Rise: the Jessica Phoenix story

RISE tells the inspirational true story and remarkable journey of two time Olympian and 4 time Pan AM medalist Jessica Phoenix.

Danielle Valiquette, 2017 Executive Director of Canadian Pony Club, says “We are thrilled to have Jessica as an official ambassador. As a mentor, role model and equestrian on the world stage, Jessica embodies our core values and what it means to be dedicated to her horses and her country. As a world class eventer, she brings to us the qualities and drive one needs to succeed.”

In the Middle are the Horsemen

In 2008, 26–year–old Tik Maynard faced a crossroads not unlike that of other young adults. A university graduate and modern pentathlete, he suffered both a career–ending injury and a painful breakup, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a working student." In the horse industry, working students aspire to become professional riders or trainers, and willingly trade labor for hands–on education.

Tik grew up riding with the Vancouver Pony Club, in Southlands, British Columbia, earning his “A” rating.

The Eighty-dollar Champion: Snowman, the horse that inspired a Nation

Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. 

As a Pony Club rider, Elizabeth showed hunter-jumpers until she was 12, then she transitioned to eventing and went on to compete at the North American Junior Championship (now Young Riders) in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1977. She is a graduate H-A from Rolling Hills Pony Club

The perfect Horse: The daring US mission to rescue the priceless stallions kidnapped by the Nazis

In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find—his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world’s finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine—an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.

As a Pony Club rider, Elizabeth showed hunter-jumpers until she was 12, then she transitioned to eventing and went on to compete at the North American Junior Championship (now Young Riders) in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1977. She is a graduate H-A from Rolling Hills Pony Club.