Caledon, ON – For the fans who came to the Tournament of Champions horse show today to see Beijing Olympic silver team medal winner Ian Millar in action, the veteran equestrian didn’t disappoint. ‘Captain Canada’ demonstrated that at age 61 he’s still at the top of his game, winning the $100,000 John Deere World Cup Qualifier for the third year in a row.
But his bid to take the overall $175,000 John Deere Canada Cup Championship, based on results from competition held over three days, for the fourth consecutive year was foiled by one of Canada’s top up and coming young riders, Erynn Ballard, 28, of Hillsburgh, Ont. who took the overall title. Her mount was the towering Belgian warmblood gelding, Robin Van Roosendael, owned by her family, who managed a clean first round despite losing a shoe on course.
“It’s pretty amazing. It’s the first time in my career I’ve won a Championship like this,” said Ballard. “It’s sort of like the Olympics as even though it’s not a team event, as an individual rider you have to be consistent over three days.”