At 61, in his 9th Olympics, posting a clear round and Canada is into the jump-off with the US for gold in team show jumping. Woohoo!
update: USA – Gold, Canada – Silver, Norway – Bronze
Well done, “Captain Canada”.
At 61, in his 9th Olympics, posting a clear round and Canada is into the jump-off with the US for gold in team show jumping. Woohoo!
update: USA – Gold, Canada – Silver, Norway – Bronze
Well done, “Captain Canada”.
Just beautiful!Watched some of this yesterday,and it was a thing of beauty.
All the best Ian.
..and at 61 eh? I am inspired.
🙂
Still remember your achievements and heart break with Big Ben…an amazing horse.
CTV – “It was Millar’s first medal in nine Olympic appearances.”
Wow! He’s been around so long I thought he must’ve had one already. It must feel really sweet for him to finally get one after so many attempts.
A truly bittersweet medal for Ian Millar. His wife passed away last March. I usually don’t watch those puff piece profiles, but the CBC had a nice one Sunday on Millar, and the emotion he expressed for his wife was heartbreaking.
Thanks ldd!! I was just about to ask the name of the horse from years back.
And well done to Ian Miller!
Even if I do have a less than stellar opinion of the Olympics 😉
While you have to give him his due this time I can’t figure out how he keeps going to the Olympics year after year with no results. He has done little since Big Ben. We have other young top notch riders in Canada who should be given the chance. If he won a metal every year then he deserves to go again.
Equestrian Canada is a perfect example of a “good ole boys club”.
Wonder if Lamaze (and his horse) will pass the drug test this time?
Horny Toad
Silver – woo hoo!
Kate, that should be Ian Millar with an ‘a’.
Looks to me like the horse did most of the work.
So, like what’s in it for the horse?
I don’t know about Ian’s horse, but Lamaze’s is a stallion….
thanks for the heads up on the spelling error – will correct.
So who is the oldest competitor in these Olympics? Who is the oldest to win a medal so far ? What’s the record for most Olympics competed in? Does the horse get a medal? How does it get on the medal platform? (A: it jumps, dummy)
Inquiring minds want to know.
61. That’s pretty old for a horse, isn’t it? Or is it 61 in the horse equivalent of ‘dog years’? What? He’s 61, not the horse. Never mind.
Glad to see a piece on Ian — he truly is a class act; as for the “good ole boys club”: yes, equestrian is one of the few disciplines where you can be old and still on top of the game. There is a lot of physical element to it (riding those horses and making it look “like the horse did it all” isn’t as easy as it seems; some of those horsemen are not far off Ian’s age and are in damned good shape), but there’s a lot of mental/emotional elements as well (you can’t be a physically gifted dips#$%t and go very far; you have to have a lot of emotional “gameness” or toughness for the sport or you won’t go very far). As for why they don’t give the young uns more shots to be on the team — well, you either earn it or you don’t, and there has been a lot of talk in the horse world about how the general lack of discipline/toughness in society in general has spilled over into quite a few of our young riders (both here and in Canada). Seems a lot of the younger riders have a sense of entitlement that the older generation doesn’t have; the work ethic is lacking is the criticism (equestrian is all about paying your dues, or was).
As for why he hasn’t medalled in any Olympics so far — mostly just bad luck and the timing being off (happens a lot with the horse world). You may be at the top of your game, so can your horse, but if either one of you is having a bad day/week/month/year that blows it. Ian and Ben were two of the greats; they just had bad luck with the Olympics. As for why it’s taken this long for his return — one, he’s had a lot of personal things (I think at one point he was seriously considering getting out of competition after Ben) plus he had to wait for another horse with the talent, mind, soundness that he could click in a good partnership with (some riders wait for years to find that horse, and for some they wait in vain their entire lives).
As for what do the horses get? Well, those horses lead a pretty nice life for the most part — certainly beats the life of their cousins at the local livery stable, or getting turned into steaks for the French.
So hats off to Ian for his accomplishment — and for being an “old guy” who still rocks!
Still happy to see USA took the gold, but also happy to see Canada up on the podium too (to qoute my daughter: I’m liking to see North America beat Europe no matter what).
Sorry for the mispellings — rather excited by this (we’re an [patriotic] equestrian family).
Great comment Jane – another aspect of show jumping that can’t be dismissed is that the “good old boys” are the ones who have earned the great horses. You can give the youngsters all the “shots” you like, but they need a horse under them, and that means moneyed sponsors.
