2/ JULY/AUGUST 2024 THE RIDER Olympics Continued from Page 1


1984, at the age of 19, Deslauriers became the first Canadian and the youngest rider to ever win the World Cup Final, a record he still holds today. Forty years later and at age 59, Deslau- riers continues to consis- tently perform at the highest levels of the sport, having represented Canada as the sole jumping competitor at Tokyo 2020, in numerous Nations Cups, as well as contributing to the team jumping silver medal that Team Canada won at the Santiago 2023 Pan Ameri- can Games. A seasoned competitor,


Millar, 47, made her interna- tional debut with the Cana- dian Jumping Team in 1999 at the age of 22. Since that time she has played a key role in Canada’s victories in Nations Cups, typically rid- ing the anchor position, just as her father Ian Millar had done in his many years rid- ing for Canada. She made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 where she was part of Canada’s fourth-place finish in the team jumping event.


mastery and patience, but also the exceptional strength and power of their horses,‘’ said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. Team Canada’s eques-


trian team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also in- cludes the following :


Ian Millar (Perth, Ont.) - Chef D’Équipe - Jumping James Hood (Edmonton, Alta.) - Team Leader Karen Hendry-Ouellette (Kemptville, Ont.) - Team Manager, Jumping Eduardo Felix (Brussels, Belgium) - Veterinarian, Jumping Melanie McLearon (Orillia, Ont.) - Media Attaché


In her first Pan American Games appearance at Santi- ago 2023, Amy placed sixth individually along with win- ning team silver. Taking on his first


Games in a new role – Chef D’Équipe for the jumping team – Ian Millar holds the record for the most Olympic appearances of any athlete in the world, having com- peted in ten Olympic Games from Munich 1972 to Lon- don 2012. Known as “Cap- tain Canada,” he achieved his best result at Beijing


2008, winning team silver riding In Style. His vast ex- perience and leadership promise to inspire and guide the team to podium-worthy performances. “After an excellent re-


sult with the team silver medal at the Pan American Games, we are looking for- ward to the next step for the jumping team in Paris,” said James Hood, Director of High Performance at Eques- trian Canada. “With Chef D’Équipe Ian Millar and an incredible support team on


the ground, we are hoping the team will have the best opportunity to perform. As part of the team around the team, the owners and sup- porters will also be in place at Games and at home to cheer on Team Canada! We are very appreciative of all the help we have received from coaches, owners, grooms/staff and families that make this possible.” Team Canada has won


seven Olympic medals across the three equestrian disciplines, with jumping


achieving the highest medal count at five. That includes an individual silver on home soil at Montreal 1976, indi- vidual gold and team silver at Beijing 2008, and the most


recent equestrian


medal won, an individual bronze at Rio 2016. Equestrian events will


take place July 27 to August 6 (Day 1 to 11) at the Château de Versailles venue beginning with eventing, which will run July 27-29. Dressage follows from July 30 to August 4 and jumping


will be the final discipline between August 1-6. Team Canada’s dres-


sage and eventing teams will be announced at a later date.


‘’This sport truly em-


bodies the essence of unity. The rider and their horse must be in perfect harmony to achieve excellence, and that is precisely what Team Canada’s equestrian jump- ing team has accomplished to earn their place in Paris. Their achievements demon- strate not only the riders’


Prior to being named to


Team Canada, all nomina- tions are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selec- tion Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organiza- tions.


The


Canada Paris 2024 roster can be


https://olympic.ca/team- canada-roster/


latest Team found here:


Team Canada’s Paris 2024 equestrian dressage and eventing teams unveiled


TORONTO (July 5, 2024) – Equestrian Canada and the Canadian Olympic Commit- tee have announced the ros- ter of Team Canada equestrian dressage and eventing athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.


Athletes: Dressage


Athlete/ Hometown/ Horse/ Owner(s)/ Groom Camille Carier Bergeron Laval, Que., Finnländerin, Gilles Bergeron, Florence Archambault Jill Irving, Moncton, NB, Delacroix 11, Jill Irving & Windhaven, ary Mcgrath Naïma Moreira Laliberté, Outremont, Que., States- man, KML Inc., Yasmine Saunders Alternate Athlete (Travel- ling): Athlete: Chris von Martels Horse: Eclips Owner: Lisa Kostandoff Groom: Ida Viljanen


Eventing


Athlete/ Hometown/ Horse/ Owner(s)/ Groom Jessica Phoenix, Canning- ton, Ont., Freedom GS, Charlotte Schickedanz & Thomas Nowaskey, Lisa Barry Karl Slezak, Tottenham, Ont., Hot Bobo, Katlyn Hewson Slezak & Karl Slezak, Amber Wavryk Michael Winter, Toronto, Ont., El Mundo, Jonathan Nelson, Emma Winter & Michael Winter, Amy Ferris


Alternate Athlete (Travel- ling): Athlete: Colleen Loach Horse: FE Golden Eye Owners: Peter Barry, Amanda Bernhard, &


ner, Statesman, competed formidably over the qualifi- cation period, posting their best scores in two years. The combination has been to- gether since 2018 when Lal- iberté was 21 years old and have achieved significant success together at


the


Fédération Equestre Interna- tionale (FEI) level. In her first Olympic appearance, Moreira Laliberté is looking forward to competing with her 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding. “I am thrilled and hon-


Colleen Loach Groom: Meredith Wright


To be eligible to partic-


ipate in the Paris 2024 equestrian competitions, the selected athlete-horse com- binations must


achieved the Minimum Eli- have gibility Requirements


(MER) at selected events during the qualification pe- riod. The athletes each qual- ified for Team Canada based on their performance results during the qualification pe- riods of Jan. 1, 2024 – June 9, 2024 (dressage) and Jan.


1, 2023 – June 16, 2024 (eventing). Both the dressage and


eventing teams earned their spots for Paris 2024 at the Santiago 2023 Pan Ameri- can Games. With only two dressage team spots avail- able, a determined group of


four young Canadian female athletes secured the crucial bronze medal in Chile. In addition to winning the berth, the eventing team ex- ceeded expectations in San- tiago,


clinching their


qualification with a gold medal.


Tokyo 2020 alternate


athlete Moreira Laliberté will make her Olympic debut at Paris 2024. After winning team gold in Lima 2019 and contributing to Team Canada’s Paris 2024 qualification in Santiago, she and her longtime part-


oured to be heading to Paris with Statesman,” said Mor- eira Laliberte. “Being the traveling reserve in Tokyo was a challenging task and it was not easy to be in that position. Although I did travel with the team and got an experience out of it, it definitely fuelled me and gave me a lot of determina- tion to chase my dream. For me to now qualify in the number one spot has been really rewarding, after everything Statesman has done for me and we have achieved together, it makes me really proud. We are so thankful to everyone that has helped us, supported and encouraged us along our journey.” Paris 2024 will mark


the Olympic debut for 24- year-old Carier Bergeron who was part of the Santi- ago 2023 team who earned the Paris 2024 qualification, and for 61-year-old Irving, who competed at Lima 2019. Irving is expected to be the oldest athlete on the Canadian Olympic Team for Paris 2024. Two-time Pan Ameri-


can Games eventing medal- list Slezak has achieved many excellent perform-


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