Mill Creek Stables welcomes three-time Canadian Show Jumping Champion Yann Candele to its world-class facility in Cambridge, ON.
Beginning this spring, Candele will base his business, Normandy Hills, at Mill Creek Stables. In addition to welcoming horses and riders for training, Candele will focus on young horse development and sales. 2008 Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze will support Candele by identifying quality prospects in Europe, while Mill Creek Stables owner Phil Henning will work with Candele to invest in sales horses.
“The goal is to invest my time in both students and quality young horses, and develop them to their full potential,” said Candele, 42. “I’ve been competing at the highest level for the past few years, and now I have the opportunity to give back to the sport by concentrating on training and coaching.”
Candele continued, “It will take time to rebuild a string of horses for the top sport, and I look forward to coming back and representing Canada in the near future. I would also like to help students of mine to get to that level. That is why a quality training facility is so important to me, and Mill Creek is providing that. We will start with quality and build up.”
Candele has a long association with Mill Creek Stables. While working for Lamaze’s Torrey Pines Stable from 1999 to 2006, Candele frequently campaigned horses for Henning. The Normandy native represented France at the 2004 World Cup Final in Milan, Italy, riding Mill Creek Sweet Dream, and was also a member of France’s Nations’ Cup team at the 2001 CSIO Spruce Meadows “Masters” tournament in Calgary riding Mill Creek Chardo.
“We’ve had a great relationship over the years, and we’re excited that Yann will be basing his business at Mill Creek Stables,” said Henning. “Mill Creek will be working with Yann and Eric to find some promising prospects. We’ve enjoyed great success in the past, and look forward to more success in the future.”
A state-of-the-art show jumping facility, Mill Creek Stables features 50 stalls with endless turn-out options. A spacious indoor arena, indoor walker and treadmill are just some of the property’s amenities. The impressive outdoor arena, designed by 1976 Olympic course designer Robert Jolicoeur, is a combination of grass and all-weather footing and features all of the natural obstacles including open water, bank, and devil’s dyke.
“I am very happy to have a facility of Mill Creek Stables’ calibre from which to base my business,” said Candele, who is relocating Normandy Hills from the Caledon area. “It has everything you need for training, from the oversized inside arena to the outdoor ring with water jump and natural obstacles. The infrastructure is fantastic.”
After gaining his Canadian nationality, Candele was a member of the fifth-placed Canadian Show Jumping Team at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, and was also the traveling alternate for the 2012 London Olympic Games. In November, Candele claimed his third consecutive Canadian Show Jumping Championship title at Toronto’s prestigious Royal Horse Show, having won in 2010 riding Pitareusa and in 2011 and 2012 with Game Ready, both owned by Susan Grange.
More from Horse Sport:
