Perfect Partners: Emma Mason & Marcus

PERFECT PARTNERS

Choosing between a special team of horses for this article proved very difficult for champion eventer Emma Mason. So, SONIA CAEIRO ALVAREZ helped pick one, and he proved to be the quirkiest of them all.

Most perfect partnerships start with a love story and the beginning of this one is no exception. Around five years ago Emma Mason serendipitously came across a Facebook photograph of a bay gelding, Warrego Marco Polo (more usually known as Marcus), taken at an eventing competition in Scone, NSW. She was immediately captivated and fell in love with the horse, owned and ridden by Justine Streater.

From thence the journey began. Emma rang Justine on the off chance the horse was for sale and says that her connection with Marcus was immediate. “I loved him from the very first ride. He was just such a cool horse. I loved the feeling he gave me under saddle. Everything about him. I was hooked.”

However, the ownership deal fell through and it seemed that fate would not unite these two, until serendipity struck again in the shape of an accident.

“A few weeks later, Justine unfortunately broke her leg, and rang me back to see if I was still interested in Marcus,” Emma says. “Which of course I was, and at that stage we had a syndicate of owners, and finally he was ours.”

Based in Central Mangrove, just north of Sydney on the NSW Central Coast, Emma has her hands full having moved with her husband, equine vet Brett Jones to a new property only 18 months ago, and even more recently relocating all the horses. “We basically started from scratch as it wasn’t originally an equestrian facility,” Emma says. “But we love the property. We have 47 acres, a recently set up arena and cross country jumps. We also have a perfect 400 metre hill for galloping, so it’s coming together very well,” the eventer says.

Emma has four long-standing horses on her competition team. “They each have their own special qualities and yes, it’s like choosing a favourite child, but I think Marcus stands out. He’s an overgrown pony, really. He is quirky. You can’t always catch him,” she chuckles. “However, he’s extremely clever, tries hard and is a great jumper, and there’s not a single day I don’t feel lucky to ride him. He’s given me a lot of confidence as a rider and in competition.”

According to Emma, Marcus is strong in all three phases. “He’s a good mover on the flat, brave and clever across country, and a careful show jumper,” she says. “He wants to please and hates to think he’s done the wrong thing – a bit of a teacher’s pet, actually.”

But no matter the connection, or the love at first sight, Emma understands that it takes time to strengthen a partnership. “I have the view that when you take on a horse, it's at least 12 months before it begins to really feel like your horse,” she says. “Justine trained him beautifully, but it took a good year or so before he started to feel like one of my horses.”

Interestingly, Emma doesn’t think of the bond she shares with Marcus as purely emotional: “There’s definitely an emotional connection and I love Marcus like he’s part of the family, but the bond is more about mutual respect. I respect the horse and I think he respects me. For an eventing horse being faced at challenging obstacles, that respect and mutual trust between us is the most important thing.”

From there the pair won in the 2017 Adelaide 2* (now a 3* event) – a significant feat for a very new partnership at such an early stage

in their competition career. Emma also treasures their place on the Australian team at the 2019 NZ Oceania Championship in Taupo. Despite a tumble in the water that was considered unlucky by coaches and fellow competitors alike, she says the competition was a wonderful experience, and to their great credit, Emma and Marcus were one of only a few combinations to post a clear show jumping round on the final day of competition. They have since taken a swag of gongs – a second in the 2020 Albury 4*, fifth in the 2020 Wallaby Hill 4* long format, and in 2021 a third at Quirindi and a second in the Sydney 4*.

Emma’s confidence in Marcus and his ongoing potential reached the point where she found his two-year-old three-quarter sister on Facebook and bought her immediately. “She is sassy and opinionated but I see lot of Marcus in her. Even if she has 10 per cent of his capability, she’s worth it.”

From her Central Coast base Emma also works as a lawyer, takes horses in for schooling, squeezes in some coaching when she can and is a mother to 18-month old Eddie. The adage, ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person’ springs to mind. “I’m very fortunate to have a great family and team around me. It’s a juggle, but it’s fun and I think there is a work and family life balance," she says.

Her legal expertise often draws her from her core work towards equine related cases and Emma believes in the value of uniting these two fundamentals in her life. The power and the passion one might say – and the passion with Marcus has a very bright future.