“Well, those horses lead a pretty nice life for the most part”
A few years ago I was driving through the horse country north of Toronto where I think one of the horses hails from. I thought, wow, nice neighbourhood, even the barns looked plush. And that’s not even mentioning life as a stud.
Congratulations to our Canadian riders.
“We have other young top notch riders in Canada who should be given the chance”
Is that you, Mr Thibault?
The Equestrian team won the ONLY gold medal for Canada in the Olympics held in Mexico City – I forget the year – all the ‘dignitaries’ and media from Canada had already left, in a sulk, so the medal winners had put the ‘show’ up for themselves. It was a better ceremony without the ‘officials’.
Congratulations Mr. Miller and horse. The horse eats and sleeps on Mr. Miller’s dime; in return the horse jumps and does what he is told in the ring. I give the credit to Mr. Miller for that reason.
“We have other young top notch riders in Canada who should be given the chance”
Is that you, Mr Thibault?
Nope, not me.
But I do have a daughter who is a professional rider and coach (with NO Olympic aspirations, I might add)and a wife who is as involved in show jumping as you can get. There is no doubt you need a top notch rider AND horse. I don’t think you can say one is more important than the other. And it cost a LOT of money. I don’t think the horse Millar has is his own. It is not uncommon for good riders to ride other peoples horses ( people, incidently, who have a LOT of money)
But I still stand by my comment that there are other riders, with just as good horses, who are every bit as capable as Millar and, although he has done us all proud THIS time I question how he is even on the team given his dismal record over the last 8 Olympics.
As for this comment “As for why he hasn’t medalled in any Olympics so far — mostly just bad luck and the timing being off” , I’m sure that EVERY athlete who hasn’t medaled coud say the same thing.
Horny toad
I love watching Ian Millar on his horse, any horse. He IS a class act; he’s focused, he’s accomplished, and he’s dignified, and I don’t think he entered the Olympic Stadium with a cell phone glued to his ear.
That’s unfocused and undignified. So, the “old guy” shows the young pups how it’s done…
” So, the “old guy” shows the young pups how it’s done…:
Yup, and just think ,its only taken him 9 Olympics-36 years to get a silver medal. Wonder how much that has cost Canadian taxpayers?
On the other hand Jill Henselwood has won the same silver medal in her FIRST Olympics.
Maybe the headline should read AFTER 8 UNSUCESSFUL TRIES MILLAR FINALLY GETS A MEDAL.
Horny Toad
Wow. Kate puts up a congratulatory post to celebrate a lovely moment for a distinguished sportsman, and Horny Toad can do is snipe: putting the “ass” back in “classy.”
My congratulations to both horses and riders on the equestrian team. Here’s one Canadian who’s proud of them.
Well, at least with show jumping there is some action… of sorts. Call me a redneck cowboy but I’d prefer to see a horse that can help you rope a calf, cut cattle or even one that can get you off there back in under 8 seconds to ones that prance around a ring showing how they can trot forward and backward in dressage.
Having said all that, congratulations to Mr Millar, his horse and the whole team for excelling in his field.
I’m not a huge fan of the equestrian stuff, but I’m glad Canada got another medal. As for why he hadn’t got one before if he’s so good (and he is), it’s not unlike why Phil Ivey or Gus Hansen haven’t won the main event at the WSOP.
YAAAWWWNN. Next thing you know, someone will postulate that showing filthy canines is a worthwhile endeavor.
Quote: YAAAWWWNN. Next thing you know, someone will postulate that showing filthy canines is a worthwhile endeavor.
Posted by: manny
Still upset that your “Puppy Mill Dogs” aren’t allowed at Westminister?
Wow just wow, awsome job or what.
Do they ever get horse pies on the course during competition? just asking/
horny toad
give a rest will ya
the fact that at 61 Ian can still compete AND win a metal is extra ordinary, he didn’t compete against a group selected by himself> He competed against other (younger) very talented people
Henselwood might be medaling in her first Olympics, but she’s there because the other two didn’t fall apart on the first round.
Equestrian events are discriminatory. What about show camel events?
Actually, this reminds me somewhat of dog showing (never mind the comment about filthy canines). Some of the biggest winning dogs have been shown by very old men. Experience counts.
