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Amy Millar rides into Paris 2024 with Truman. The duo is setting the bar high for this summer’s Olympic Games. Photo provided by Spruce Meadows Media/Dave Chidley.

613 in Paris: Show jumper Amy Millar sets the bar high for Paris after fourth-place finish in Rio

By Kiefer Uuksulainen on July 30, 2024

“613 in Paris” is our nine-part series profiling Olympic athletes representing Ottawa-Gatineau at Paris 2024. These written interviews, conducted ahead of the competition, delve into each athlete’s experience with pandemic-era training, inspiration and community support, competition-day routines and rituals, and key elements to watch for in their respective sports.

Perth’s Amy Millar saddles up for her second Olympic Games atop her equine partner, Truman. The duo looks to improve upon her fourth-place finish in Rio 2016 and further solidify the Millar family’s Olympic legacy.

Amy Millar rides into Paris 2024 with Truman. The duo is setting the bar high for this summer’s Olympic Games. Photo provided by Spruce Meadows Media/Dave Chidley.

Apt613 connected with the 47-year-old equestrian for a written interview at Millar Brooke Farm in Perth, her home and training base, before she departs for Paris. In the interview, Millar lays out her Paris goals and motivations, highlights the “anyone can win” nature of show jumping, and affirms the importance of routine on competition days.

Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

A young Amy with her father, Ian Millar, in 1987. Photo by Kym Ketcham via majorleagueshowjumping/Instagram.

Amy Millar’s name rang out in a horse riding competition long before she stepped in a stirrup. “[My father was] riding around Ocala horse show [in Florida] when the announcement was made over the loudspeaker: ‘Congratulations, Ian! Amy Lynn Christine Millar has been born,’” Millar wrote in Horse Network.

Millar is a last name synonymous with Canadian equestrian excellence. Amy’s father, Ian Millar, is a legendary show jumper, perhaps best known for competing in a record ten Olympic Games from Munich 1972 to London 2012. He retired from competition in 2019 but will attend Paris 2024 alongside his daughter as Chef d’Equipe for the Canadian showjumping team.

Amy made her Olympic debut in Rio 2016, nearly missing the podium with a fourth-place finish in the mixed team event for Team Canada. She rides into Paris with a team jumping silver medal from the 2023 Pan-American Games and one objective—“my goal is an Olympic medal.”

Amy Millar atop Truman at the 2022 BMO Nations Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters. Photo provided by Spruce Meadows Media/Mike Sturk.

Millar chases a familiar feeling of success, acknowledging it can come with hardship. “My motivation is that feeling I get when it all works out,” says Millar. “When I succeed, all the hours, days, and years of training come together [and] make the hard days worthwhile. When I don’t succeed, I have a wonderful family who reminds me that there is more to life than competition and that I will get another chance.”

Millar quotes the profound words of her late mother, Lynn: “You need to be proud of how you rode. Sometimes in life, you will get more than you deserve, sometimes you will get less. All you can do is come back tomorrow and try to do better.”

Amy Millar riding Truman in the PwC Canada Cup at the 2022 Spruce Meadows National. Photo provided by Spruce Meadows Media/Mike Sturk.

The unpredictability of the sport keeps Millar giddy in the saddle. “I really love what I do and the challenges that come with it,” says Millar. “It is exciting, it is difficult, it is unpredictable [but] I am never bored. The interesting thing about show jumping is that anyone can win on any particular day. When your partner is a horse the list of uncontrollable variables is very long. My horse loves his job. He really is my partner and wants to succeed as much as I do. I am so lucky to work with these kind and talented creatures.”

Amy Millar and Truman clearing an obstacle in the 2022 BMO Nations Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters. Mike Sturk photo.

Coming into high-stakes competitions, Millar reins in as much as she can. “I try and control everything I can on competition days. My meals are always the same [and] I have music for calming me down, pumping me up, and motivating me.” She told Practical Horseman that “your horse feels your tension or your happiness. If I want my horse to be relaxed then I must also be relaxed. If you come out for the biggest day of your show-jumping career and you’re tense, then you’re going to share that tension with your horse, which is going to make your job on that day harder.”

Amy Millar and Truman canter into the Equestrian Team Jumping competition on August 1, with the Final happening the following day. “Paris [2024] is going to be unbelievable,” says Millar. “The fan support will bring an intensity we lost during the pandemic.”

Readers can follow Millar’s Olympic return on Instagram and Facebook.

Keep an eye out for all athletes representing Ottawa-Gatineau in Paris—those marked with an asterisk (*) have been covered as part of our local Olympian series: