Eric Lamaze, Canada’s 2008 Olympic champion and 2016 Olympic individual bronze medalist, guided his Rio mount Fine Lady 5 to victory in the $130,000 Adequan Grand Prix CSI 3* last Saturday night at the 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival.
Lamaze topped Germany’s Olympic team bronze medalist Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum riding Comanche 28 in second, and Spanish Olympian Sergio Alvarez Moya aboard G&C Unicstar de l’Aumone in third.
Belgium’s Luc Musette built the course for Saturday night’s grand prix under the lights in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Forty-three entries contested the first round track, with seven advancing on to the jump-off, and three double clear rounds.
Lamaze, with Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines Stable’s Fine Lady 5, stopped the clock in 40.26 seconds for the win. Michaels-Beerbaum and Artemis Equestrian Farm’s Comanche 28 finished second in 40.79 seconds. Moya was close behind for a third place finish in 40.80 seconds with G&C Farm’s Unicstar de l’Aumone.
Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 had a banner 2016 season.
“She felt really good tonight,” Lamaze said of the 14-year-old Hanoverian mare. “I gave her a long rest after the Olympics, and then started back and just did Paris and Geneva. I plan on using her quite a bit at the beginning of the circuit here since she is fit from Geneva already. Then we will give her a rest before returning to Europe.”
Fine Lady’s quick foot speed carried the pair easily through the jump-off track, and Lamaze remarked on the long gallop home to the final oxer on course.
“You need to have the distance in front of you to be fast,” he noted. “If there is something in front of you, you take it. One pull and I’m easily third or maybe fourth.”
Michaels-Beerbaum was happy with the progress that her mount, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding, has made since last winter in Wellington.
“I think Fine Lady is a really fast horse, and Comanche is just learning to go fast,” she said. “I was very happy with him tonight. Comanche, I believe over the last year, has gained a tremendous amount of experience. He has always been a fantastic jumper, but he has been slightly green in the ring and a little bit spooky. Over the last year he has been to shows all over the world, and I think that has helped him.”
Michaels-Beerbaum applauded Lamaze on his victory. “It is a great honor to sit next to this guy and to be second to him by just a tiny bit,” she said.
Riding for Spain, Moya was aboard a young mount in the nine-year-old Selle Francais mare Unicstar de l’Aumone for his first experience in a WEF Saturday Night Lights grand prix.
“I was very confident with her. She has never been under the lights, but she is always great,” Moya said. “She tries her best, and she never doubts anything. She is naturally very fast, so I did not want to override the jump-off. It was not an easy class, and it is an honor to be next to Eric and Meredith. I am very happy with my third place.”
Allyn Mann, representing class sponsor and week three title sponsor Adequan, was on-hand for the night’s event.
“What an honor to be sitting here with Eric, Meredith and Sergio,” Mann said. “The beauty of these equestrian disciplines is that it is an acknowledgment of these animals and what we ask them to do. Tonight was a wonderful example of that. We are honored and humbled by the opportunity to help the health and well-being of the horse so that these riders can go out and do what they love to do, which is to compete.”
Michaels-Beerbaum was also presented the award for Leading Lady Rider for week three, the award sponsored by Martha Jolicoeur of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in memory of Dale Lawler.
The 12-week WEF circuit runs through April 2, featuring competition for hunters, jumpers and equitation, with more than $9 million in prize money up for grabs. For more info., visit www.pbiec.com.
ABOVE: Eric Lamaze rides Fine Lady 5 to victory. Photo by Sportfot
