Canadian show jumper Eric Lamaze has intimated that he may retire his Rio 2016 bronze medal-winner Fine Lady 5.

Lamaze was speaking after the pairing won yesterday’s Friends Of The Meadows Grand Prix at the conclusion of the ‘Continental’ meeting at Spruce Meadows.

“She’s 16 this year, and she’s been an incredible horse for me,” he said. “It’s hard to think retirement when you see her jumping like this, but I want to leave with her winning and feeling great about the sport. She deserves it.”

Lamaze’s win yesterday was his second successive Grand Prix victory at the Canadian venue, having won the RBC Grand Prix with Chacco Kid a week earlier.

With Fine Lady 5 he had placed second to American Kent Farrington and Creedance in last Friday’s Scotiabank Cup, and the pairing had a victory the previous week in the PwC Cup.

The Canadian rider, who won Olympic gold with Hickstead in Beijing in 2008, recently spoke about his own uncertain future in the sport having been diagnosed with a brain tumour. “I want to keep riding and I will keep fighting every day to do this,” he said.

Mike Dunne

(For more on Eric Lamaze’s thoughts on his future in the sport see HERE)