Horse lovers around the world are mourning the death of Hickstead, the "superstar" stallion that captured the Individual Gold and Team Silver for Canada at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Hickstead really was a horse in a million and my heart goes out to Eric and everyone connected with this wonderful horse. This is a terrible loss, but Hickstead truly will never be forgotten. We were very lucky to have known him.
— Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, President of the FEI
On November 6, 2011, at a competition in Verona, Italy, Hickstead collapsed shortly after finishing a round and died. For the competition he was paired with Eric Lamaze who helped the horse make a name for himself.
With the death of Hickstead, Canada lost one of its top medal prospects for the 2012 London Olympics.
Background on Hickstead
In 2006, Hickstead was a member of the winning Nations Cup Team, in Florida. He also placed third in the Aachen Grand Prix and won the Duke Energy Cup at Spruce Meadows.
In 2007 Hickstead and Eric Lamaze won the coveted $1Million CN International at the Spruce Meadows ' Masters ' in Calgary, Canada. Here he also won a record 4 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup titles.
At the 2007 Pan Am Games, Hickstead and Eric Lamaze won team silver and individual bronze medals.
In 2008, Hickstead and Eric Lamaze won .[5] This was the first individual gold medal won in equestrian, and second overall gold won by Canada in Olympic history, the other being a team medal coming from the 1968 Olympics.
In 2010 Hickstead won 1st place at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA, and earned the title 'Best Horse in the World'. After completing the feat of four clear rounds in show jumping at the World Equestrian Games in 2010, Hickstead was named Best Horse of the discipline.
In 2011 Eric Lamaze and Hickstead won the $1 million CN International for the second time in their career at Canada's Spruce Meadows "Masters" Tournament in Calgary.
On November 6, 2011, owner and rider, Lamaze had just taken Hickstead through a nearly faultless 13-fence course at the Rolex FEI World Cup in Verona, Italy, when the 15-year-old horse abruptly collapsed and died.
“We finished our round, I circled and was leaving the ring, and he collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack,” Lamaze said in a news release. “It is the most tragic thing that has ever happened. We had him until he was 15, and we had a great time together. He was the best horse in the world. We are all devastated.”
The Federation Equestre International, the sport’s global governing body, said the competition was stopped at the request of the competing riders, and “Lamaze’s fellow competitors gathered in the Verona arena to pay their respects to one of the greatest horses of all time, and to support their colleague in his moment of loss with a minute’s silence.”
FEI jumping director John Roche said the official cause of death hasn’t been determined.
Canada’s equestrian community sounded its own note of grief within hours.
“Hickstead and Eric have been one of equestrianism’s most legendary partnerships,” said Akaash Maharaj, CEO of Ottawa-based Equine Canada.
“We will always be grateful for the time and triumphs we all shared with Hickstead,” Maharaj added. “We know that generations of future equestrians will draw inspiration from his life.”
Hickstead, born in the Netherlands, was named for a famous equestrian showground in Britain.