Carlene and Andy Ziegler’s Artisan Farms has acquired Fine Lady 5 for 2008 Canadian Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze.
The 11-year-old bay Hanoverian mare (Forsyth x Drosselklang II) had been ridden to great success by Holger Wulschner for the past two seasons. Under the German rider, Fine Lady 5 amassed an impressive performance record and, in 2014 alone, recorded wins in the grand prix of CSI3* Neumünster, Germany, CSI2* Oliva, Spain, and, most recently, the €75,000 Grand Prix of CSI4* Hagen, Germany, held April 27.
“She’s a small horse with tonnes of blood, very quick, very careful,” described Lamaze who learned of Fine Lady 5 through Germany’s Janne Friederike Meyer and Christoph Zimmermann. “It looks like a horse that is incredibly competitive and well-suited to me. There are so many shows now, and you need multiple horses across the board in order to stay competitive. I am grateful that Carlene and Andy Ziegler so very generously stepped up to the plate yet again to purchase the horse for me to add to my string.”
Fine Lady 5 will compete at the top level of the sport alongside Powerplay, Zigali P S and Quelmec du Gery, as well as several up-and-coming mounts that Lamaze is developing.
“We have a group of young horses coming up that, in the next year or two, will be able to do some big things,” explained Lamaze. “For this season, Fine Lady is the addition that I really needed to complete my string. She has been winning a lot under Holger, and is capable of doing the 1.60m classes. For us, it’s an incredibly fast and competitive horse, and that’s what we need to be able to compete at the highest level anywhere in the world.”
Also joining the Artisan Farms stable as a mount for Caitlin Ziegler is Tornado d’Armanville, a seven-year-old selle francais gelding (Lauxley de Breve x Baie de Villeclare). Following an incredible junior career, Caitlin Ziegler took a short hiatus from the sport to pursue her education and now returns as a full-time professional with the support of Artisan Farms. Purchased from Abdel Said and Swedish rider Jonna Ekberg, Tornado d’Armanville supplements Caitlin Ziegler’s current string of Eurocommerce Nevada, Christine, Touchdown, and Zuara.
The Artisan Farms team, which also includes Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster and Andy Ziegler, will continue to compete in Europe before heading to Calgary, Canada, for the Spruce Meadows summer tournaments in June and July.
Lamaze specifically will compete at CSI5* Madrid, Spain (May 2-4), CSI3* Le Touquet, France (May 8-11), and CSIO5* La Baule, France (May 15-18) before traveling to Calgary. Upon returning to Europe, Lamaze will turn his focus to the upcoming 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, which would mark his sixth consecutive WorldEquestrian Games appearance. Lamaze won the Individual Bronze medal at the last World Equestrian Games in 2010 with Hickstead.
Artisan Farms is based in Vrasene, Belgium, and Wellington, Florida. Committed to the continued improvement and promotion of competitive show jumping, Artisan Farms is the presenting sponsor of the Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Series, which has been held for the past four seasons at the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.
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