Ian Millar Quotes

“It's about discipline. It's about following instructions. It's about the execution of the plan. That's what sport is.”

— Ian Millar

“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

“I would never want to be selected to a team just because I am going to set a record. It's critical to me to earn my way.”

— Ian Millar

If you persevere long enough, if you do the right things long enough, the right things will happen.

— Ian Millar

“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

“It's always a thrill to wear the flag and ride for Canada in any competition, but especially the Olympics.”

— Ian Millar

“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

“I remember back in the early '70s, when I had a disastrous Grand Prix, my wife, Lynn, said to me, 'Don't worry, you're going to be a late boomer.' That's what she said to me, and I've always held that thought.”

— Ian Millar

“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

“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

“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

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

“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

“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