Riding to the top - The story of young Emma

It’s not every day, especially in Gibraltar, that you find a child whose passion for horseriding is above an beyond expectations, but Gibraltar has been producing some starlets in the sport as highlighted in December in our reports.
Among one of them is Emma-Leigh Perez, daughter of Cary-Anne Taylor and David Perez. To many, who do not know her, just a nine year old pupil at St Joseph. Yet Emma, since she was just a toddler was drawn to horses and has since arrived at the point where she is now participating on official competitions around Andalucia and bringing back medals. Her journey kept away from the headlines by protective parents who although proudly having shown friends the exploites of their young daughter, have not ventured to publicise it widely as many parents might have ventured to do. Instead, focusing on their child’s development and encouraging Emma in her pathway into the sport.
We had fortunate opportunity to get the thoughts of her parents as we looked at how Emma, with Althea and Cosmic Boy, the latter two currently kept at stables at Hipica San Roque Club, further add to Gibraltar’s pathway into the Equestrian sport. Only recently having once again produced results ranked among the top four in competitions such as the Campeonato de Ponis de Andalucia
“Emma-Leigh is not like any other modern time nine-year-old, she has always had a special interest and somewhat bond with animals and caring for our planet. However, her love and passion for horses has always been extraordinary. Since a very young tender age of 18 months, she would be drawn to horses, whether it was in the form of a toy horse or when driving by the field she would always shout out “horsey”,” said her mother Cary-Anne Taylor.
“As every other parent, you believe it is just a phase which all children go through at some point of their childhood. One summer, in the fair in La Linea, we came across a horse and carriage, Emma-Leigh was immediately drawn to the horse and was in complete awe. It was in this moment where we thought it would be a treat to take her on a pony ride.
“This pony ride soon became a half an hour Saturday treat, followed by a half an hour Saturday and Sunday treat to an hour on a Saturday and Sunday. She began to enjoy it more and more and we could see she wanted to “learn how to ride alone like the big girls!”
“To find a trainer to teach Emma-Leigh at the age of now three was hard. But we did, and she grew and learned. Her love and passion evidently grew fonder, and we had no idea whatsoever what we were getting ourselves in.
“Emma-Leigh is the apple of our eyes we could see no other little girl like her; however, we knew that this could be a little biased being our little girl however when many riders that saw ride would highlight her potential, we learned that this could be something other than just a hobby.
“By the age of four, Emma-Leigh was now riding three days a week. She was particularly enjoying show jumping. With this came many falls, but our brave girl, would shake off the sand and get straight back on. Of course, with some of these falls came tears, but nevertheless she climbed back on. She would blame only herself and never the horses for her falls.
“Competitions began and although nerves sometimes got the better of her and there may have been tears in the warmup arena, she would always shine when it was her turn to jump. She would always self-criticise herself and learn when the course did not go as what she expected. She would always be reassured that this comes as part and parcel of learning and bettering herself.
“It is not only the riding which she enjoys, it is the caring and all the nitty gritty horse cares that come with riding which she has also enjoyed just as much. She has learned and understands the importance of the cares that come with the sport, like with any other sport.
“December 2019 will always be remembered as the Christmas that changed her life. The Christmas where “Santa” (AKA Mama and Dada, her grandparents) made her dream come true. Emma-Leigh was now the owner to her very own horse, Palmira. It was the year that “Santa” took her to Disney World in Orlando also, but this was not merely good enough. All she kept asking for was “when are we going back so I can ride my horse?”
“We could see that she wanted to learn more, and she wanted to train harder. Slowly she had already convinced us to now ride four days a week. By this point we started looking for a 1 to 1 trainer. We found her trainer Vanessa Scheib, well known in the world of Spanish Show Jumping.
“She too could see Emma-Leigh’s potential and passion and somewhat see herself in Emma-Leigh so she agreed to take on Emma-Leigh and teach her. Throughout her fifth and sixth year, Vanessa invested a lot of her time and patience.
