Seven-year-old Emma Mottus has been riding horses for three years and has been making a name for herself as a hopeful young equestrian specializing in hunter/jumper riding.
The young Rocky View County resident and her 13-year-old Welsh pony gelding named Joey Skittles just won second place in a province-wide equestrian-themed photo contest hosted by the Alberta Equestrian Federation (AEF), the provincial governing body for all things equine-related.
According to Jill Fuselli, equestrian coach and owner of Eastwood Stables, Mottus has been riding at her stables, located near Acme, Alta., for approximately two years and purchased Skittles the pony last December.
“Emma is a hunter/jumper rider or aspires to be one,” said Fuselli. “She’s still very little, and she’s actually doing her first competition on her pony in Calgary at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping in March.”
She entered the promising rider and her steed into the photo competition after first purchasing her boarders a photo shoot with a local horse show photographer, VanEaton Photography.
“They all got their pictures taken with their horses and [the submitted photo] is one of the pictures that was taken with Emma,” Fuselli said. “It’s such a sweet picture that when Alberta Equestrian Federation put the contest up, I entered her picture into it on behalf of her mom [Kendra].”
The federation’s first-ever Equine Valentine photo challenge encouraged Albertans to submit a photo showing the bond between a horse and its owner in time for Valentine’s Day, and to support your favourite contestants with daily likes, shares, and votes on social media.
According to Fuselli, there was a big social media campaign leading up to the photo competition, and many of Mottus’ friends and family promoted her cause.
“All of her barn buddies went and advertised it all over their Facebook pages and then it just grew like crazy – she was the cutest,” Fuselli said, adding the final decision was based on the total of votes for each submission.
The results of the photo competition were featured online at the AEF’s contest page, where Mottus was awarded second place, and alongside two other competitors who snagged first and third place, took home some swag from the non-profit organization.
Fuselli said the submission received approximately 1,200 votes in total, with Mottus taking home an AEF throw blanket and travel mug to mark the occasion.
As to the young athlete’s capabilities on her pony, Fuselli said though she is small, she packs a punch.
“She’s very tiny, but she’s a little firecracker and she’s kind of become a little sweetheart of the barn here,” Fuselli said. “She’s one of about five girls that I have in that age group that ride competitively.
“We’ve got quite a large group this year, which is the largest group I’ve had of that age group in my career. We’ve got a lot of little ones right now, but she is very keen and her pony is also a little firecracker and loves to go.”
According to Fuselli, COVID-19 put a halt on the stables’ equine services early on in 2020 but they were able to keep going throughout most of the pandemic by shifting to one-on-one practices for the youth with expert supervision.
“It was one sport that was able to keep going because horses naturally practice social distancing,” she said. “Now, with all the restrictions being lifted, I’ve been getting a lot more interest.”
Fuselli added Eastwood Stables, which is family-owned and operated, offers full-service horse boarding, lessons, training, school horse program, horse sales, and horse shows. They also offer a riding school where kids can learn to ride without owning their own pony.
“If they get more serious about it, then we also [offer] boarding,” she said. “Or you can actually part- lease a horse and compete if you want to or just ride for fun – competing isn’t a requirement.”
For more information on Eastwood Stables equine services visit the facility’s website.
