Millar finished second in Friday’s opening round and was foot perfect aboard Jelvinia MB on Saturday evening.
Toronto, ON, Nov. 3, 2024 – For the second time in her career, Canadian Olympian Amy Millar of Perth, ON has been crowned the Canadian Show Jumping Champion. Millar earned the coveted $125,000 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Championship in front of a packed house at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON, November 2, riding the J-Team’s Jelvinia MB to victory following three rounds of competition.
Fifteen top Canadian riders started the Championship with a speed class the evening of Friday, November 1, over a course designed by American Oscar Soberon, making his Royal Horse Show debut. Saturday evening those 15 returned for round two in reverse order of standing, at which point the top six were invited to return for a third and final round to determine the Champion.
Millar and Jelvinia MB came into the third round in second place, where they posted an elegant clean round to put the pressure on the leader Jacqueline Steffens Daly and Freaky. Sadly Freaky had two rails down to drop them from the lead and hand Millar the crown. The final podium standings featured a trio of Canadian Olympic talent, with Amy Millar on top, Mario Deslauriers (New York, NY) and Aram Ampagoumian, LLC’s Costa Quick PS in second, and Tiffany Foster (Langley, BC) and Electrique in third, owned by the 5 Roosters syndicate.
As someone who has been attending and competing at The Royal her whole life, Millar was refreshingly emotional following the awards ceremony.
Amy Millar of Perth, ON, was crowned the 2024 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Champion on Nov. 2, at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON. She piloted the J-Team’s Jelvinia MB to the win over Friday and Saturday night. Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley
“As a Canadian, this is such a special event, and it's a strange pressure, because everybody wants to do their best here in front of the hometown crowd,” said Millar.
Winning the Henry Equestrian Canadian Championship not only gave Millar the lion’s share of $125,000 in prize money, but she pointed out another perk of the title.
“One of the beauties of (being Canadian Champion) is you are now pre-qualified for any Five Star Grand Prix in Canada. The one that is always on our mind is the Masters Grand Prix (at Spruce Meadows) because that is hard to qualify for. And every time you walk in the ring, they announce you as the Canadian Champion. It's nice to hear at the Royal all next week, and throughout the whole year.”
The Royal Horse Show is 102 years old this year, and when asked why winning at the Royal is such an accomplishment, Millar called on both her family history and Canadian pride in her explanation.
“It’s the tradition. Every year we come here and talk to all the people that have been here (over the years), and the riders and the people that have worked this show for many years. Everybody tells stories about when the Whitaker's were here, and when Big Ben was here. Anyone who is anyone has been here.
And then you look at the lineup for the International Division, there's a whole bunch more important people coming. The world knows this is a really special show. And as a Canadian, every time you walk in the ring, the crowd, they love us. Every time you walk in, you get a special welcome. That's always special.”
On hand for the presentations, Equestrian Canada CEO Meg Krueger echoed those sentiments when asked why the Royal is vital to Canadian show jumping after more than 100 years.
“It’s so important to be able to showcase the best of our Canadian athletes in front of Canadians,” she said. “The Royal is about tradition, but also about continuing to recognize and celebrate the history we have together in the sport. The Royal allows us to honour our Canadian riders and serves as an inspiration to all of us as horse people.”
Amy Millar and Jelvinia MB are presented as the $125,000 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping Champions. Presenting from left to right are Meg Krueger, CEO of Equestrian Canada; Cyrus Cooper, CEO of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair; Karen Sparks, Chair of the Equestrian Canada Jumping Committee; Vanessa Barr, Client Executive of Henry Equestrian; and Pat O’Neil, Senior Vice President, Sales and Business Development, of Henry Equestrian. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography
Millar, Deslauriers and Foster had already qualified to compete in next week’s CSI5*-W international division which begins November 6, along with Sean Jobin, Vanessa Mannix and Nicole Walker. Fellow Canadians Jacqueline Steffens Daly and Carly Campbell-Cooper will also move forward as they were the top two riders in the competition still seeking qualification.
For a complete list of results from the $125,000 Henry Equestrian Canadian Show Jumping National Championship, as well as the full Royal Horse Show schedule, live scoring, live streaming and more, visit www.royalfair.org.
Source: Equestrian Canada