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Tonight I have a disturbing tale about horses that need to be rescued from a so called horse rescuer. It's Friday, January 23rd, 2026. I'm David Menzies and this is the Ezra Levent Show. Shame on you, you sensorian bug. Animal cruelty is equal parts disturbing, gross and downright maddening. Yet tragically, animal cruelty remains a blight on society. This is not news, of course, but the story I'm about to present is a bizarre saga of a woman who promotes herself as a rescuer of horses. She wants to be seen as someone who cares deeply about abused horses. She wants you to know she devotes her life to saving these majestic animals. However, the facts of the matter paint a completely different story. Horses in her care tend to exist in miserable conditions. They get sick, they starve, they suffer from dehydration, they die. The irony is perverse given that the horses in her career need to be rescued from the so called rescuer. Meet Toronto resident Stephanie Redlich. She is now a notorious figure in Ontario's equine community. If a horse owner sees Redlich anywhere near their farm, the advice is to call the cops. Not surprisingly, Redlich is known to police. As the saying goes, that's never a good sign. Redlich runs a operation called above the Stars Equine Rescue. She once claimed that above the Stars was a charity recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency. She even provided a registration number, just one hitch. The CRA has no record of such a charity. As for that 15 digit long registration number, it is completely bogus. That was the first red flag to emerge when I began looking into the disturbing case of Stephanie Redlich. And the more I dug, I ended up coming across more red flags than one would find at a matador convention. First and foremost, she claims to have rescued some 1500 horses. 1500, that's an astonishing number. Just think of the money that would be needed to care for 1500 horses in terms of feed, vet costs, horseshoes, etc. But Redlich apparently has very little money. She doesn't own a farm, but lives in a modest apartment in north Toronto. She typically rents plots of land in rural Ontario, until that is the landlord of Vixer. Now, why would that be? Well, Redlich allegedly has this very bad habit of not paying the rent when it's due. As for the animals in her care. Oh, those poor horses. In the last few weeks, I have spoken to many people in the equine community. This includes Marie Bennett, who runs a website called banhorseslaughter.com Bennett has extensively chronicled the escapades of of Stephanie Redlich. It's almost turned into a full time job for Bennett. Should you visit ben horselaughter.com you will happen upon a treasure trove of evidence pertaining to Redlich's behavior. None of it is good. The evidence includes numerous disturbing photographs portraying horses that were under the stewardship of Redlich. Typically, the conditions the horses are kept in are beyond appalling. This includes freezing cold barns filled with ankle deep manure. Often there's no feed for the horses to eat. Buckets contain ice rather than water. It's also been documented that Redlich horses left outside were forced to eat poor quality moldy hay. Horses were also observed picking through their own waste and in a desperate attempt to find something to eat. Horses in Redlich's care are often severely dehydrated and dangerously thin. Many horses sport numerous sores and untreated wounds. It's sick. I also reached out to Donna Power, who heads up an organization called Humane Initiative. Power also has nothing positive to say about Stephanie Redlich, and she confirms that the information Bennett has amassed on her Ban Whore Slaughter website is accurate. As for her part, Redlich will tell you that she receives horses in a dilapidated condition in the first place, so their poor health isn't her fault, you see. But even if that's really the case, why doesn't she enlist vets to attend to these poor animals? And when she does hire a vet, why does she allegedly seldom pay her vet bills? Furthermore, even when Redlich receives a horse that is completely healthy, this is no guarantee the horse is going to live happily ever after. Case in point, the tragic case of former racehorse Seattle Sunrise. Sources tell me that Redlich acquired ownership of Seattle Sunrise, and In November of 2024, the horse was said to be in pristine condition. Three months later, Seattle Sunrise was skin and bones. When Crystal Mitchell acquired Seattle Sunrise and three other horses from Redlich, Crystal paid thousands in vet fees to save his life. It was all for naught as this once mighty thoroughbred perished, apparently due to wanton neglect. And check out this photograph of a newborn foal left in the care of Stephanie Redlich. This foal was left in a cold and drafty, ramshackle barn. Unable to stand, the foal could not nurse. Windchill temperatures were as low as -26 degrees Celsius. She did not survive. Sadly, the number of horses that have suffered under Redlich is simply too numerous to list here. But thankfully, it would appear that the jig is up for Redlich. Last February, Animal Welfare Services seized 16 horses from Redlich. One horse, named Midnight, was in such dire condition, he had to be put down almost immediately. Redlich was charged with 13 counts of animal neglect by Animal Welfare Services. This included seven counts of failing to meet standard of care, three counts of causing distress, and three counts of permitting distress. Animal Welfare Services notes the horses seized from Redlich were suffering from infected wounds, lameness, parasites, malnourishment, poor hygiene, and untreated medical conditions as well. Animal Welfare Services has invoiced Redlich for $116,000. This is to pay for the necessary care of the surviving horses seized by the agency. