To fans of show jumping, he is the legend known as Captain Canada. To those less familiar with the sport, Ontario’s Ian Millar is an athlete set to ride in his 10th Olympics, more games than any other athlete in history. In fact, it actually would have been his 11th appearance, if Canada had not boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow.
The previous record was held by Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschl, who was an Olympian nine times from 1964 to 1996.
To break the record was never the goal for the silver medal winning rider.
“It’s a great thrill to be doing this for the 10th time,” Millar said in an interview last month at Calgary’s Spruce Meadows. “I never had a grand plan.
“It was all about the journey because the destination is, at best, very uncertain as it is in life.”
The 65-year-old has a career that spans 40 years. Over the decades he’s competed with numerous mounts, including the legendary Big Ben.
This time around, he’ll be competing aboard Star Power, a 10-year-old Dutch-bred gelding.
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Millar and Star Power are one of 19 horse and rider combinations that will be competing in the three equestrian events at the games: show jumping, dressage, and eventing.
In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Millar was part of the silver medal winning Canadian team in the team show jumping event.
It was Canada’s first medal in the team competition in 40 years.
Riding alongside Millar in that competition was Eric Lamaze and his champion mount Hickstead. The world equestrian community was rocked last November when Hickstead died suddenly during a competition in Italy.
Hickstead’s death was a blow to Canada’s hopes at this year’s games.
It was like “having a nuclear weapon in your arsenal.” Canada’s team leader, Terrance “Torchy” Millar (no relation to Ian) said of Hickstead.
Ian Millar remains confident though.
“We always think we’re going to win and we’re really surprised when we don’t,” the veteran says. “I think any athlete feels that way. If you don’t think you’re going to win, you shouldn’t go.”
Originally from Halifax, Millar now runs Millar Brook Farm in Perth, Ont., with his son, Jonathon, and daughter, Amy, who are both accomplished international riders. Lynn Millar, Ian’s wife, passed away in 2008.
His first Olympic Games was in Munich, in 1972, but Olympic appearances are not the only highlights of Millar’s career. He is the most decorated show jumper in Canadian history.
He has earned nine medals in eight Pan American games, more than any other show jumper. He has represented Canada in show jumping in six world championships, and 14 world cup championships. He received the order of Canada in 1989, and in 1996, he and Big Ben were both inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Big Ben was the second horse to receive this honour.
Hopes for Canada’s equestrians are high at this year’s games. After the silver medal win in Beijing, the Own the Podium program upped funding for the three equine sports by $1.8 million over the last four years. But despite the increase in funding, there are still a lot of variables at play for competing horse and rider combinations.
“Equestrian, because of the horse element, is maybe a more random sport than some such as the 100-metre dash,” Terrance Millar said. “We have strong riders and some very good horses. A medal is a strong possibility.”
The team show jumping final is on Aug. 6, and the individual competition medals will be handed out on Aug. 8. Ian Millar and Star Power are in the running for both.
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