Texas Canuck: funny you should bring that up — one of my daughters is into working ranch horses; her horse can work cattle, and also do some decent dressage and jumping. My other daughter has a jumper, who does dressage as well — she often goes out and does some cattle gathering with him. Granted, we don’t own expensive, international calibre horses. But neither choice of riding style has to be mutually inclusive, at least not at our level.
As for showing “useless mutts and nags” (we have dogs as well, working herder and hunting dogs) — it’s a great way to teach your kids all about responsiblity, work ethic, and how to confront fear and ego (you can’t be a pansy and work with dogs or horses, neither can you be a self-absorbed ego maniac, nor a slovenly bum who won’t work — not and be any decent at it; the animals prove you out every time). My kids aren’t fat (like the ones in the post concerning those poor, chubby Brits) — hard to be so when you’re cleaning stalls and kennels, putting up hay, and hoisting feed sacks — nor do they get into much mischief either — hard to do that when you have to wake up before 5 a.m. to go tend to the dogs and horses before school, and then come home after school/sports practice to do the same, and in all manner of weather as well. Plus it teaches them to be aware of what they’re doing and to think — you can mess up a lot of training and hard work with one ill considered action or bit of lazy corner-cutting.
Positively good for a child (a lot better than hanging out at the mall or playing videos); I highly recommend it for everyone, but I’m biased I’ll admit.
I have been following Ian Millar for over 30 years. Sitting on the grass at Spruce Meadows with 80 others (now they draw up to 30,000) revelling in the strength, grace, and joy in show jumping.
Big Ben’s tragic death was probably hard to recover from and ‘unknown jane’ has it exactly right. For the vast majority it takes time to find (or raise/buy and train)a horse to compete at international levels. Big Ben and Ian won many, many int’l competitions. Like ALOT of Canadians, they succeed on the world stage and can’t repeat at Olympics.
I am ecstatic to see Ian with a horse he obviously has meshed with. It is also good to see Eric Lamaze finally figure out that huge ego and buy into ‘team’. He’s been one of those young riders who never quite lived up to expectations.
Horny Toad, the last time I checked Ian still had to qualify. Should we just let the younger riders go even though they don’t qualify just because Ian is 61? All of us who financially support athletes feel a pinch in the pocket, but nobody is forcing you.
Congrats to Ian, Jill, Mac and Eric.
Captain Canada indeed!
I grew up with Ian and am so proud of him this day! I cant imagine competing at this age [ Im 60+ too] and was very emotional when he went clean. Amazing! Congrats to Torchy Millar too for a job well done behind the scenes. See you in 2012 Ian LOL
Congratulations Canadians, Job Well Done.
Jane should really get a Gold Star for this Comments Section.
This line was priceless; ” Still happy to see USA took the gold, but also happy to see Canada up on the podium too (to quote my daughter: I’m liking to see North America beat Europe no matter what).
Now, we should really get that Poll going about annexing Mexico.
2,6,5,13 — keep up the great work Canada. From a US friend…
A true gentleman. Well done!!! Mr. Millar has my vote for our flag bearer @ the Closing Ceremonies.
Ratt — don’t exactly know where you’re going with your comment.
It was an honest statement from a teenager who’s seriously into horses and riding, and has a touch of patriotism. She’s not that hep on global politics, so I don’t see how her comment translates into pan-North American statehood.
North American riders and horses usually come up against a good deal of snubbing from more than a few Europeans — somehow none of us is just quite as good. To be truthful the Europeans are very, very good at equestrian sports; they also have a smaller system than either the U.S., Canada, or Mexico to deal with and have the luxury of state run breeding farms which do their best to make sure the European riders are mounted on the very best. Kudos to them; they do a great job. It’s just hard to see North American equestrians and their horses being treated like something of a second class citizen quite a bit of the time — hence the comment.
After the American riders, we have more contact with the Canadian, and the Mexican ones, so of course we’re going to pull for them in that order.
Is that a problem?
when I watch horse rider
I give teh number to horse than the human wining factore here
becase most of job done by poor horse not the human
I loved Big Ben. I had the opportunity to visit your farm a few years ago and see Big Ben’s final resting place. I was very moved. You have made me shout, applaud, laugh and cry with joy while watching these 2008 Olympics. Big Ben would be very proud. Congratulations to your team for bringing home a silver medal and congratulations to Eric Lamaze for bringing home the gold.