Cambridge, Ontario – October 10, 2003 - Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, and show jumping athlete Yann Candele of France have formed a winning partnership in the grand prix ring, claiming victory in numerous show jumping events from coast to coast this summer.

Following the first five of six World Cup Qualifying events on the Canadian calendar, Candele has won three for Mill Creek Stables. Candele recently rode Mill Creek Marco Taere to victory in the $75,000 World Cup Qualifier, Presented by LG Electronics, at the CSI-W Tournament of Champions in Newmarket, ON. In July, Mill Creek Marco Taere topped a seven-horse jump-off field to claim the $50,000 World Cup Qualifier at the CSI-W Caledon Equestrian Festival in Palgrave, ON, while Mill Creek Sweet Dream won the $60,000 National Bank World Cup Qualifier at CSI-W Bromont, QC, in June.

“The results are phenomenal,” notes Phil Henning, owner of Mill Creek Stables, ranked number one in prize money earnings for the year 2003. “Yann is a fantastic jockey and he and Eric Lamaze have done a great job with all the Mill Creek horses in their care.”

At the Tournament of Champions, held September 18-21, Candele qualified both Mill Creek Sweet Dream and Mill Creek Marco Taere for the nine-horse jump-off. Riding Mill Creek Sweet Dream, Candele laid down a clear round but did not risk an inside turn that would prove to be the key to victory. When Candele entered the ring with Mill Creek Marco Taere, two-time Canadian Show Jumping Champion Ainsley Vince had the lead with Catch 22 while he was in second position with Mill Creek Sweet Dream.

“I knew what I had to do,” said Candele, 32, who is based at Canadian Show Jumping Team member Eric Lamaze’s Torrey Pines Stable in Schomberg, ON. “I gave it a shot, I took all the options and went a little bit faster than what Marco Taere is used to, but it gave us the win. I was really pleased because the horses had just come back from Spruce Meadows in Calgary by truck. Spruce Meadows was a long horse show, so I gave them a little time off when they got back and they were fresh for the grand prix.”

Before winning at Tournament of Champions, Candele enjoyed a successful showing at the prestigious CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament in Calgary, AB, claiming three victories for Mill Creek Stables - the $15,000 AON Reed Stenhouse Jumper and the $10,000 Bantrel Welcome with Mill Creek Sweet Dream and the $22,500 Phillips, Hager and North Cup riding Mill Creek Marco Taere.

The summer season also included a win in the $50,000 CIBC Grand Prix in Collingwood, ON, and a second place finish for Mill Creek Marco Taere in the $75,000 ‘Big Ben Memorial’ Grand Prix held during the Capital Classic Show Jumping Tournament in Ottawa, ON.

“I had an unbelievable summer with both horses,” notes Candele, a native of Normandy who has been living in Canada since 1999. “It is always easier when you’ve got such quality.”

Mill Creek Stables imported both horses as five-year-olds. While Mill Creek Marco Taere, a nine-year-old chestnut Belgian Warmblood gelding by Darco, is enjoying his second year at the grand prix level, Mill Creek Sweet Dream made her grand prix debut in 2003. While both horses are experiencing incredible success under Candele, they have very different personalities.

“Mill Creek Sweet Dream is very sensitive, she is ‘girlie’ like that,” says Candele of the eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare whose sire, Ohio Van De Padenborre, is by the influential French stallion, Quidam de Revel. “She always puts her head back when you brush her. When you ride her, she is always looking around, wanting to play, and you have a hard time getting her to keep her concentration. I have done all the training on her since she was five, it was a slow process because she was so sensitive. She is just starting at this level, but the results are significant.

“Marco Taere is very easy to take care of, he is very laid-back,” compares Candele. “When you ride him, he is super sensitive, more than he looks. He looks a little bit cold, but he is not at all. You must treat him very nicely because he reacts to what you ask.”

Candele and Mill Creek Stables will be hoping for more wins at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto from November 7-16 before heading south to Wellington, Florida, for the highly competitive winter circuit.

“I am pleased and thrilled to go south and try the big international classes,” says Candele who first represented France in Nations’ Cup competition in 2001 riding Mill Creek Chardo. “They have proved that they are grand prix horses, and they are only eight and nine years old and just starting their careers. It is fantastic when you know that grand prix horses can go until they are 16 or 17 years old, so they both have long careers in front of them. It took a lot of time to get to where they are, I strongly believe that the flat work is the key to this kind of result.”

While Mill Creek Marco Taere and Mill Creek Sweet Dream are now competing at the grand prix level, Mill Creek Stables continues to develop a large string of up-and-coming young horses. Of note are Kaiser de le Cour, a selle francais stallion by Verdi who was recently crowned the Ontario Five-Year-Old Champion of the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series, and Versace, a five-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion ridden by Candele that placed first and second in the only two events he entered in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series.

“Versace is super nice, he is a stallion but he is very easy, very straightforward,” says Candele, who celebrated the arrival of his son, Alexandre, on August 16. “So far so good, he went in two classes and won two ribbons. He is really a baby, so we will see.”

Henning is a proud supporter of Canadian show jumping. This summer, Mill Creek Rosalinde, an eight-year-old black Hannoverian mare by Ramiro’s Son II, was part of the Canadian Show Jumping Team contingent at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, under Eric Lamaze and also represented Canada in September in the $250,000 BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup at the CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament. Mill Creek Raphael, a 13-year-old Hannoverian gelding by Raphael whom Henning generously donated to Equine Canada earlier this year, was named to the 2000 Sydney Olympic team and represented Canada at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, with Lamaze.

“The success that our horses have achieved are a great endorsement for our program,” notes Henning. “While the results have generated a lot of interest in these horses and I will be sad to see them go when they are sold, they are a good example of the quality of horses we have for sale and are the result of the years of hard work we put into producing world-class animals. We have approximately 80 horses for sale at any one time and we pride ourselves on matching every buyer with the right horse to carry them to the win.”

Located in Cambridge, ON, Mill Creek Stables is one of Canada’s largest sport horse breeding and sales barns, offering prospects in a variety of disciplines to suit all budgets. For more information, please visit www.millcreekstables.com, call tel: 519 740-1121 or e-mail: phenning@millcreekstables.com