THE WARM-UP RING The Official News of the Jumping Committee May 2020, Volume 16, Issue 5 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR IN THIS ISSUE 2020. Will we even be able to compete at The Royal this year? How will we qualify? These are all questions that cannot be answered at this time. Eric Lamaze and Hickstead to be Michelle C. Dunn If shows do take place this year, strict protocols Inducted into Canada’s Sports will dictate how we will be able to compete Hall of Fame while still maintaining physical distancing. There will likely be parking restrictions for exhibitors, Young Guns! spectators may not be allowed at the venues, Profiling Stephanie Valdes and stabling will have to allow for spacing between horses and competitors for the safety A Look Back at the Inaugural Jump of all. Canada Hall of Fame Inductees Additionally, there will be sanitary stations and disinfecting, lots of signage to explain what Jump Canada Hall of Fame Gala can and cannot be done, and little offered in the way of amenities. Imagine your horse show Cancelled for 2020 These are indeed strange times all over the experience with no food facilities, no mobile tack world. We have felt the global impact of the shop units, and no bathrooms! Passionate Equestrians Sought to COVID-19 virus, and our competition sport We all love to go to horse shows. It’s the place continues to be at a standstill. At the time of Join the Jumping Committee where we test ourselves and our horses against writing this letter, some areas of the United others, and it’s where we socialize and hang out States are planning to start showing again on Stay Up to Date on COVID-19 with our riding friends. There’s nothing better June 1; in Canada we are still on hold for the than sitting at the in-gate chatting with friends, foreseeable future. I am based in Quebec, the Remembering Kitty Bowland watching others ride, and soaking in the great hardest-hit province in Canada, and we are atmosphere of the show in general. For this year, probably still a lengthy time away from being able Equestrian Canada Extends these moments that make our experience so to compete again. Competition Suspension to June 30 enjoyable will be things of the past. This hiatus from showing has a tremendous No one knows what the future holds for ripple effect. High performance athletes from Equestrian Canada Releases equestrians at this point. We do know that our all over the world are restricted to their own new normal won’t be the same as what it was Return to Competition Guidelines countries and not able to travel. This has before the virus. I hope everyone will be patient resulted in many top international competitions and wait for our world to open back up the way Rules Corner being cancelled for 2020 including the Tokyo we want it to. I also hope you will be able to enjoy Olympics and our own Spruce Meadows your horses at the barn, and perhaps take time Meet Your Jumping Committee ‘Masters’ competition in September. The ability to reflect on why you love horses and riding so Members to earn points for various programs has changed much. dramatically, including for those seeking points North American Youth for the Longines World Rider Rankings. Most Be safe this spring, and cross your fingers that international riders and horses are staying home, the good news about life slowly returning to Championships Cancelled staying in shape, and waiting to see what the “normal” continues. future will bring. Global Champions Tour Nationally, many of our larger venues are still Cancelled for 2020 unsure when, if at all, they will be able to open for shows in 2020. Some, such as Thunderbird Equestrian Canada is on the Move! Show Park in Langley, BC, plan to host shows in Pamela Law the near future while other large venues such as Chair, Longines World Rider Rankings the Caledon Equestrian Park in Ontario are still EC Jumping Committee on hold for now. Acknowledgments The impact of COVID-19 on our competition venues is immense. Staff has been laid off, revenues for the season are seriously impacted, and the future remains uncertain. The Jump Canada Hall of Fame has been cancelled for MAY 2020 THE WARM-UP RING 1 ERIC LAMAZE AND HICKSTEAD TO BE INDUCTED INTO CANADA’S SPORTS HALL OF FAME 2008 Beijing Olympic show jumping champions Eric Lamaze and ClixPhoto.com Hickstead will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020/21. Together, Lamaze and Hickstead wrote show jumping history. Their crowning achievement was claiming the individual gold and team silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lamaze and Hickstead also earned an individual bronze medal at the 2010 World Championships where Hickstead was awarded the title of “Best Horse.” They