You will never see P.J. Rizvi making her way down centerline without a smile on her face. A zest for life and an electrifying energy have made Rizvi a well-known name in the dressage arena — and they are the same characteristics that have made her a well-known name in the equestrian community years before her first international dressage show.
The mother of four serves as a beacon of light for her family, inspiring them and always looking to guide them on the path of self-success.
Rizvi and her family own Peacock Ridge Farm and are proud sponsors of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. In honor of her late sister Penny, Rizvi is also co-chair of Polo With A Purpose, a charitable event held every winter to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington.
Now an avid horsewoman, Rizvi’s introduction to the horse world was anything but conventional. “I was really sick when I was growing up,” she recalled. “I was always sick with asthma and pneumonia, but for as long as I can remember, my sister and I had planned on buying a horse together when we were older. We actually had one picked out, and not long after that, my sister ended up getting sick, and they diagnosed her with leukemia. She died about 11 months later. So, there I was, with no horse knowledge, but with this horse that we had picked out together.”
Despite her limitations, Rizvi continued on with the horse as a way to honor her sister’s memory.
“When I got him,” she said, “I had no idea what I was doing. I had no experience. I didn’t even know what a diagonal was. I just used to visit him, and the significant thing for me was when I started riding him for emotional therapy. It was sort of a calming mechanism and a way for me to think about my sister.”
After Penny’s death, Rizvi’s health declined once again. She underwent throat surgery, several cases of pneumonia and a scary episode of cardiac arrest. With that, the horses were put on hold. Despite the setbacks, Rizvi became friends with dressage star Ashley Holzer, whom she remains close with to this day.
“Fast forward to my late 20s, as a wedding present, my husband got me 12 dressage lessons with Ashley,” Rizvi said. “But soon after, in my 30s, I had four children over the span of six years, so I didn’t really commit steadily to riding. I always say, ‘In my teens I was too sick, in my 20s I was too broke, in my 30s I was too pregnant, so now in my 40s, I’m doing it!”
Holzer went on to compete in the 2012 London Olympics on Rizvi’s original amateur Prix St. Georges horse turned Grand Prix mount, Breaking Dawn. “He was the first nice horse I ever bought,” Rizvi said. “He was never meant to do the Grand Prix, and I got really lucky. ‘Edward’ is now 17 going on 5, and he’s really a horse of a lifetime. He’s a spirit to contend with.”
Making her way down centerline for her first CDI a little over a year and a half ago, Rizvi’s talent in the show ring has excelled just recently. However, the success isn’t why she chooses to invest her time in the sport.
“This is a long-term sport,” she said. “Anyone who thinks that this is short term is short-sighted. It’s something that you enjoy for your entire life. People comment about the fact that I smile all of the time, and I’m like, ‘Well, of course! I worked hard to be here, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.’ Even if it doesn’t go as well as I want it to, you aren’t judged by your mistakes, you’re judged by how you handle them. Life is a long road full of many tests, and for me, riding is therapy, and it brings me great joy. I don’t really have an agenda. I just do this because I love it, and it makes me happy.”
Rizvi credits her husband for his patience and support of her passion, as well as their children’s. “We have four children — three daughters who ride and a son who was playing polo, and then switched to tennis,” she said. “My three girls are all very different in personality, and their riding reflects that as well.”
Talented in the hunter/jumper rings, the three Rizvi daughters keep their horses at North Run Farm and train with Missy Clark. They each shine with passion for horses, a trait that they share with their mother.
Although the Rizvis support their children’s equestrian endeavors, their main goal is to always show them what is right, even if it isn’t easy. This often involves late nights, early mornings and a large dose of self-awareness mixed with life lessons.
“We try to keep a grasp on what is important,” she said. “We’ve been very clear with our children that this is a journey,” Rizvi said. “Riding improves your social skills, your discipline, your manners, it makes you open-minded, you can travel, you can meet other people, but at the end of the day, it’s one aspect of their life. It’s something that you develop, but it’s not the only thing. As the girls have gotten older, they’ve had to go to school on Friday, they can’t skip it for the show. They go to regular school, they try other activities and they have friends outside of the horse world.”
Above all, Rizvi’s main message to her children is a simple one. “Ride well, ride responsibly, love your horses and dedicate as much time as you need to, but try other things and live life to the fullest every day,” she said.
