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

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.

The benefit is competition, the thrill of playing in the Olympics, being an Olympian, playing against the best.

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.

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.

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.