Jonathon Millar Returns: Rebuilding His Brain, Body, and Getting Back in the Saddle after a Traumatic Brain Injury

Horse Person

Jonathon Millar has spent the past year and a half doing something he never expected he’d have to do – slowly, painstakingly rehabilitating from a traumatic brain injury, from which he nearly died, in a non-riding accident that he can't remember. He spent weeks in a coma, had a portion of his skull removed, and then had brain surgery once again to have it replaced. In total, he had 4 brain surgeries as the result of this accident. He spent months rehabilitating his cognitive skills, and then subsequently rehabilitating physically and re-strengthening the deficit he experienced on the left side of his body.

But to talk to the member of the Canadian show jumping team today, he’s filled with optimism and humility at the outpouring of support that the equestrian community gave him. He admits that there were times of feeling very stuck and frustrated, but it’s not lost on him that just the fact that he is alive is pretty miraculous.

Jonathon and I discuss his upbringing (if you’re not familiar, Jonathon is the son of the peerless 10x Canadian Olympian Ian Millar and the late horsewoman Lynn Millar, and the brother of Olympic show jumper Amy Millar). We talk about what he remembers of the accident and the days and weeks that followed. We discuss how his identity became consumed by his rehabilitation - and the challenge of being a lifelong athlete who was suddenly thrust into a very different type of goalsetting and training. And we talk about how Jonathon is doing now - at the time of recording, Jonathan was just about to clock his first show back in the saddle on his horse Lollipop. Returning to the show ring is a huge milestone for him and I’m so grateful to Jonathon for sharing this story and interview with me.

If you’ve followed his story, you’ll really enjoy this in-depth update, but even if you’re not familiar with Jonathon, this is a story of life before and life after a huge fracture in this rider’s life - and how he’s worked to put the pieces of himself and his identity back together. Enjoy.

Follow Jonathon and his progress by following the Millar Brook South social media pages.

This episode is supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE to take the pledge mentioned in this episode's Ringside Chat segment. Ad music: Ikkun.