“We have seen Emma-Leigh’s passion and confidence flourish during her time with Vanessa. Thanks to Vanessa, we found our precious Emma-Leigh her own winning pony, Cosmic Boy. Boy! It has not been easy to get this duo to click but now they are an amazing duo who loved each other endlessly.
“Cosmic Boy being a mini stallion and Emma-Leigh being a stubborn girly, it has been a battle where both want their own way. However, the dedicated and stubborn girly in Emma-Leigh managed to overcome this and win the battle at a cost of many tears, anger and falls, but her reward was to be many happy and well-earned podium wins and rounds of honours. We are sure she just wants to win just to get called out for her round of honour so she can show off her furry love.
“Currently at Hipica San Roque Club, Emma-Leigh is further growing into an amazingly brave equestrian. She is surrounded by many talented riders who love her and have taken her as her own. Her trainers, Miguel Torres, Jorge Campos, Laura da Silva and Jorge Ruiz, who had at the time when we moved over, became Spanish champion in his category in the Sunshine tour, Montenmedio with his mare sweet dreams. All of them amazed and completely besotted by her dedication and her passion in the equestrian world of show jumping.
“We are frequently travelling around Andalucía participating in competitions always trying to excel herself. Seville, Vejer de la Frontera, Antequera, Jerez, Guadiario are a few places to mention. Emma-Leigh continues to aspire to compete in more and bigger international events like Madrid and London and put our Gibraltar flag on the map.
“We have seen her grow in the world of horse riding/show jumping, so much so, where she has met so many amazing riders who love to watch her. Her confidence has flourished to have full blown conversations with these most known Spanish riders. As her mother I am in awe to see my daughter ooze so much confidence and passion for this amazing sport but most importantly when she demonstrates amazing sportsmanship amongst her competitors.
“At the age of seven she participated in the Campeonato de Ponis de Andalucia ranking in fourth position with five clear rounds and a breathtaking final round where she and her very loved Cosmic boy gave their whole heart in hope of a spot in the podium.
“Althea is Emma-Leigh’s newest addition, and something tells me this is almost certainly not the last. Althea was Emma-Leighs birthday gift and are currently bonding and learning about each other.
“Nine months on, this October, Emma-Leigh was able to compete for the first time in the ‘Alevines’ category in the Campeonato de Andalucia. Even though this competition did not go to plan, the new duo did definitely put on a competition! Emma-Leigh and Althea consistently achieved the quickest times, however due to a few minor errors causing her to gain accumulative points, she unfortunately again missed a place on the podium.
“Overall, we were all ecstatic with the results and her achievements. She loves to show off both her beloved Cosmic Boy and Althea with so much love and pride. She is at a beautiful age where she can continue to compete with both Cosmic Boy and Althea. This allows a wider range of competitions (Pony and horse show jumping) which maximises her exposure and learning.
“I again need to mention it is not only the competition part but the countless hours of training and determination which is admirable and credible as well as the grooming side as well, such as regular feeding and watering of the horses, cleaning and prepping that happens behind.
“Emma-Leigh is one tough cookie to crack and thrives by training hard and consistently. She continues to work hard and watch her peers closely. You can see her take on all critiques and apply them to become a better rider. She then explains what she has been applying to us so that we too understand. Reality is that this world is completely alien to us, but this is our confirmation that she understands her learning and the rationale of applying it.
“Again, as parents we may be biased but we have complete faith that our Emma-Leigh is special, and she is here for a purpose which we believe she can achieve this if she wishes to peruse it. We will no doubt be behind her every step of the way in hope that she will one day be seen, sponsored/scouted and be able to live her dream alongside her horses.
“Next stop, we are still not sure, but I know 2024 will be amazing for this girl and her horses, so, watch this space.
“We are currently looking for any sponsorship that would allow Emma-Leigh to further her passion, by supporting her training and events, hopefully reaching her goal of an appearance at the Olympics in the future.”

Photos courtesy Jack Evans Photography