Veterans Amy Millar, Mario Deslauriers named to Olympic equestrian jumping team
Olympic veterans Amy Millar and Mario Deslauriers were named to Canada's equestrian jumping team for this summer's Paris Games. Millar rides Heros, during the Grand Prix event of the National at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Saturday, June 8, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
TORONTO — Olympic veterans Amy Millar and Mario Deslauriers were named to Canada's equestrian jumping team for this summer's Paris Games.
Millar, the daughter of legendary show jumper Ian Millar, and Deslauriers were part of the team that qualified Canada for the event with a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
They will be joined by Erynn Ballard, who is currently the second highest-ranked female show jumper in the world, on the team announced Wednesday by Equestrian Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Ballard will ride Nikka vd Bisschop in Paris.
“Every young athlete dreams of going to the Olympics, so this is really a dream come true,” the 43-year-old Ballard, from Tottenham, Ont., said in a release. “This is more than just a dream for me. This year belongs to everyone that has supported me and believed in me my whole career. I was able to qualify four horses with four different owners, but only one horse can go.”
Tiffany Foster of Langley, B.C., was named an alternate.
The athletes qualified for the team based on performance results during the jumping period that opened Jan. 1, 2023 and ended Monday.
The 47-year-old Millar, from Perth, Ont., returns to the Olympics after competing at the 2016 Rio Games, where Canada just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in mixed team jumping.
Deslauriers, 59, from Venise-en-Québec, Que., will appear in his fifth Games after making his debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Millar (Truman) and Deslauriers (Emerson) will ride the same horses that helped Canada win silver in Santiago.
Ian Millar will make his Olympic debut as the team's chef d'équipe. He retired from competition in 2019 after a decorated career in which he set a record by competing at 10 Olympic Games.
Canada’s dressage and eventing teams will be announced at a later date.
Equestrian events at the Paris Olympics will take place July 27 to Aug. 6.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.
The Canadian Press