Perth, Ont. equestrian jumper wins silver at Pan American Games, clinches Olympic spot

Amy Millar and Truman of Perth, Ont. (Cealy Tetley/Equestrian Canada)

A Canadian show jumping team, including Amy Millar of Perth, Ont., is riding high after winning silver medals in the jumping team final at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

The win also clinches the team a spot at the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

The competition took place over two rounds covering 13 obstacles with 16 jumping efforts at 1.60m and a time allowed of 77 seconds.

Millar, riding aboard Truman, a 14-year-old Selle Francais, delivered a strong first round in 75.76 seconds but had a late rail down, incurring four faults.

The pair came back strong in the second round and delivered the crucial clear. Millar finished with a score of 5.71, in ninth place and qualified for the individual final on Friday.

“I'm so happy with Truman. He really wanted to jump clean today, and that second round I just felt looser and more concentrated, and my horse felt awesome, and so we pulled it off,” Millar said.

“And now it's just the waiting. These championships are stressful for everyone so it's really a lot of a mental game, but I got it done.”

• Sign up now for our nightly CTV News Ottawa newsletter
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Canada began the first round of competition in third place and ended the day on the podium earning silver with a final score of 17.62 and the ever-important Paris qualification.

Team USA who started the day in fifth, earned the gold medal after delivering two double clear rounds and ended on their score of 12.37.

Defending champions Brazil who had already qualified for Paris, held the lead through much of the competition, yet finished with the bronze on 20.32 after the final rider incurred eight faults. Mexico, in fourth place, earned the third Olympic qualifying spot that was up for grabs.

The other Canadians on the team included Beth Underhill of Mulmur, Ont., Mario Deslauriers of Venise-en-Quebec, Que. and Tiffany Foster of Langley, B.C.

“It was tough sport today, and I could not be more proud of the team,” said chef d’equipe Ian Millar.

“There were a few little things that happened in the first round, however, I was absolutely confident they would all get cleaned up in the second round, and sure enough, they did.”

Viewers can tune in on Nov. 3 for the individual competition running from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST to cheer on the three individual riders that will be representing Canada.