Canadian Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze won the $216,000 Ariat Grand Prix held Sunday, February 7, during the CSI4* Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) Week Four in Wellington, FL.

Riding Check Picobello Z, Lamaze claimed his second victory of the week. On Thursday, the pair topped the $35,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round IV, marking Lamaze’s third consecutive victory in the weekly event. That win qualified Lamaze to be among the 40 starters for Sunday’s feature, the $216,000 Ariat Grand Prix.

Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge, who will also handle course designing duties at the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, set a challenging track that produced five clear rounds. Coming back for the jump-off, Lamaze and Check Picobello Z turned in a time of 43.65 seconds to take the win over 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Nick Skelton of Great Britain who crossed the timers in 45.52 seconds riding Untouched. Marilyn Little, who most recently represented the United States Equestrian Team in eventing competition, rounded out the top three with a time of 46.20 seconds riding Corona 93.

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