Spruce Meadows' National tournament is critical for Canada's Amy Millar in her run-up to the world championships. In the best position of her show jumping career, Millar is using this week at Spruce Meadows as a measuring stick for her top horses heading into the world championships.
This summer for Canadian show jumping competitors promises to be fraught with some angst yet overall excitement. Aachen, Germany, will host the 2026 FEI world championships, with the jumping set to begin on Aug. 19. That gives riders a couple of months to show they are worthy and able to carry the colours against some very high-level competition.
For Amy Millar, whose first major international selection was at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the experiences she has been a part of will serve her well. “In a lot of ways, you know how amazing it is and also how hard it is,” she said of the major events. “I feel like I want to be better prepared with my horses, I want them to have seen everything if possible before we get there. We've built the whole summer trying to achieve that.
“I think that, step 1, is to be really prepared; step 2 is to block out all the noise when you get there; step 3 is actually to try and enjoy the experience because I think it takes a lot of focus but also a certain amount of looseness as well. You can't build it up in your head to be this thing that only happens once every four years. You have to think of it like I'm good enough to be here, this is what I do, and try to enjoy it. I think that's what'll create the most success.”
Millar, 49, competed at the worlds in 2022, copped team silver at the Pan American Games in 2023 and was part of the 2024 Paris Olympic squad. Optimism reigns for every country heading into a championship and so it must be for Canada, as well.
“So far in my experience, world championships is the hardest thing you can do because every country gets to send a team and it's truly the best of the best,” pointed out Millar, daughter of Canadian legend Ian. “But if you look through the history of Canadian show jumping, we've always been a bit of an underdog. So if you go by statistics and world rankings, the German team versus our team or the American team versus our team, it's possible you could get a negative impression of our chances (she laughed).
“But that's not how it is. We get together, we have synergy. We have a group of riders and horses right now that are on a laser focus. Everything they're doing is about getting ready for that. It'll just be a matter of whether it comes together at the time.
“I also think that Aachen is a very different stage than, for example, Paris. That was such delicate jumping in a sandbox. This is going to be beefy. I do feel that having venues like Spruce Meadows and Thunderbird and there's a great grass field in Ottawa, right near where I live … I think that's an advantage for us. So I'm optimistic. The goal is to qualify for the Olympics, through the championships. Obviously we'd love to medal. But qualifying for the Olympics, if we get that done, we'll go home happy.”
Millar is using this week's National at Spruce Meadows as a measuring stick for her two horses of quality: Jagger HX, a 12-year-old bay, and 10-year-old Gaiete D'Elle, a mare which she used in Canada's second-place finish at the recent Nations' Cup at Thunderbird in Langley, B.C.
“I'm really lucky at this moment to have two fabulous horses,” she said. “That's the best position I've been in my career. My focus for most of this year with these horses has been how can I best prepare them for what they're going to see when they get there. I have to say that this week is a critical part of the preparation. Aachen on the grass is very impressive and it's different than here. But there's so much atmosphere so we're doing preparation that is similar to where we're going and hopefully that'll work.”
