He was just a little guy when he was born on May 27, 1961 at business tycoon E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario. In fact, when Taylor put the 14.2 hand unruly Thoroughbred colt in the yearling sale the following year, he didn’t even fetch the $25,000 reserve due to his small size. It was the best sales failure Taylor ever had, but at the time he had no idea what his colt, Northern Dancer, had in store for him.

It was a horse that gave me my first taste of stillness. His name was Ringo Star, and he was a beautiful, golden-coloured chestnut with a splash of white down his nose. He spent several years training for three-day evening with my daughter, Annika, but I didn't get to see them often because I was teaching in Bahrain for most of the time.

In the July/August 2017 issue of Canadian Horse Journal, we celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary with stories of 20 exceptional horses that have reflected our values and fired our national pride. One of those horses was Midnight.

Representing Canada at the Olympic Games is the Holy Grail for many riders, but not every rider has the good fortune to get there. Those who represent Canada at the Games all have very different stories about how they qualified, the experiences they had, and the exceptional horses they were fortunate to ride. Canada’s top-placed three-day event riders from the 1976 through 2008 Olympic Games have had many years to reflect on their Olympic experiences and fortunately, five of those determined men and women were happy to share some of their life lessons, anecdotes, and wisdom with those who want to follow in their hoofprints. These are their stories.