Show jumping’s most famous partnership will continue on in perpetuity thanks in part to a unique collaboration based out of a foothills ranch.
Reigning Olympic show jumping champion Eric Lamaze lost his longtime riding partner Hickstead when the Dutch Warmblood stallion tragically passed away after finishing a round of competition in Verona, Italy in November.
However, the organization and collaboration of Rocky Mountain Show Jumping owner John Anderson, Philip Rozon and equine artist Kim Penner have ensured the world’s most famous horse will continue to benefit the show jumping community.
Penner’s painting “Hickstead’s Moment In Time” captures the horse’s most memorable achievement — the gold medal performance at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
“What we came up with was a really neat idea with this great piece of work that Kim has done,” Anderson said. “It’s important for the world to know that he was a true champion and I think Kim did a really good job of capturing that moment.”
A limited number of prints of the original painting were reproduced with Lamaze signing the first 50. Only 500 are available for sale at $2,500 with proceeds benefitting two charities, Just World International and First Leg Up. There are 50 artist proofs available at $3,500.
Rocky Mountain Show Jumping will be launching the First Leg Up program in 2013 with a dual mandate of giving children from lower socio-economic status the opportunity to ride as well as to facilitate opportunities for up and coming athletes in equestrian.
“Show jumping is a special sport,” Anderson said. “I’ve had the opportunity to ride on a team with Eric and it was very special to me.”
Given his experiences in the sport, Anderson said he was looking for an opportunity to give back to the show jumping community.
“There’s a lot of kids that love to ride, who have followed Eric’s story for many years and there’s a lot of people that would love to do it, but might not necessarily be able to afford to do it,” he said. “Funds like this are going to help make some kids have a smile on their face.”
Lamaze is an ambassador for Just World International, a charity that works with local organizations in developing nations to assist in providing basic education, health, nutrition and vocational programs.
Lamaze got his first look at the artwork at its unveiling at the Anderson Ranch northwest of Okotoks on June 12.
“Hickstead has for sure changed many people’s lives, he’s changed mine, he’s changed the sport for Canada on many levels,” Lamaze said. “It’s great to think of him, as I look at this beautiful painting by Kim, that he’s going to continue to change peoples lives.”
Hickstead and Lamaze captured the imagination of show jumping enthusiasts around the globe, highlighted by their gold medal in the individual jumping and silver medal in team jumping at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
“For me it means the world,” Lamaze added. “I think the legacy will live on with so many kids getting so much benefit out of this wonderful horse.”
The scope of the project is global, but its production was largely based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The print reproduction into fine art digital prints, was completed by foothills resident Tom Shacklady’s Custom Editions firm while the framing was done by Okotoks area resident Bill Axley. Penner, an award winning equine artist, is based out of Lacombe.
Anderson said it was essential to have the work conducted by local artists and businesses.
“The people of Alberta are innovative, the people even in our local community are innovative,” Anderson said. “So by having everybody participate in a project like this from a local area makes it that much more special. It’s us doing something special for everybody else.”
Shacklady said it’s a painstaking process to get each print to replicate the original.
“We get a scan of the original and put it in Photoshop and we start taking it piece by piece, blow it up to just about pixel size and start matching colours,” he said. “We keep printing them out, printing them out until we get them right. The nice thing about them is they’re archival and are supposed to hold the colour for 130 years.”
The prints will be produced until 500 works are sold at which point the edition will be closed. Shacklady said he expects the sale to be a short process.
“I understand they have orders all around the world for this right now,” he said.
Axley and his custom framing company Cimarron Sales has a long standing working relationship with Penner.
“The opportunity came up to work on this project and it’s obviously an honour for us to be involved with the great support of the organizations that are going to benefit from it,” Axley said. “It certainly is nice to get the prestige.”
To purchase the work contact Rocky Mountain Show Jumping at [email protected] or phone 403-786-8691.
