The craftspeople who made six rocking horses for The late Queen said it was only fitting to immortalise Her Majesty’s beloved pony Emma to mark what would have been her 100th birthday.
The horse was introduced to Terry Pendry, The Queen’s stud groom and manager, and the real Emma at Windsor Castle last week.
“She was sniffing it all over, really nuzzling it, it was quite lovely,” Marc Stevenson told H&H. “Terry said the rocking horse looked a little in foal, which Emma was when Terry bought her, all those years ago. A bit of me wondered whether she thought this was her foal, so we’re slimming her down a tad.”
Stevenson Brothers had made rocking horses for The late Queen’s 80th and 90th birthdays, and her jubilees, so “we had to make one for her 100th”, Marc said.
“It’s been something we wanted to do for a long time,” he explained. “I’d photographed Emma before but it was the funeral that did it. It was lovely Terry Pendry had taken Emma to stand by the Long Walk to pay her last respects, a very poignant moment, and I thought ‘We have to do this’.”
Marc mentioned the idea to make Emma to The King’s former crown equerry Toby Brown, when Stevensons presented His Majesty with his own rocking horse to mark his coronation.
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“Through conversations with Toby Brown, word was requested to make a replica of Emma, in memory of Her Majesty, and to support the Fell Pony Society,” he said. “So Toby went to His Majesty and said that’s what we would like to do, and the message came back that it was a good idea, and thank you very much. The idea’s been in gestation for nearly four years but it seemed very fitting to kick on and make it happen for the centenary.
“We’ve got a very talented team here, of craftspeople, carvers, artists, restorers and talented saddler and business partner Sue Russell, who runs it all.”
Picture by Kyle Stevenson@Pro-Motion Digital
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Stevensons will be making a limited number of rocking Emmas, taking on board small tweaks suggested by Mr Pendry, and for each one sold, the company will make a donation to the Fell Pony Society. The King is the patron of the society, as was The late Queen.
“Terry’s very constructive; he judges horses and ponies, and knows Emma intimately so I wanted to check that he was happy we’d got her shape right, and he was very pleased with her,” Marc said. “We stood back and looked at the rocking horse and at Emma, and he said ‘Yes’, we’d got the shape right. We’d got her feather nice and straight on her lower limbs, just as the breeders in Cumbria like it to be, and head and shape just right.
“We’re going to make her in oak, to get the grain coming through and a bit more texture, and she won’t be glossy, she’ll be semi-matte. We do our own silk scarves too – I’m looking at a picture of Her Majesty wearing a Stevenson Brothers scarf – and they will come with her, scarf and photograph. And it’s nice to support the society; our rare breeds need looking after and it’s an honour to support them.”
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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.