won team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2007 Pan American Games as well as several major grand prix show jumping titles including Calgary (2007 and 2011); Geneva (2008); Aachen (2010); La Baule (2011); and Rome (2011). “It is an honour for myself and Hickstead to be recognized for our achievements by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame,” said Lamaze, 52. “I’m especially happy for Hickstead. In our sport, it takes two athletes, one human and one equine, working together and in Hickstead I found a true partner. It’s wonderful that his accomplishments are being recognized for the great athletic feats that they were. “Together, we were proud to represent Canada on the world stage,” continued Lamaze. “My sincerest thanks to all who supported this nomination and made it possible. I gratefully accept this honour on behalf of all of our supporters, our fans, and our great nation.” In addition to being inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Lamaze will receive the Order of Sport, Canada’s highest sporting honour. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, traditionally held each October in Toronto, ON, will not take place in 2020. Rather, it will be deferred for one year, making Lamaze and Hickstead part of the class of 2008 Beijing Olympic show jumping champions Eric Lamaze and 2020/21. Hickstead will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Lamaze and Hickstead will be the second horse-rider combination ever inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, following Ian Millar and Big Ben’s induction in 1996. Hickstead (Hamlet – Jomara x Ekstein) was bred in The Netherlands by Jan van Schijndel and born on March 2, 1996. Lamaze purchased the Dutch Warmblood stallion in 2004 through Stephex Stables in Belgium and owned him in partnership with John Fleischhacker’s Ashland Stables of the United States. Prior to his tragic death during competition in Italy in 2011, Hickstead earned more than $3 million in prize money during his career with Lamaze and was widely considered to be the best show jumping horse of his era. Having competed at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio Olympics, Lamaze is now focused on representing Canada at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He owns and operates Torrey Pines Stable, a large show jumping training and sales business with bases in Wellington, Florida, and Brussels, Belgium, where he trains many students from various nationalities at the elite level. MAY 2020 THE WARM-UP RING 2 Sportfot Stephanie Valdes competing at Spruce Meadows aboard Balermo, a horse that she describes as “the goofiest horse I’ve ever met in my entire life.” YOUNG GUNS! PROFILING STEPHANIE VALDES By Emily Randolph For Stephanie Valdes’ 12th birthday, the British Columbia native requested a horseback riding party. Weeks earlier, she had attended one hosted by a friend and, after getting her first taste of horses, Valdes wanted more. Her parents obliged, and in the 15 years since then, a birthday has not passed for Valdes without horses playing a role in some aspect. As she celebrates her 27th birthday on June 2, she may not have a horseback riding party, but she will continue to savour the gift of horses – a gift that has shaped her life and provided her with abundant opportunities and enjoyment. From British Columbia to Barcelona Following her 12th birthday party came a month of riding lessons, Courtesy of Tiffany Foster purchased from the horse party facilitator. Before long, a month of lessons had turned into years, and Valdes was soon riding at Southlands Riding Club in Vancouver, BC. At 15, Valdes began riding with Brent Balisky and his wife, Canadian Olympian Laura Tidball-Balisky, of Thunderbird Show Stables in Langley, BC. “At first, Brent and Laura came to Southlands and taught a bit there,” said Valdes, who progressed from the three-foot hunters to the 1.30m jumpers under their tutelage. “Then we moved the horses out there to Langley. Once I finished high school, we moved to Langley to be closer to their barn and I started riding full- time. It was really awesome! It was such a fun group, and we did the horse shows at Thunderbird all summer, which was so much fun.” In 2017, Valdes and her family decided it was time to take the next step to international competition. The Baliskys suggested their former student and fellow British Columbia native, Tiffany Foster, as a trainer. Tiffany Foster (left) welcomed Stephanie Valdes as Little Creek Equestrian’s first client. MAY 2020 THE WARM-UP RING 3 “It’s really cool that Tiffany is from the same One Shot area and started out with some of the same trainers,” said Valdes of the two-time Canadian Olympian.