Canadian Olympic champion Eric Lamaze, 51, the most successful show jumping competitor in Canadian history, gave an emotional interview in French to RMC Sport where he spoke about the brain tumour he has been battling for the last year and a half.

“It took me a very long time to be able to discuss it with the people around me,” Lamaze told RMC Sport. “The last thing I wanted was to scare them; I did not know how to tell them. I withdrew a little socially from a lot of people already. I was going to bed very early. I was trying to keep riding, I had decided to continue riding until the day when I couldn’t anymore. My head was alright but my body was saying no. Then I decided to leave (the USA) because I thought it was the end.”

Lamaze plans to keep riding as long as his body allows. After taking almost six months off from the ring he returned to competition in March this year at the Winter Equestrian Festival, Global Champions Tour in Miami and the Royal Windsor Horse Show in England, where he placed third in the Pearl Stakes with Chacco Kid. He most recently rode Firkov Du Rouet, Coco Bongo and Chacco Kid this past weekend in La Baule, placing second with the latter in a 1.50m class and riding on the 8th-place Canadian Team in the Nations Cup – a testament to his courage, strength and tenacity.

The video interview (in French) can be viewed here: