Ian Millar

Ian Millar, a member of the Canadian equestrian team since 1971, has become one of the most decorated and renowned Canadian competitors in the sport. On the national level he has captured ten Canadian Show Jumping Championships (1983, 1986-1991, 1993, 2004, and 2007) and won more grand prix and derby events than any North American. In the international field his greatest successes have come at the Pan American Games, where he has won one gold (1987), four silver (1979, 1983, 1991, and 2007), and one bronze medal (1999) in team jumping events and two gold (1987, 1999) and one bronze medal (1979) in individual competitions. He had wins at the 1988 and 1989 World Cup Finals with his most famous horse, Big Ben, becoming the first ever rider to finish first in back-to-back World Cup standings with the same horse.

Millar is perhaps best known, however, for attending a record ten editions of the Olympic Games since 1972, being absent only from the 1980 Summer Olympics due to Canada’s boycott. His only medal, silver in the team jumping tournament, came at the 2008 Summer Olympics, but brought him a level of national fame not normally seen for Canadians in the sport. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1986, named Ontario’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1989, and inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 alongside Big Ben. He operates and trains at Millar Brooke Farm in Ontario and has written a book, Riding High, based on his show-jumping experiences in the 1970s and 80s.