trail prac- tices were used to purchase a substantial amount of equipment. The first All-Breed Trail


Challenge was held on Septem- ber 17, 2000, with 38 entries competing on an outdoor course in the morning and then an in- door course in the afternoon at Hellyer’s. It was held in a futurity format, with pre-entries required. The show was subsequently held at the Paris Fairgrounds, in con- cert with the Quarter Horse show at the Fair on Labour Day week- end, until 2010 when it moved to the Rockton Fairgrounds for a couple of years and eventually to Ancaster Fairgrounds. Initially, there was also a series of Trail Challenge shows, held in con- junction with other shows at Vir- gil, Ilderton and Paris, with overall champions recognized at the end of the season. In 2004, a trophy buckle was awarded to the winner of the Open Trail, a tradi- tion that continued to the final edition of the show held on Sep- tember 30, 2017. The first All-Breed Trail


Challenge was judged by Sue Koeffer and Harry Hurd. Judges over the years have included: Tim Abler, Lee Foster, Bonnie Miller, Pam Scott, Howard Rea, Gay Given Owens, Todd Bailey, Kim Hazlett, Mike Bednarek, Jamie


Simpson, Scott


Carmichael, and Shari Irwin. Directors over the years


have included the initial group of April Souwand, Pat Carter, Brenda Donn and Blaine Nicholls, joined at various times by Mary Prosdocimi, Judy Will- son, Grady McQuillan, Jennifer Gower, the late Lorna Kerr, Terri Wetton, Kerry-Anne Janes, Sara Cromwell, Jeff Beam, Doris Melitzer, Jessica Croezen, Heidi Sauder, Erin Renner, Jenny Ren- ner, Paige Carter-Fleetwood and Lynn Johnson.


The banner sponsor of the


All-Breed Trail Challenge has been Home Hardware since day one. They have consistently pro- vided both funds and the much sought after “product buckets” at every Trail Challenge. Other sponsors over the years have in- cluded: J.M. Schneider Inc., Covey Dodge, Bill Hawkins, On- tario Amateur Quarter Horse As- sociation, Acappella Internet Solutions, Shari Irwin, Guidolin, Latta Crane, Equiline Apparel, Pleasant Ridge Saddlery, Nutrena Feeds, Dunveen Farm, Atwood Custom Trailers, Robert Janes, Bioniche Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merial, Wellington’s Tack, Cathy Cox, Suzanne Pestano, Leslie Mastro- matteo, Rick Fleetwood, Ontario Paint Horse Club, April Souwand, Ken O’Donnell, Sharpe’s Farm Supply, Cam- bridge Greenhawk, Arlene Hayes and Jenny Renner. A newsletter, “Trail Tales”,


was produced quarterly and mailed to members who had pur- chased $15 memberships. The cost of a membership remained steady at $15 over the 18 years the club existed, as mailing costs were replaced by costs to main- tain a website. The website and Facebook page eventually re- placed the newsletter (discontin- ued in 2016) as a communication tool for the club. As the club built up funds


over the years through practices, clinics, and workshops, it was able to sponsor trail classes hosted by other organizations like the Area 1 Quarter Horse Promo- tional Association, Ancaster Sad- dle Club, Western Horseman’s Association of Ontario Over 100 practice days were


hosted by the club and held at various


facilities including:


Hellyer’s in Waterford, Brenda Donn’s in Scotland, Dunveen Farms in Paris, Carter’s in St. George, North Bay, Paris Fair-


Submitted by: April Souwand, Committee Sec- retary, 2000-2017


grounds, Reid Farm in Caledon, Dawn-Mar in Ariss, Manestay in Clyde, and Twin Streams in Delaware. In 2003, an equipment trailer was built, which facilitated moving the club’s substantial supply of poles and other trail equipment around to shows and clinics year-round. The All-Breed Trail Chal-


lenge has run as a club for 18 years. It started with a goal of providing a venue to showcase the trail class by providing an en- tire show with nothing but trail classes. It was a celebration of the mature stock horse, taking them to the next level of training and performance that trail classes demand. By making it all-breed, it provided exhibitors who tradi- tionally show their horses at their own breed shows (e.g. Ap- paloosa, Paint, Arabian and Quarter Horses) to come together in a unique way. The Tim Kimura and Pat Carter clinics offered over the years have built the strength of trail enthusiasts in Ontario, who are now able to hold their own at very competi- tive classes across North Amer- ica. Trail practices are routinely held at training barns every- where, now that people are edu- cated how to properly set courses, have the equipment and there is a good base of trail enthu- siasts. The year 2017 brings the end of the club, as it has achieved its original goal and participated in the promotion and growth of trail as a premiere event, a far cry from the days when it was held at the end of the show, with limited participation and interest. The re- maining funds will be distributed over the coming years as spon- sorship of trail classes to reward exhibitors and their horses for their efforts and success.


will continue to compete in select weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival, running through April 1.


For more information on Eric Lamaze, please visit www.ericlamaze.com.


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