Langley, British Columbia – May 28, 2003 - Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, took the early lead in the Canadian Show Jumping Team Selection Trials for the 2003 Pan American Games.

Taking place at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC, the Selection Trials saw 18 of the nation’s top horse-rider combinations vying for one of five places on the Canadian Team heading to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Riding Mill Creek Rosalinde, Lamaze posted a clear round in the fastest time of the day, 87.09 seconds, in the $10,000 Speed Classic run as a speed competition with a four-second penalty added to the rider’s time for each rail knocked down. The eight-year-old black Hannoverian mare is owned by Phil Henning’s Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, as was Mill Creek Raphael who Henning recently donated to Equine Canada and who placed fourth under Lamaze despite having the fourth fence down.

“Mill Creek Raphael is an experienced horse and he’s jumping well while Mill Creek Rosalinde is a new horse to this level but she did very well in Florida this winter,” said Lamaze, 35, who had the difficult job of being the first rider on course with Mill Creek Raphael, a 13-year-old bay Hannoverian gelding. “This facility is new to a lot of the horses who have traveled out here from eastern Canada, so it provides a fair playing field as most of the horses are seeing this big, grass field for the first time.”

Close on Lamaze’s heels was seven-time Olympic veteran Ian Millar, 56, of Perth, ON. With his first entry, Promise Me, a nine-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Millar Brooke Farm Ltd., Millar posted a clear round in a time of 89.65 seconds while his second entry, Aftershock, an 11-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding by El Futuro owned by Matthews and Millar Brooke Farm Ltd., stopped the timers in 90.79 seconds for third position.

“We are off to a perfect start, I would love to be in a position where I can choose between my two horses,” commented Ian Millar, the defending Pan American Games champion. “Promise Me is a little light on experience and we want to get him out to as many facilities as possible while Aftershock is a little older, a little more experienced, so it is just a matter of making sure he is comfortable.”

Karen Cudmore, 44, originally from Victoria, BC, and now based in Omaha, Nebraska, rounded out the top five with Conejo, a 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion owned by her husband and trainer, Blair Cudmore. Despite having a knock-down at the fifth fence, Cudmore’s adjusted time of 92.76 seconds kept her well in the hunt for a berth on the Pan American Games Team.

Two Selection Trials are still to come on Friday, May 30, and Sunday, June 1. Friday will be a two-round $25,000 Grand Prix competition with both rounds to count while Sunday’s $50,000 World Cup Qualifier will act as the final trial with only the first round scored.

Following the completion of the Selection Trials, a five-member Selection Committee will name the top two riders in the point standings to the Canadian Team. The Selection Committee will then name a third rider at its discretion. In a unique move that gives the athletes a voice in the process, the Selection Committee and the three riders already chosen will then select a fourth rider from all declared Selection Trial participants. The Selection Committee will then independently select a fifth horse/rider combination.

All five selected riders will travel to the Pan American Games with the final four horse/rider combinations chosen to compete in the show jumping events, held August 12-17, on-site in Santo Domingo.

Pan American Games Selection Trial #1 – Final Results