Work progresses on Hickstead park in King

July 15, 2014 · 0 Comments

Legendary jumper Hickstead is honoured with a statue at Spruce Meadows in Alberta. A park in King is named in his honour.

By Mark Pavilons
King’s Hickstead Memorial Park is getting some improvements, thanks to a decision by council recently.
The second phase of work at the park was approved, at a cost of $368,000. The contract was awarded to Latitude 67.
This phase will include a splash pad, basketball court, swings and a shade structure, as well as landscaping improvements.
These additions were part of the Parks, Recreation & Culture Master Plan, which recommends that splash pads and baskeball courts be considered in village improvement plans.
Of the cost, the bulk ($347,670) will come from the development charge reserve; another $7,630 from the parkland reserve fund and the remaining $31,000 will be tax supported.
The park is located on Summit Ridge Drive in Schomberg. Parks & Rec. are looking at some sort of signage or plaque in the future.
The park is honour of Hickstead, Canada’s most successful show jumping horse, owned by John Fleischhacker and ridden by Eric Lamaze.
Under Lamaze, Hickstead emerged as one of the greatest show jumping horses of all time, winning team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2007 Pan American Games; historic individual gold and team silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and individual bronze and the title of “Best Horse” at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
Hickstead’s last major victory came on Sept. 11, 2011, in front of 89,632 show jumping fans when he won the $1 million CN International at the Spruce Meadows “Masters” Tournament in Calgary, Alberta, for the second time in his career. It marked Hickstead’s fifth consecutive appearance in $1 million CN International, having always finished in the top five.
At the time of his death on Nov. 6, 2011, Hickstead had earned more than $3.7 million in prize money, and had claimed several major grand prix titles including Calgary (2007 and 2011), Geneva (2008), Aachen (2010), La Baule (2011), and Rome (2011).