Home-produced combination land first ever HOYS ticket… In the Price Family Supreme!
It’s safe to say that mechanical design engineer Emma Gunn won’t be forgetting her experience of the 2023 Royal Highland Show any time soon!
Emma and her own home-produced Welsh Part-bred mare, Penskyber Mayflower (Maisie) won their Welsh prat-bred class and the first ever WPCS Silver medal on offer at the Highland before entering the Price Family Supreme and taking the ticket to HOYS. “We went in with absolutely no expectations,” explained Emma, “just to have fun in the main ring! But Maisie knows her job and showed herself off perfectly.”
Thirteen-year-old Maisie was bred in Pembrokeshire by Sarah Whitfield. She’s by Small Land Maytino and was shown successfully in hand as a youngster with championships including at the Royal Welsh Show. Maisie then joined the Jinks Show team and was campaigned as a 153cm show hunter pony and small hack by the Jinks Show Team, qualifying for HOYS in both sections. Emma has owned her for the past six years and showed her successfully under saddle, again as a show hunter pony and as an intermediate show riding type, taking Emma south to Hickstead for the Royal International Horse Show.
“I then decided to put her in foal as I was doing my mechanical engineering masters full time whilst working,” said Emma, who shares responsibility for Maisie’s production and care with her mum, Vanessa and her dad, Hamish. The Caithness-based family team took Maisie and her Cosford Criminal Affair foal to the Highland last year where they won their class and went reserve champion Pony Breeding. This year, they had planned to attend with the now yearling filly for experience, but decided to take Maisie along for the 500 mile round trip as it’s their favourite show.
“She really is a horse of a lifetime. She has given us so much joy over the years; competing in the ridden classes, giving us a beautiful black filly foal, and now my first ever HOYS ticket! It’s surreal that we have tried to qualify with a number of ponies for HOYS ridden classes over the years, always being so close but never getting that golden ticket then to go and qualify in the prestigious Price on first try is just a dream come true, and being home produced makes it that much more special.”
