Kevin Cousins and Christina Gillett

WITH more producers to choose from than ever before, it can be difficult to push through the crowd in the showing world, let alone run a thriving business that pays the bills, fills the lorry and sees you through a pandemic. As the market becomes increasingly saturated with ambitious enthusiasts looking to turn pro, finding your niche and then running with it is essential.

Kevin Cousins and Christina Gillett are two professionals who, together, have found their intended path. Based in Cambridgeshire, the engaged couple run an 18-box yard of children’s rides, ranging from mountain and moorlands (M&Ms) to hunter ponies. They met in 2014 at the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) judges conference and kindled their romance at the Fayre Oakes Welsh pony sale later that year.

“I’d gone to the assessment on my own and found it really daunting,” reflects Christina, 34, who was taught to ride by Dawn Clarke and started showing