Hickstead

Hickstead: a bay, dutch warmblood stallion, ridden by Canadian Eric Lamaze.   Sadly, Hickstead died suddenly in competition Sunday in Italy.   He and Eric finished their round, and the mighty Hickstead collapsed.  Veterinarians tried to revive him but sadly to no avail.  The other competitors asked to have the competition stopped.  They filed into the arena for a moment of silence in honor of a horse like no other.

I've had people ask me why I'm upset over the death of a horse.  A horse I never personally knew.

You see horse people are slightly neurotic.  Our horses are more than just horses.  They're our best friends.  Our partners.  They are often our one constant in an ever changing world.  Human friends come and go, but our equine friends are always there.  They're there when we laugh, they're there when we cry.  They see us through the good, the bad and everything in between.  They make the grey days seem brighter.  They know when you just need a hug, and they know when you just need a smile.  It doesn't matter how bad your day was, when your horse nickers at you when you enter the barn suddenly all your worries of the day dissolve.  In short, we love our horses truly and deeply.  And this isn't only true of our own personal horses.  We are fanatical about all horses:  yours and mine.  And those we will never actually ever lay eyes on.  We fall in love with them through our TV screens and computer screens.  We ride rounds with them from our couches.  We triumph when they triumph, and our hearts sink, when they don't.

Yes, the horse world is notoriously fickle.  Its catty and petty.  But, we look out for our own.  We are horse people.  We are an special breed.  When one of ours is down we rally to lift them back up.

Hickstead was, by grand prix standards, a small horse. To put it into some perspective he was the size of the horse I rode, and smaller than my coach's horse who I also rode.  It was said he would never make it to that level of competition.  I suppose you could say he was considered the underdog.  Well, he proved them wrong.  Then he kept proving them wrong.   He quickly proved his weight in gold.

He and Eric won individual gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and helped Team Canada win team silver at the same games.  This was the first individual gold won by a Canadian.   He took first place at the World Equestrian Games in 2010 and earned the title of Best Horse in the World.

Just this year he and Eric won the $1million CN International for the second time in their career.  He certainly deserved his title of Best Horse in the World.

He trusted Eric and Eric trusted him.  It was a horse-rider relationship many of us only dream of having.  Though he was a small animal Eric trusted him enough to simply allow him to attack his courses.  Eric knew he was riding a horse of greatness.  He was often seen at the end of rounds pointing down to his great horse as if to say "its all him".  

On the weekend the horse world lost a great athlete, and our collective hearts broke.   He was the best horse in the world, Eric the best rider.  Hickstead was an amazing horse.  With Eric in the tack the pair were unstoppable.  Untouchable.   The sport of showjumping will not be the same without the mighty Hickstead to grace the ring.

I cannot even begin to fathom the heartbreak Eric is feeling.  He lost his best friend and his partner. There is a video floating around, one I will not share, of Hicksteads final moments.  It is gut wrenching to watch.  I can't even begin to imagine how Eric must of felt standing there watching his beloved friend die in front of him. 

Final photo of him in action

Amazingly Eric went on to ride, just 2 days later, at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto on another horse.  Upon entering the ring the crowd was on their feet.  An ovation like no other I've heard.  It was truly moving.  Canada's heart broke that day at the loss of a great athlete.  This was their way of letting Eric know he will not be heart broken alone.

I don't expect many to understand.  And its Ok if you don't.  I don't really know what to liken this loss to to make it easier for you to understand.  All I can tell you is our sport lost an amazing athlete, and Canada's best rider lost his best friend, and for that we all grieve.

Stand Up for the Champions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPNwWwUnJ48&feature=fvst&noredirect=1

Rest peacefully, Hickstead.