CALGARY, ALBERTA - June 10, 2025 - While in Sunday morning’s news, some were ready to write legendary show jumper Ian Millar off, as a member of Canada’s Pan American Games team, he has actually earned two nominations from the selection committee. Criticized because he finished a mere 1.27 faults out of the top-three for the five-person team, Millar has now been named to that team as a subjective choice. He was selected with his experienced mount, In Style, and also named one of three second-alternates on his up-and-comer, Redefin. The second-alternates only come into play if something happens to one of the five team members before travel begins. That means, if In Style is unable to travel, Millar may still be on the team.
Joining the three team members named yesterday, based on points, the selection committee made a swift decision overnight on their subjective selections. In addition to Millar they named Eric Lamaze, on Hickstead. Committee Chair and team Chef d’Equipe, “Torchy” Millar, who is no relation to Ian, said “I think we have a good team that’s capable of qualifying Canada for the Olympics”. Jill Henselwood, on Special Ed; Mac Cone, on Melinda; and Karen Cudmore, on Southern Pride, earned their berths on points in an extremely close battle, where positions in the top-ten shuffled dramatically with each trial.
The three second-alternates, who do not have an order of standing, are Ian Millar on Redefin, John Pearce on Archie Bunker, and Mario Deslauriers on Paradigm.
All five team members are veterans of previous Pan American Games. Millar has 8 Pan American medals from 7 previous Pan American appearances. That’s more than any other Pan American show jumper. He earned double gold, both team and individual, in 1987 on Big Ben. He earned individual gold again in 1999, on Ivar. He earned an individual bronze medal in his first Pan American Games in 1979, on Brother Sam. In addition, he has one team bronze and three team silver medals.
60-year-old Millar is the senior member of this team, but not by as much as might be expected. 27 riders declared themselves candidates for this team before trials began. A third of those were less than half Millar’s age. When the contenders were whittled down to ten, only one young rider remained. That rider was 26-year-old Erynn Ballard of Hillsborough, Ontario. On the final team, Millar is joined by 54-year-old Cone. Cudmore and Henselwood, as well as Deslauriers and Pearce are in their forties, and Lamaze is 39. Even newcomer Darrin Dlin, who made a strong charge late in the trials, is 37. “I’ve always believed experience is a big factor in this sport”, Millar said, adding that he has no intention of giving it up any time soon.
Both Millar’s team-nominated mounts are owned by Sue Grange, of Cheltenham, Ontario, making her the only owner to qualify two horses for the team, as she was for last year’s World Championships.
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