By Canadian Horse Journal Staff 

Looking back, it is difficult to imagine how close two horses came to dying alone on a mountainside — and how a community’s determination turned that near tragedy into a story of hope that still resonates years later. 

In mid-December 2008, two abandoned pack horses were discovered trapped in deep snow on the slopes of Mount Renshaw near McBride, British Columbia. A three-year-old mare named Belle and a 14-year-old gelding named Sundance were starving, freezing, and close to death. What followed would become one of the most remarkable animal rescues in the region’s history — a true Christmastime miracle made possible by human compassion and perseverance. 

Related: Horse Community Hero: A Horse Tale

The horses were first spotted by Logan Jeck and Leif Gunster, who were searching the area for snowmobiles left behind by tourists. Temperatures hovered around minus 30 degrees Celsius as they came upon the horses standing on a tiny packed-down area of snow, hemmed in by walls of snow nearly two metres high near the summit of the 2,400-metre mountain. 

The scene was devastating. Belle and Sundance were severely emaciated, with a body condition score of two on a scale of zero to nine. They were frostbitten, their backs encased in ice, and their tails nearly gone — each horse had gnawed away the other’s tail in a desperate attempt to obtain protein. Belle, a bay mare, was missing a significant amount of body hair and had developed sores. Several blizzards had already swept through this area of the Rocky Mountains, and the shivering horses were trapped and simply waiting to die. 

When the Jeck family returned to reassess the situation — initially planning to shoot the horses if they were beyond saving — they determined the animals were still strong enough to survive. That moment marked the turning point, transforming despair into action and setting an extraordinary rescue in motion. 

Hay and horse blankets were brought to the site on snowmobiles, and several rescue options were considered, including airlifting the horses by helicopter. Ultimately, rescuers concluded that walking the horses out was the safest option. With heavy machinery impossible to use in the steep terrain, volunteers arrived with shovels and began digging by hand. Over the course of a week, a small group of dedicated community members carved a trench approximately one kilometre long and two metres deep through dense, frozen snow. 

On December 23, 2008, Belle and Sundance began a seven-hour walk through the trench and down the mountain, continuing along a 28-kilometre logging road. By Christmas Eve, the horses were finally safe and warm in a barn — alive because people refused to give up on them. 

Photo (above): Stuart MacMaster 

Monika Brown and Birgit Stutz (above) shovelling. Photo: Tim Brown 

Related: Horse Community Heroes: Rupert and Buck: Beloved therapy horses leave hoofbeats on countless hearts

Photos (above/below): Marc Lavigne 

The horses had been left on the mountain in September 2008 by their owner, Frank MacKay, a lawyer from Edmonton, Alberta, after he encountered difficult terrain while travelling with them. In an interview with the Edmonton Journal, MacKay said he searched for the horses twice and later found them but believed “they were so wasted they couldn’t have walked out anyway.” 

Birgit Stutz and Gord Jeck leading Belle and Sundance down the logging road.  

Following the rescue, MacKay expected the horses to be returned to him, but the volunteers who saved them hoped Belle and Sundance would find a different future. 

Related: Bear Valley Rescue

“I think I can speak for pretty much all of us [volunteers] that we don’t want to see these horses going back to him, as in our opinion he hasn’t put in enough effort to try and save them,” said Birgit Stutz, one of the volunteers who helped dig the trench. While Stutz said she did not blame MacKay for losing the horses in the backcountry, she questioned why he did not ask for help to find and retrieve them. 

“When he eventually did find the horses, he just abandoned them and left them for dead, instead of putting them out of their misery. For that I can’t forgive him,” she said. 

The BC SPCA seized Belle and Sundance and launched an investigation while the horses received care at an undisclosed location in Prince George, BC. 

Once the investigation concluded, charges under both the Criminal Code of Canada and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act were submitted to Crown Counsel in Prince George on January 26, 2009. MacKay did not file an injunction, and the horses were legally transferred to the BC SPCA. 

“Part of the problem is that our laws protecting animals are too weak,” said Stutz at the time. 

