Canada's Eric Lamaze rides Chacco Kid, during the Grand Prix event of the National at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Saturday, June 8, 2019.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Eric Lamaze breathed deeply as he walked behind the grandstand at Spruce Meadows late Saturday afternoon. He had just achieved the implausible, and needed a moment to let what happened sink in. He exchanged high-fives and shook hands with fellow horsemen, and hugged yet another.
Eighteen months after being diagnosed with brain cancer, the 51-year-old from Montreal won the RBC Grand Prix of Canada show-jumping championship at the National for the third time.
Canada's Eric Lamaze celebrates winning the Grand Prix event of the National at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Saturday, June 8, 2019.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
In triumph at such a challenging juncture, the Beijing Olympics gold medalist was as graceful as the sport itself.
“This is an ongoing battle for me,” Lamaze said. “I consider today a gift.”
Riding a 13-year-old gelding named Chacco Kid, Lamaze edged Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and Conor Swail of Ireland in a dramatic jump-off round. Cheers erupted when the scoreboard showed Lamaze was seven-tenths of a second faster than Guerdat, the world’s top-ranked show jumper.
You talk about superheroes in football and other sports, but I don’t think anybody has ever done what he just did
— Steve Guerdat of Switzerland
“Normally I don’t like to be beaten, but when I saw the No. 2 next to my name I was very happy because I knew Eric had won,” Guerdat said. “He is an inspiration for us. You talk about superheroes in football and other sports, but I don’t think anybody has ever done what he just did.
“I am blessed to be his friend and happy to see him back and winning again.”
Lamaze resumed riding only recently after taking the last year off for treatment. He announced that he has a grave illness publicly for the first time only two weeks ago and prefers to keep details private.
“It has been a long journey and at one point seemed to be a dream that I would be back here,” Lamaze said. “With the help and a lot of support, you just keep fighting.
“I am not sure what level I will be riding at for the rest of the year or for how long, but I will fight every day to keep doing this.”
The all-time leading money-winner at Spruce Meadows with more than $3-million in earnings, Lamaze received $165,000 of the $500,000 purse that is awarded for the Grand Prix.
Canada's Nicole Walker rides Falco van Spieveld, during the Grand Prix event of the National at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Saturday, June 8, 2019.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Guerdat received $100,000 for second and Swail got $75,000 for third.
“We have all heard about Eric’s (illness) and wished him the best,” the Irishman said. “For him to come back from all of the difficult times and do this is incredible to be honest.”
A sunny day and mild temperatures gave rise to a sizable crowd after two days of inclement weather. Thousands of spectators walked around the lush 355-acre property on the south side of Calgary, enjoying a performance by Lord Strathcona’s Mounted Troops, taking in a firefighters’ fitness competition and perusing souvenirs peddled by vendors. Children rode on a carousel as many of the world’s greatest show jumpers matched skills in the international ring.
Only seven of the 41 riders in the Grand Prix made it cleanly around a challenging obstacle course designed by Peter Grant.
Ian Millar, right, and Eric Lamaze, look on as Millar's daughter Amy Millar rides during the Grand Prix event of the National at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Saturday, June 8, 2019.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Many in the field were undone by a combination of three tightly spaced jumps near the finish line.
“You set up the course for the Grand Prix to be as difficult as you can,” said Grant, the principal designer at Spruce Meadows. You want it to not only test riding skills, but for it to be an intellectual challenge as well.
“Any horse should be able to win with the right plan from the right rider.”
The jump-off round was contested between the seven riders who handled their initial jump without being assessed penalties for hitting a rail or going too slowly.
Of those seven, only Lamaze, Guerdat and Swail were perfect in the jump-off, with Lamaze winning based on time. He previously won the Grand Prix in 2008 and 2010 and on Saturday became the first Canadian to win it in nine years.
Beezie Madden of the United States made a strong bid in the jump-off round, only to hit the top rail on the final jump and end up fourth. Nicole Walker of Aurora, Ont., was fifth.
The 25-year-old is the granddaughter of Frank Stronach, the billionaire founder of auto parts giant Magna International and director of North America’s largest consortium of horse-racing tracks.
“These riders are definitely world class,” Walker said afterward. “It was an honour to compete with them. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine being there.”
After the battle he has waged with cancer, it was hard to imagine that Lamaze would even be here, much less be the winner.
“I am happy to have won, but I am missing a little beat here or there,” Lamaze said.
He thanked his horse.
“That horse is a fighter and he fought hard for me,” he said.
Sitting beside him at a news conference, Guerdat spoke slowly and softly into a microphone.
“I have no words,” he said.
Marty Klinkenberg