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here, folks, and make a prediction right now that Animal Welfare Services will not receive a nickel from Redlich. But Redlich is not only neglectful when it comes to caring for horses, but she's also an alleged fraudster, too. Redlich is currently before the criminal court facing several theft and fraud charges. Last May, she was criminally charged by police. She is accused of fraud totaling more than $26,000, theft over $5,000, making forged documents and making false pretenses with intent to defraud using cattle worth more than $5,000. And then last December, additional criminal charges were laid against Redlich, including uttering a forged document, fraud over $5,000, and being in the possession of of the proceeds of crime and forgery. She is also accused of passing off an altered check to defraud an auction house of more than $15,000. Now, police began their fraud investigation regarding Redlich last year after they received a complaint about, quote, transportation and financial irregularities of livestock being transported from a farm in Tay Township and sold at a Cookston stockyard sale in September of 2024. End quote. Here's a skinny. According to sources, 80 something John Dobson owned a farm nearby, a property Redlich was renting. Dobson owned a small herd of cattle, but he had to travel to Toronto for a medical procedure. Well, wouldn't you know it? Redlick being such a kind and compassionate young lady. Well, she promised Dobson she'd look after his cows. Oh, she looked after them all right. Redlich allegedly had the cattle hauled off to an auction house pretending that the cows belonged to her. She reportedly pocketed something like $60,000 from the sale and which led to the fraud and theft charges. Unbelievable. I should point out that Redlich is very thin skinned when she receives criticism, should anyone call her out. Her knee jerk strategy is to engage in harassment, smear campaigns and online deception, much of which would appear to meet the benchmark of defamation. Marie Bennett of BenHorselder.com also notes that Redlich engages in other shenanigans. For example, she says Redlich advertises cheap hay for sale, yet the images are allegedly stolen from US farmers and equipment owners who have publicly confirmed they do not know her. Redlich also has a documented pattern of misrepresenting horses she puts up for sale. She routinely advertises injured or unsound horses as being healthy. You know that old saying, don't buy a pig in a poke? Well, when it comes to Redlich, don't buy a horse from her if it's cloaked in a blanket. You might not like the sight that awaits your eyes once that blanket is removed. Bennett also says Redlich has even gone so far as to allegedly sell horses that she does not own, using photos plucked from the Internet. In some cases, Redlich claims delivery is included, but that's impossible, of course, given that she has no access to the horses that she's pretending to sell. Most recently, Redlich has been laughably presenting herself as a so called equine therapist. She claims, quote, I'm like a doctor, I'm a therapist, but I'm not registered, so you have to pay me directly. OHIP doesn't cover my charges, end quote. Well, of course OHIP doesn't cover her charges. And get this, when potential clients ask where her horses are or where the therapy appointments take place, Redlich allegedly insists they must first e transfer a payment for 10 sessions, after which she will meet them at a Tim Hortons par for the course. Redlich is a no show of note. Redlich has more than 30 aliases, including Stephanie Alicia and Stephanie Martin, and she has more than a dozen dozen phone numbers. Nothing dodgy here, of course, except that these are the do rigor telltale tactics of a scammer. She also appears to have delusions of grandeur. She speaks of having a tech team. Yet her zoom connection during animal Welfare Services tribunal hearings tends to crash, typically when the questions get a little too prickly for her liking. She also brags of retaining a hotshot legal team. Yet in criminal court last December, she said that she qualifies for legal aid. And in truth, that might be the most honest statement Redlich has uttered in recent weeks, given her obvious lack of financial wherewithal. Of course, there are two sides to every story. So a few days ago, we arranged to interview Stephanie Redlich. Originally, the interview was going to take place in Norwich, Ontario, which is about two hours southwest of Toronto. The Norwich venue is or was Red Lake's current rental property. I thought it would be interesting to check out the horses currently under her stewardship, as well as the conditions they are living in. But the day before the interview, Redlich phoned to say that she had been deemed Persona non grata by the property's landlord. He allegedly threatened to call the police if she showed up at the farm. Gee, why would that be a bounce check perhaps? So it was. We visited Redlich in North Toronto and conducted the interview in the foyer of her apartment building. Check out the following excerpts. And I ask you folks, are you buying what Stephanie Redlich is selling? David Menzies for Rebel News here in North Toronto. And I'm standing with Stephanie Redlich. She is the principal of above the Stars Equine Rescue. And basically why we're here is, is Stephanie has told me off camera she's had all kinds of pitfalls and hurdles running her operation. So, Stephanie, without any further ado, tell us about above the Stars Equine Rescue and what are the issues that you are dealing with right now.