(PHOTO - JENNIFER GUNN is a Quarter Horse owner and pony rider during the races at Ajax Downs - Laurie Overton Photo)
She may have only been 2-years-old at the time but Jennifer Gunn realized every little girl's dream; she got a pony for her birthday.
Okay, so the black and white paint pony had a few issues as she was missing one eye and had a case of the strangles, but that little pony, 'Monkey', made an impact on Jennifer's life she almost did not realize.
"She taught me so much about horses," said Jennifer, a familiar face at Ajax Downs as an owner and pony rider.
Monkey was purchased by Jennifer's father and grandfather from a local auction house and the youngster rode her prized pony every day. Her love for horses was deeply embedded; she remembers her grandmother keeping a retired racehorse in a 'mud room' section in the back of her house. Yes, apparently it was a horse in an actual room.
And her father, Alfie Gunn, was involved in Quarter Horses in the early years of Picov Downs.
For more than 10 years, Jennifer and Monkey were inseparable.
"She used to call for me at the paddock gate," said Jennifer, who grew up in Stouffville. "If I didn't come to her right away, I wouldn't be able to catch her for days."
Jennifer believes her years with Monkey paved the way for her career in horses. "She was my best friend. She taught me about the partnership between horse and rider, communication, everything."
Monkey had to be put down in her later years when she foundered but it is because of that one-eyed pony that Jennifer has blossomed in her career. In addition to racing a couple of Quarter Horses with her partner Rodney Quinn and ponying, Jennifer works for Carmen Auciello's Standardbred stable in Uxbridge.
Oh, she also raises two young children who perhaps one day will have the same memories of a horse that changed their life.
(PHOTO - GRABIN AWARDS, owned by Jennifer Gunn and trained by her partner Rodney Quinn, was a winner at Ajax on September 12 - New Image Media photo)
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