The Bakers Dozen Named 2004 Jump Canada Owner of the Year

The Bakers Dozen has been named the 2004 Jump Canada ‘Owner of the Year’ in recognition of their generous support of Canadian show jumping at the Olympic level.

The Bakers Dozen is a syndicate that owns Promise Me, the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that Ian Millar of Perth, ON, rode in his record eighth Olympic appearance at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.  On behalf of The Bakers Dozen, Millar accepted the Jump Canada ‘Owner of the Year’ Award, an engraved Waterford crystal bowl, in a special ceremony held Saturday, November 13, at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON.

In 2001, Millar found the talented young chestnut gelding at Paul and Emil Hendrix’s farm in The Netherlands.  Millar purchased and imported the horse on behalf of The Bakers Dozen, formed to support Millar’s quest to attend his eighth Olympic Games.  The syndicate is comprised of Faith Berghuis, Jeff Chisholm, Paul and Emil Hendrix, Joe Hudson, Sheryl and Jim Kidd, Ann Matthews, Ian and Lynn Millar, Laura Thorn, Marnie Von Schalburg, and one anonymous individual.

“Our horse’s name comes from the line in the Lee Ann Womack which goes ‘promise me that you’ll give fate the fighting chance’,” explained Millar.  “The Bakers Dozen embraces this philosophy in their own lives, as well as in their commitment to Promise Me.”Millar began campaigning Promise Me in 2002 and, the following year, won the 2003 Pan American Games Selection Trials to earn a spot on the Canadian Show Jumping Team headed to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  There, they placed seventh individually and were Canada’s highest-placed finishers.

In preparation for the 2004 Athens Olympics, Millar and Promise Me won the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix in Ocala, FL, and were members of the victorious Canadian Show Jumping Team in the $50,000 Samsung Nations’ Cup held in Wellington, FL.

At the 2004 Olympic Games, Millar advanced to the Individual Final, marking his record eighth Olympic appearance with a top 25 finish.  Upon the pair’s return from Athens, Millar again anchored the Canadian Show Jumping Team at the $250,000 BMO Financial Nations' Cup at the Spruce Meadows “Masters” Tournament in Calgary, AB, where Canada place third overall.

Past winners of the Canadian Show Jumping Team Owner's Award include Faith Berghuis (1995), the Anderson family (1996), the Southern family (1997), Bonnie Will-Watson (1998), Eddie Creed (1999), Jennifer Rogers (2000), Alan Chesler (2001), Blair Cudmore (2002), and Phil Henning (2003).