Despite the physical hardship and emotional toll, the rescue left a lasting impression on everyone involved. 

“It was wonderful to see how people came together to help these animals, especially at one of the busiest times of the year,” said Stutz. “I am proud to be a member of this community.” 

The story came full circle on June 19, 2010, during the Town of McBride’s Pioneer Days Parade. Leading the procession was Belle, ridden by Stutz — a moment that symbolized how far the mare had come and delighted spectators who had followed the rescue from the beginning. 

Belle leads the McBride Pioneer Days Parade on June 19, 2010 with trainer Birgit Stutz (above/below). 

Photo courtesy of Birgit Stutz 

Stutz had not seen Belle in person for a year and a half prior to that spring but remained in contact with the horses’ new owners. Belle was living on a ranch near Prince George, while Sundance had found a home near Kamloops. Aside from their shortened tails, neither horse appeared to suffer lasting effects from their ordeal. Belle’s coat had regrown, though some white hair remained where frostbite had occurred. 

Stutz estimated both horses had lost between one-third to one-half of their body weight before being rescued. By the spring of 2010, Belle weighed approximately 1,400 pounds, while Sundance weighed an impressive 1,600 pounds. 

“Belle is very protective with food, which is normal for a horse that went through what she did,” said Stutz. “But she is very friendly with people. Almost too friendly!” 

Related: Heroic Bystander Rescues Wild Foal Stranded on Cliff’s Edge

Before the parade, Belle received one month of saddle training from Stutz. Though still green, the mare handled the experience with ease. 

“It went amazingly well,” said Stutz, who had been asked the previous fall to train Belle for riding. “I was thrilled when the owner contacted me last fall asking if I would train her. Getting to work with Belle was really neat. I am thankful to the owner for giving me that opportunity and for giving me the opportunity to ride her in the parade.” 

The rescue story was later documented in The Rescue of Belle and Sundance — A Miracle on Mount Renshaw, written by Birgit Stutz with Lawrence Scanlon and published by HarperCollins Canada in 2010. The book is available through Stutz’s website, Falling Star Ranch, and on Amazon.ca. 

Sundance, who was 14 years old at the time of his rescue, lived happily in his new loving home on a ranch in Monte Lake, BC. In May 2015, he crossed the rainbow bridge. 

Frank Mackay was found guilty in McBride Provincial Court on December 4, 2009. He was fined $1,150, ordered to pay $5,910.16 in restitution to the BC SPCA, and prohibited from possessing animals in British Columbia for two years. He was placed on probation for 12 months, though an initial counselling requirement was overturned on appeal. Mackay was also ordered to publish a statement in the Robson Valley Sentinel thanking the rescuers. Court also heard that this was the first time Mackay had travelled alone in the backcountry. 

A Christmas to Remember 

Years later, the rescue of Belle and Sundance still stands as a quiet Christmas miracle — a powerful reminder of what can happen when people refuse to look away. Carried out in the days leading up to Christmas, the effort reflected the season’s deeper meaning — responsibility, compassion, and the willingness to help when help is hardest to give. It required people to show up day after day in brutal conditions, driven only by determination and care for two lives that could not save themselves. 

In a season defined by generosity and goodwill, the people of McBride embodied the spirit of Christmas in its truest form, proving that by choosing kindness and sharing hope, people can create their own kind of Christmas miracle.  

Belle with Birgit Stutz in June, 2010. Photo courtesy of Birgit Stutz 

Excerpt from The Rescue of Belle and Sundance, by Birgit Stutz: 

“This is the nature of the contract between horses and humans. ‘I’ll work for you,’ the horse as much has said. ‘I’ll carry you into war, I’ll race for you, I’ll leap those fences, I’ll help round up those cattle, I’ll transport you and your goods. But I’m counting on you to keep me fed and watered and sheltered from the storm.’” 

Book Review: The Rescue of Belle and Sundance: A Miracle on Mount Renshaw 

Related: The 'Old Ones' - A Christmas Story for the Horse Lover