Canadian equestrians jump their way to Rio berth,
Canadian Eric Lamaze fist-pumped emphatically as he and his young stallion Coco Bongo finished their second run of the team show-jumping competition in Caledon on Thursday afternoon, smiling so bright it could be seen all the way at the back of the crowd.
Canada was in the driver’s seat for the first time all day and on its way to securing the gold medal and one of two berths at next summer’s Olympics in Brazil.
“I was really happy for Canada, but I was happy for my horse as well,” Lamaze said of his celebration. “I knew we had a chance at winning this and for sure a good chance at qualifying for Rio.”
Argentina, which earned the silver during the competition at OLG Cale-
“I was really happy for Canada, but I was happy for my horse as well.” ERIC LAMAZE EQUESTRIAN RIDER
don Equestrian Park, will also make the trip to Brazil next August. The Americans won bronze, but had already qualified for the upcoming Summer Games.
Jumping, a mixed event, began Tuesday with an opening speed phase, which acted as both an individual and team qualifier.
Thursday’s two-round competition, where all 10 teams started with zero points, saw team jumping come to an end.
In a mediocre morning round, Canada’s Yann Candele and veteran Ian Millar jumped cleanly but both incurred time penalties.
Lamaze was faulted for knocking over a rail on the course’s next-to-last jump and Tiffany Foster’s horse Tripple X III refused to jump a four-rail obstacle shaped like hockey sticks.
The performance left Canada tied for third with Brazil heading into the last round.
Behind Colombia and Argentina, the Canadians needed to leap at least one of the two South American countries if they wanted a spot at the Olympics. To do so, they needed a minimum of three clean rides in the second round and mistakes from their opponents.
Lamaze and Foster both had clean runs within the 83-second time limit, while Candele was again penalized for going over the clock after clearing all the jumps. Only Millar fell short of his first score, receiving a penalty when his gelding Dixson nicked a rail early in the run.
Lamaze admitted the team was “a little bit in trouble” after the first round but by the time he was done his lap, the Quebecer felt secure with only Millar left to ride.
“I thought we we’re going to make Ian’s life a little easier for sure.”
His teammates shook their heads at the thought.
“Which we normally don’t do,” Foster quipped, with a laugh.
Thursday’s rounds counted as the second and third individual qualifiers for the individual jumping competition, which ends Saturday.
The top 35 ranked riders, including ties, move on to the medal round on the weekend, where they will all start with a score of zero.