Eric Lamaze has been ordered to pay over $572,000 (£433,000) plus costs, in a case regarding horse sales dating back over 15 years.
In the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on 8 August, Justice E Chozik found in favour of the claimants as the claim was not defended.
The claimants, Iron Horse Farm Inc, say they do not expect to see a penny of the money the former Olympic showjumping champion owes them for two horses bought for Karina Frederiks, the company principal’s daughter.
“But this was never about money for us,” Karina told H&H. “It’s about right and wrong.”
Karina, who said that her situation “wasn’t unique”, bought horses from Eric when she was a junior rider. The case was Iron Horse’s seeking damages regarding breach of contract regarding the purchase of two showjumpers, Rominka and Peppercorn.
Her father Gregory Aziz said in his statement to the court that he had known Eric personally for years, and that he “relied on his expertise, experience and representations” when buying horses from him and his co-defendant, Eric’s Torrey Pines Stables.
The statement says Iron Horse bought a horse, Jumping Mouse, from the defendants for $100,000, who was unsuitable. To replace the horse, Iron Horse bought Rominka, returning Jumping Mouse and paying an extra $150,000. Mr Aziz said Eric told him Rominka could jump at 1.40m when she was “unable to successfully jump 1.30m”. He said Eric took the horse back but did not refund the money or provide another horse.
The statement says Eric sold Rominka to another buyer and that records show she went on to compete, at a “much lower level”.
The statement says that in 2007, Iron Horse bought Peppercorn for $265,000 from the defendants, an eight-year-old with a good record. Peppercorn went lame a month later and, the statement says, Iron Horse learned that his real real registered name was Romen, who “did not have a good European show record”.
In a statement submitted to court, a vet who examined Peppercorn said scars on the horse’s foreleg were “strongly suspicious for surgical neurectomy [de-nerving] scars”. The vet also noted that the horse had two microchips.
“In total, Iron Horse spent approximately $3m on horses purchased from the defendants,” Mr Aziz’s statement adds.
Last year, H&H reported that a judge had dismissed a request from Eric’s team to adjourn the Iron Horse case owing to Eric’s ill health, casting doubts on whether Eric had had brain cancer that had spread to his throat owing to a lack of reliable evidence for this.
Eric told H&H at the time he had had cancer; that it was then in remission but that he had been given two to three years to live.
Karina, who now trains in the Netherlands, said in her statement Eric told her Rominka had competed successfully at 1.50m level but that records she found showed she had only ever jumped at 1.10m.
“I was told I was a terrible rider because I couldn’t get her round; he was crushing the confidence of a young girl,” she told H&H.
Eric was the Equestrian Canada showjumping chef d’equipe for a year, until 2023. Karina said she reported Eric’s behaviour but was “blackballed”.
“We spent a lot of money with Eric and he could easily have made it right,” she said. “We’ve paid lawyers for 15 years and it was always more than we were going to win but I think it’s important there’s justice in all this coming out.”
Neither Eric nor Equestrian Canada responded to H&H’s requests for comment.
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