Olympic Show Jumping Champion Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, riding Hickstead won the second of three legs of competition comprising the 2011 Rolex FEI World Cup Final on Friday, April 29, in Leipzig, Germany.

On Thursday’s opening day of competition, Lamaze and Hickstead had one rail down to place 17th overall amongst the 43 competitors vying for the annual World Cup title. With Friday’s victory, Lamaze moved up to fifth position overall with a total score of six penalties heading into Sunday’s two-round final. Christian Ahlmann and Marco Kutscher, both of Germany, are currently tied for the lead with a perfect score of zero. Gerco Schroder of The Netherlands lies third with one penalty while Katie McVean of New Zealand sits fourth with four penalties.

“For me, this is early in the season so I didn’t arrive already thinking I’ve got a shot of winning,” said Lamaze, who is currently ranked number two in the world. “I am confident that Hickstead is going to give me a really good effort on Sunday. I am happy with the result today, and we will see what Sunday brings. Anything can happen.”

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