Eric Lamaze Extends Canada’s Winning Streak with $20,000 1.50m Classic Victory at Winter Equestrian Festival

Wellington, FL – February 11, 2006 – On a beautifully sunny but windy South Florida Saturday, the folks from north of the border continued to pile on the victories at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington. The festival, in its thirty-fourth year, is the nation’s largest and longest running series of equestrian events. In that long history of WEF, no one can remember a better start for the riders and horses from Team Canada than what they’ve had to begin the 2006 campaign in Florida.

Although they have yet to lead the victory gallop in one of Sunday’s main events, Canadian riders have now won the $25,000 WEF Challenge Series and the $20,000 1.50m Classic for two weeks in a row. Today, Eric Lamaze was perfect over two rounds to take the Friday feature.

The $20,000 1.50m Classic was scored under USEF Table II, Sec 2 (a), Time First Jump-Off. This week’s Internationale Arena Course Designer is Robert J. Ellis of Great Britain. Forty-seven starters went to the post in today’s afternoon feature.

Canada’s Frankie Chesler Ortiz, on the Sher Al Stable’s Ranville, rode out of the second spot in the order, put up the first clear round of the afternoon, and made it look easy. Looks are sometimes deceiving as twenty-two horse and rider combinations followed before the second clear round of the day was added to the leader board. It was then that Cara Raether and Pedro, owned by the Trelawny Farms, toured the Ellis course without penalty to qualify for round two. Immediately following Raether, 16 year-old Addison Phillps and her Trezebees tossed their hat into the ring for the jump-off.

Another nine went by before Kim Prince and Alice Lawaetz’s Cinnamon became the fourth duo to master the first round track.

With two major WEF wins this season, Leslie Howard, one of the few riders who has been able to slow down the Canadian express, followed Prince’s clear round with a clear ride of her own. She was up on Jeans Glove de Varnel owned by the Blenheim Farms.

Another six went by before another youngster, 17 year old Brianne Goutal, qualified Onira for the speed phase. Then two veterans, Eric Lamaze of Canada on Ramiville, owned by Stacey Krembil, and Laura Kraut on Panic, owned by the Panic Partnership, rounded out the eight horse field for the encounter against the clock.

To start out the timed tiebreaker over the short course, Chesler Ortiz had a refusal and a time fault to finish with five faults in a time of 54.214 seconds. Then, two rounds of eight faults for Raether and for Phillips left Chesler Ortiz on top with five to go.

Kim Prince took over the lead with a single knockdown on Cinnamon, cruising home in 40.852 seconds. Before Prince could catch her breath, she lost her lead to the speedy Howard, who had a rail down at the final fence but trimmed 3.9 seconds off of her time, crossing the finish line in 36.878 seconds. Goutal followed, and she too had the final fence down. With her time of 37.553 seconds, she moved ahead of Prince but trailed Howard for the top spot.

Lamaze and Ramiville produced the first and only clear ride in the jump-off, tripping the timers in a very careful time of 42.479 seconds, leaving the door open for Kraut. Kraut however could not take advantage, knocking down the first fence and sealing the deal for Lamaze.

“He’s not a horse that has a lot of experience going fast,” explained a smiling Lamaze following his win. “So at that point, with nobody clear in the jump-off, it was great for me to walk in with a horse like him that’s careful. I gambled on leaving the rails up and was going to be very happy to settle for second place, but you never know what’s going to happen. Then Laura had some bad luck at the first fence,” he said. “I’m happy. The jump-off played out just right for me and for that horse.”

“It was a difficult course,” he went on to say. “The triple bar to the vertical combination rode very difficult with a short four strides after that. It was a very technical course. He’s (Robert Ellis) done a very good job.”

Lamaze spoke of his young star Ramiville. “He’s a great stallion that we purchased as a six year old. He’s a little bit difficult in the mouth, and I still have a lot of work to do with him on the flat,” Lamaze admitted. “He’s so careful over the jumps that it’s important for him to ride well between the fences. We’ve been working with him on that since we got him. We don’t run him that often in a jump-off situation just for that reason. But he’s got good scope, and he’s careful. I think he’s a horse of the future for me,” he said.

Ramiville is part of a barn full of nice young horses according to Lamaze. “These are wonderful young horses that we’ve brought along. I’ve got a bunch of just really excellent up and coming young horses in my barn right now. It’s really exciting for now and the coming years.”

And what about the Canadian winning streak? “I love it! You gotta love it. It’s great to have the Canadians winning,” said Lamaze with a grin. “We’re here with a very strong team of horses and riders, and we’re competing. It’s great. We hope to just keep this streak going and going for Team Canada.”

Results of Class 1001 $20,000 1.50M Classic Table II Sec 2(a)-Internationale Arena- KILKENNY/ICH INTERNATIONALE CSI 3*-2/11/06

• 1 1801 ERIC LAMAZE RAMIVILLE 0.00 73.722 0.00 42.479 $6000 STACEY KREMBIL
• 2 2389 LESLIE HOWARD JEANS GLOVE DE VARNEL 0.00 68.080 4.00 36.878 $4000 BLENHEIM FARMS
• 3 412 BRIANNE GOUTAL ONIRA 0.00 69.062 4.00 37.553 $2000 CLOVERLEAF FARM
• 4 3076 KIMBERLY PRINCE CINNAMON 0.00 71.665 4.00 40.852 $1400 ALICE LAWAETZ
• 5 1513 LAURA KRAUT PANIC 0.00 67.276 4.00 42.288 $1200 PANIC PARTNERSHIP
• 6 3170 FRANKIE CHESLER ORTI RANVILLE 0.00 69.162 5.00 54.214 $1000 SHER AL FARM
• 7 1437 ADDISON PHILLIPS TREZEBEES 0.00 66.192 8.00 37.182 $1000 ADDISON PHILLIPS
• 8 12 CARA RAETHER PEDRO 0.00 71.370 8.00 39.542 $800 TRELAWNY FARM
• 9 416 BRIANNE GOUTAL CASAR 4.00 65.935 $800 CLOVERLEAF FARM
• 10 2814 NICOLE SIMPSON EL CAMPEON'S TOSCA 4.00 67.300 $600 EL CAMPEON FARMS
• 11 725 KATE LEVY MADEMOISELLE 4.00 67.346 $600 KATE LEVY LLC
• 12 1199 ERIC FLAMENG TOMBOY MAJOR 4.00 68.279 $600 MARC SABBAH

PHOTO CREDIT: Ramiville and Eric Lamaze win $20,000 1.50m Classic at WEF. Photo by Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com