National Post Sports

Gold medal horse Hickstead dead
Hickstead, the “superstar” stallion that carried Canadian equestrian champion Eric Lamaze to Olympic gold-medal glory in Beijing in 2008, died suddenly during a competition in Italy on Sunday, tragically ending a partnership that helped push the country to the top of the sport of show jumping.

Montreal-born Lamaze, the world’s current No. 1 rider, had just taken Hickstead through a nearly faultless 13-fence course at the Rolex FEI World Cup in Verona, Italy, when the 15-year-old horse abruptly collapsed and died.

“We finished our round, I circled and was leaving the ring, and he collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack,” Lamaze said in a news release. “It is the most tragic thing that has ever happened. We had him until he was 15, and we had a great time together. He was the best horse in the world. We are all devastated.” (Photo: BRUNO DE LORENZO/AFP/Getty Images)