Hickstead, the 2008 Olympic gold medal stallion ridden by Eric Lamaze of Canada, died suddenly at the World Cup event at Verona on Sunday.

Hickstead (Hamlet x Ekstein), a 15-year-old KWPN stallion, and Eric, the No. 1 ranked rider in the world, had just completed their round when the horse collapsed in the arena. A veterinarian declared Hickstead dead. Cause of death was not immediately known. The competition was stopped at the request of the riders, and Lamaze’s fellow-competitors gathered in the Verona arena to pay their respects with a minute’s silcence for one of the greatest horses of all time.

Hickstead was owned by Eric’s Torrey Pines and Ashland Stables Inc.

• In 2008, Hickstead and Eric won individual gold and team silver for Canada at the Beijing Olympics
• After completing four clear rounds in the Final Four at the the 2010 World Equestrian Games Hickstead was named Best Horse of Jumping.
• In 2011 Eric Lamaze and Hickstead won the $1 million CN International for the second time in their career at Canada’s Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament in Calgary.