One-Two Finish for Ian and Jonathon Millar at Ottawa International CSI2*

Ian Millar and Baranus Ph. Ben Radvanyi Photography

Father and son, Ian and Jonathon Millar, of Perth, ON, battled it out for victory in the $10,000 Karson Modified Grand Prix on Saturday, July 23, at the CSI2* Ottawa International Horse Show in Ottawa, ON.  Ten-time Canadian Olympian Ian Millar emerged the victor while son Jonathon finished second and third in the international show jumping event taking place at Wesley Clover Parks.

From a 19-horse starting field, four entries jumped clear over the track set by 2016 Rio Olympic course designer Guilherme Jorge to advance to the jump-off.  Of those four jump-off contenders, three had the last name Millar, with Ian qualifying Baranus and Jonathon qualifying both of his entries, Cobalt and Caprice.

First back for the jump-off, Jonathon moved into the lead with Cobalt, having stopped the clock in 48.78 seconds, before Ian took to the expansive grass grand prix field aboard Baranus.  Known as ‘Captain Canada’ to his fans, Ian did not disappoint the crowd at Wesley Clover Parks, galloping to the fences and slicing the turns to come home in a time of 45.25 seconds, more than three full seconds faster than his son.

“I wanted to go in and lay it down a little bit because I had another horse at the end,” said Jonathon, 41, of his jump-off strategy with his first horse, Cobalt, a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Check In x Contendro I) owned by Jim and Judith Chapman.  “Cobalt jumped great.  His strong suit is to gallop all over the field, so I used that a little bit to my advantage, and then it was just sort of a waiting game after that to see where we ended up.”

“Jonathon’s first horse, Cobalt, is just learning to go fast, so I had a pretty good idea of what Jonathon was going to do with that one, and he did,” said Ian, 69.  “Unfortunately for the next rider, she had rails down so it definitely was going to be a Millar win today!

“So I just knocked a couple seconds off of Cobalt’s time, and then it was up to Jonathon what he did with the last horse,” concluded Ian of his performance with Baranus, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Balou du Rouet x Centauer Z) owned by the Baranus Group.

As the final challenger, Jonathon had one more opportunity to topple his father’s leading time riding Caprice, owned by Peter Edgar, but a rail down left the pair in third place.  With three rails down in the jump-off, Jennifer Sarsfield of Canning, NS, finished fourth riding Iron Man, owned by Holly Erith.  Posting the fastest four-fault effort in the first round, Julia Madigan of Vancouver, BC, took fifth place with Farfelu du Printemps.

Both Ian and Jonathon Millar will be hot favourites in the grand finale, the $100,000 CSI2* Classic, on Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m.  Designated as a CSI2* event by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the Ottawa International Horse Show gives riders an opportunity to earn valuable World Rider Ranking points.  Admission is free, and spectators are encouraged to watch world-class show jumping sport in the heart of the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon.

To find out more about the CSI2* Ottawa International Horse Show, click here, visit www.ottawaequestriantournaments.com or follow Wesley Clover Parks on Facebook here.  For complete results from the Ottawa International Horse Show, visit ottawa.showmanagementsystem.com.

Source: Jump Media