The ITV reality star was shown falling from a horse while riding in Meet the Owens.
Former Love Island star Gemma Owen’s horror horse riding accident has been aired in her new show Meet the Owens on Prime Video. The six-part programme follows former England footballer-turned-horse breeder Michael Owen and his family, including his feisty eldest daughter Gemma.
In a harrowing episode on the show, Gemma, 23 is shown falling from a horse and appearing to hit a railing while she is training to compete in the charity race the Magnolia Cup. Gemma, who represented Team GB in Dressage at youth and junior levels, is an experienced horse rider and the fall came as a shock to her family.
Luckily, Gemma escaped the fall without any broken bones, however she did get whiplash and sustained cuts to her face, as well as being covered in bruises. Gemma was riding her father’s horse He’s A Gentleman when she suffered the accident, after the horse appeared to bolt.
Audiences were shown images of Gemma’s huge bruises and she could be seen sporting a cut on the left side of her face, near her chin. The accident came six days before she was due to compete.
Speaking about the incident, her father Michael, 46, said Gemma was “tough as nails” and got back on a horse the day after. Meet the Owens then showed Gemma competing in the Magnolia Cup, despite being hardly able to move her neck.
Despite the accident, Gemma ended up coming fourth in the race after being initially stuck in 12th position when she was boxed in early on in the race. Michael later commented in a VT: “She came fourth but it’s just the start” as he knew Gemma would be gearing up to race another day in the future.
Reflecting on the fourth-place position, Gemma said she was “beyond gutted” and confirmed she would be doing it again, saying, “because I need to b****y win!” She also conceded that her father Michael had been right when he’d encouraged her to try horse racing.
She’s initially been skeptical about becoming a jockey, but over the course of training Gemma realised that this was what she wanted to do. Gemma was previously a contestant on season eight of Love Island back in 2022 and was a runner-up in the dating series.
Along with focusing on Gemma, Meet the Owens also delves into Michael and his wife Louise’s sweet marriage after the pair grew up together and attended the same primary school. They also touched on a tough point in their marriage during Michael’s move to Real Madrid, which had left new mother Louise isolated and without a support network.
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Michael’s only son, James, and his degenerative eye condition are also spotlighted in another episode. James was born with the genetic condition Stargardt disease, which means he is clinically blind.
Despite this, James showed his ambitions to become part of Michael’s family business, Manor House Stables and help to get potential investors on board. At one point, Michael and James even went to Bahrain together in the hopes of securing some more potential buyers and money for the stables.
Meet the Owens is streaming on Prime Video now