PHOENIX Jessica

Canada

Equestrian

Date of Birth: 16 Oct 1983

Age: 37

Gender: Female

Place of birth: UXBRIDGE, ON

Birth Country:

Canada

Place of residence : TORONTO, ON

Residence Country:

Canada

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Equestrian	Eventing Individual

Schedule

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Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Eventing Individual	Eventing Team
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	38	10
2012	London, GBR	22	13

World Equestrian Games

Year	Location	Eventing Individual	Eventing Team
2018	Tryon, NC, USA	EL	11
2014	Normandy, FRA	28	6
2010	Lexington, KY, USA	WD	-

Pan American Games

Year	Location	Eventing Individual	Eventing Team
2019	Lima, PER	5	3

CCI5*-L

Rank	Event	Year	Location
15	Eventing Individual	2019	Lexington, KY, USA
17	Eventing Individual	2017	Lexington, KY, USA
RT	Eventing Individual	2017	Lexington, KY, USA
RT	Eventing Individual	2017	Lexington, KY, USA

Nations Cup

Rank	Event	Year	Location
2	Eventing Team	2017	The Plains, VA, USA
3	Eventing Team	2018	The Plains, VA, USA

Legend
DS - Not Started, DSQ - Disqualified, RT - Retired, WD - Withdrawn, EL - Eliminated

Nickname:

Jessie, Wonder Woman (horse-canada.com, 04 Jun 2018; eventingnation,com, 11 Jan 2014)

Previous names:

Jessica Ferguson

Hobbies:

Playing table tennis, camping. (healthyishott.com, 12 Jun 2019; womenofinfluence.ca, 05 Jan 2019)

Occupation:

Athlete, Business Owner, Coach, Horse Trainer

Education:

Business Administration - Durham College, Uxbridge, ON, CAN

Family:

Husband Joel, son Jacob, daughter Jordan

Languages spoken:

English

Club name:

Phoenix Equestrian Team [Toronto, ON, CAN]

Start:

She received a pony for her first birthday. She began riding Western saddle before moving on to eventing at age 11 and winning her first major competition at age 13. (durhamregion.com, 17 Dec 2018; olympic.ca, 20 Jul 2015; canada.com, 18 Jul 2012)

Reason:

She grew up around horses at her family's farm in Uxbridge, ON, Canada. "Growing up, I had a dream to ride horses at the highest level possible. My parents would go to the local sale barn. I started doing Western discipline, and then one of my really good friends said, 'You have to come over and try this jumping with me'. So I took my Western horse over for a cross-country lesson, changed saddles, and I was hooked. Honestly after I did that first jumping lesson I immediately knew that it was what I wanted to spend my life doing. I didn't think I really knew the difference between eventing and what other equestrian disciplines there were, but when you were out cross-country just galloping on the fields, jumping those natural fences, that was what really attracted me to eventing." (horsenetwork.com, 25 Nov 2019; durhamregion.com, 17 Dec 2018; canada.com, 18 Jul 2012)

Ambition:

To win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (womenofinfluence.ca, 05 Jan 2019)

Memorable:

Winning individual gold at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. (womenofinfluence.ca, 05 Jan 2019)

Influence:

Her husband Joel. (horse-canada.com, 01 Jun 2016)

Ritual:

She uses visualisation to go through her rides before competing, and often photographs the jumps to aid in her visualisation process. (useventing.com, 20 Oct 2020)

Philosophy:

"Don't rush things. Sometimes it will feel like your peers may be passing you by, but don't get discouraged. Stay focused, put in the work, and your time will come." (womenofinfluence.ca, 05 Jan 2019)

Award:

In 2014 she was named Leading Lady Rider in Ontario, Canada. (eventingconnect.today, 07 Jan 2015)

She was named Equestrian of the Year at the 2012 Equine Canada Annual Awards. (horse-canada.com, 06 Feb 2012)

General Interest

General
STABLES
She owns Phoenix Equestrian in Ontario, Canada, where she coaches riders and also trains and trades horses for eventing. "In 10 years [speaking in 2020] I hope to have coached my students to the national team level. To stand next to them on a podium would be a dream come true. I want to see Canada on top." (jessicaphoenix.ca, 07 Nov 2020; horsesport.com, 11 May 2020)

2016 OLYMPIC SELECTION
She was originally chosen as a reserve rider for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but appealed against Canadian team selector Clayton Fredericks' decision. The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada [SDRCC] investigated the case and ruled that Fredericks had failed to adhere to Equestrian Canada's selection criteria. The SDRCC also deemed that Phoenix's overall results warranted her a place at the Games. She replaced fellow rider Kathryn Robinson, who would later regain her place in the team due to the withdrawal of Selena O'Hanlon. (equnews.com, 26 Oct 2016; horse-canada.com, 29 Jul 2016; eventingnation.com, 25 Jul 2016)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2017 the book 'Rise: The Jessica Phoenix Story' was released. It was written by her sister Julie Fitz-Gerald, who is a journalist and author, and follows her equestrian career and return from serious injury at the 2015 Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event in Allentown, NJ, United States of America. She was also the inspiration for the 2017 song 'Rise' by country musician Elyse Saunders, which is based on her comeback from the same accident. In 2020 she was featured as an equestrian mentor in 'All-Round Champion', a North American television series in which 10 young athletes compete in a variety of sporting challenges. (jessicaphoenix.ca, 22 Apr 2020; thebrockvoice.com, 10 Nov 2017; heelsdownmag.com, 04 May 2017)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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