Halton Hills, Ontario In one of the few sports where men and women compete equally, the women took control of today’s feature show jumping competition at the Canadian Country Classic at Halton Place. Only three of twenty-nine starters in the $75,000 Swisscan World Cup Qualifier were able to negotiate the first round course without knockdowns. Two of those three were women and both are from the same stable. 30-year-old Amy Millar and 28-year-old Lauren Hunkin, both of Perth, Ontario, joined 24-year-old Keean White, of Cambridge, Ontario in the tie-breaker, against the clock.
First to go in the jump-off, White set what appeared to be an unbeatable pace, riding Vienna Rouge, fault-free in 44.55 seconds. Amy Millar on Costa Rica Z was unintimidated by White’s blistering round, and galloped faultlessly over the course in 43.73 seconds. Hunkin and her 11-year-old Dutch-bred gelding, Orleans, made a valiant attempt and succeeded in beating White’s time, but couldn’t catch Millar’s. Hunkin, who trains with Millar at Millar Brooke Farm in Perth, finished second in 44.27 seconds, giving her her best-ever placing in a World Cup Qualifier.
Amy Millar is the daughter of show jumping legend Ian Millar and, although she has won grand prix before, this marked her first victory in a World Cup Qualifier. Costa Rica Z is a 12-year-old German bred mare, who earned nearly $25,000 today for her owner, Victoria Smith. Millar has had a sensational season with all her mounts, but particularly with Costa Rica Z.
“It was a long course”, Millar said, tryng to explain why clean rounds were so elusive for 26 of the 29 entries. “There were a lot of difficult tests and along the way something would catch up with them.” The 29-entry field included riders from three countries and one two-time Olympian.
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