At the 2017 CSI4*-W Royal Horse Show, François Lamontagne claimed the Moffat Dunlap Leading Canadian Rider Award, an honour resulting from his consistent top performances throughout the show’s international competition. The ground work that led to that award however was laid long before Lamontagne ever entered the ring for his international show jumping division debut in Toronto.

From Pony Lessons to Grand Prix

Rewinding back more than a quarter of a century, Lamontagne, a native of Quebec, was first introduced to horses at the age of seven. At the time, his mom sought out a lesson program in which to enroll both herself and Lamontagne, and they wound up at a riding school operated by Nicole Lapierre, the mother of fellow successful Canadian show jumping athlete, Isabelle Lapierre. There, Lamontagne progressed from his first pony lesson to his first grand prix. By the age 15, Lamontagne had won his first 1.40m grand prix and had realized that horses were his calling.

“At the beginning of high school, I was already saying that I was going to spend my life in the horse world,” said Lamontagne, now 34. “My parents are doctors, so they were like ‘okay, but please finish your high school first!’ I was just waiting to finish high school so I could leave from where I was.”

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