A couple who are both horse loggers and who got engaged at last year’s Great Yorkshire Show have come full circle as they married at this year’s event (8-11 July).
Peri Dunford and Mark Jones said their vows in the woodland area of the show on Wednesday, with logging horses Stig (pictured right, above) and Tyne as witnesses.
The couple live near Preston and both are involved in the show’s forestry section, Peri horse logging and Mark logging and competitive pole-climbing. They hit headlines at last year’s event when Peri waited till Mark was at the top of one of the poles, got down on one knee and popped the question in front of a cheering crowd.
Show director Rachel Coates said: “Although this is not the first wedding we have hosted during the show it is in a unique location which is completely appropriate for a couple with such strong links to our forestry section. We were honoured they chose this space to tie the knot, and we wish them a long and happy future together.”
Mark and Peri met in a pub and soon discovered their mutual interest in horses. They both now work in Mark’s arboricultural business and at Myerscough College, Mark teaching chainsaw and tree-felling skills and Peri as an equine technician.
After the ceremony, Peri said: “It’s been fantastic, everything has been perfect. We can’t thank these guys at the show enough. It’s been so good.”
The couple had a short drinks reception, then changed and went back to the forestry section for Peri to take part in the horse-logging demonstrations and Mark to compete in the pole-climbing. After the show, they plan to take a month off for a honeymoon travelling in Iceland and Norway.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
