Standing Ovation by Ovation Riding: Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue

Every Friday, Horse Nation teams up with Ovation Riding to spotlight an individual or organization doing good work in the horse world. Today, we recognize Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, a rescue and advocacy organization in West Virginia.

Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue has been operating since 2009, first as a privately-funded group and then as a 501(c)3 non-profit starting in 2012. The rescue typically assists turned over horses or those legally seized by Animal Control due to neglect or abuse. Based in West Virginia, Heart of Phoenix operates across the Appalachia region in four states, rehabilitating and adopting out rescued horses to loving forever homes.

In addition to rescue, rehabilitation and adoption, Heart of Phoenix serves as a powerful advocacy voice in Appalachia for horses and horse owners. With widespread poverty in the region, the organization works hard to educate horse owners and increase awareness of rescue, working towards an end goal of fewer horses in need by creating better horsemen and horsewomen. To this end, Heart of Phoenix provides riding, training and care clinics, events, face-to-face education and a lively blog to help create a world where horses will no longer need rescuing.

Heart of Phoenix also produces the Appalachian Trainer Face Off, giving participating trainers 100 days to work with a rescue horse and then show off what their horse has learned in order to reach more adopters. Trainers compete for prizes and awards, but the ultimate goal is to have the horse adopted to a safe, loving home. The 2018 event will take place in August; the highest 2017 adoption fee for the Appalachian Trainer Face Off was $3,300 which demonstrates that there is in fact a demand for well-trained rescue horses.

To learn more about Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, please visit the organization’s official website here. The blog is definitely worth a read as well, including articles titled “Riding On A Horse Named Ego,” “Have You Ever Wondered If Your Horse Has a Dream Rider?” “The So-Called ‘Wild Horses’ of West Virginia and Kentucky,” and “Your Old Horse Deserves Better” — among many others.

Many thanks thanks to Ovation Riding for their support of both Horse Nation and individuals and organizations that are doing good work in the horse world. If you know someone who deserves a Standing Ovation, we would love to recognize them in a future post. Email the name of the person or organization along with a message about the good work they do to [email protected]. Photos/videos are always welcome, and include a link to their website if applicable.