It’s always a thrill to wear the flag and ride for Canada in any competition, but especially the Olympics. Ian Millar Read Quote
Obviously, as you get a little older, you are not going to be quite as quick or quite as strong, and so I might be regarded by some as the underdog… There is actually a statue of Big Ben and I in Perth, Ont., and I was on a Canadian stamp once, and normally you have to be dead to do either of those things, and, well, here I am, still going. Ian Millar Read Quote
I work out every morning for an hour while in front of the news channel or business channels, then I’ll ride for four, five hours a day. So I’m on the move all the time, and I think that’s the key. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. That’s the law of physics. Ian Millar Read Quote
I’ve been lucky to ride 10 different horses at the Olympics. I’d like to think that of all of them, Big Ben – who was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame – would still be competitive in the contemporary sport. Ian Millar Read Quote
A surgeon wouldn’t sell his tools. A lawyer doesn’t sell his law books. I’m not going to sell my horse. I’m a sportsman. Ian Millar Read Quote
The minute I put my leg on a horse and say, ‘Come on, let’s go,’ I absolutely believe that the horse and I can do it and that we will do it. And I am always shocked when we actually don’t do it. If the analytical mind ever overrode that optimist in me, I’d be in some serious trouble. Ian Millar Read Quote
When we train a horse to do a certain job, we’re training the horse to be like a soldier, and yes, he still has a spirit, and he still has his ideas, but he is a disciplined soldier, and in the end, he will follow the rider’s instruction to do what needs to be done. Ian Millar Read Quote
In sport, all my fellow riders and trainers and the people I meet and deal with have just accepted the fact that I’m here forever. Ian Millar Read Quote
My first Olympics was Munich in 1972. I am better now than I was then, in knowledge and experience. The age of top riders generally tends to be older than in other sports because it takes a lot of time to be consistent. Ian Millar Read Quote
As we know, all sports evolve tremendously, and our sport is no different. It’s really not the same thing at all as it was in 1972. It’s a different type of horse we’re using. The style of riding is quite evolved, the way the courses are built, the materials used… it’s virtually unrecognizable. Ian Millar Read Quote
