Former Emmerdale actress Gaynor Faye has confronted a 40-year fear of horses during the latest episode of Our Great Yorkshire Life, after a childhood accident left her traumatised.
The Channel 5 documentary series, narrated by Dean Andrews, returned for its fourth season on Friday, September 11. In the episode, farmer Steven Short hoped his lambs would fetch strong prices at auction, restored rooms reopened at Castle Howard after decades, and Tom Addison completed a historic church restoration.
Childhood accident sparked lifelong fear
Gaynor, known for playing Megan Macey in Emmerdale, opened up about the childhood accident that saw her thrown off a horse. She has harboured a fear of horses for over 40 years since.
During the episode, holistic healer Lynn Henry helped Gaynor navigate her anxiety as she visited a stables in Bramhope, Leeds. Gaynor explained: "When I was younger, me and my friends went to a stables. I saw this little horse, and it was one of those things where I saw the horse and was straight up to the horse, got on it. The horse started to go round... and then eventually, I got kicked off the horse. It was so frightening, the whole experience. That was it, I didn't ride again."
Therapy and a bond with Toffee
Lynn tried to get Gaynor to understand a horse's body language by walking into the stables. But once there, one horse brought back bad memories for Gaynor. "This one definitely reminds me of the horse that kicked me off. When I was coming up to her, I realised that I was starting to get a bit of stress signals. It's definitely brought a little bit back of what happened to me in that riding stables," she said.
Gaynor eventually bonded with a horse called Toffee. She tentatively approached the animal and was able to stroke it, later leading the horse around the pen and riding it slowly.
Progress and pride
Sharing her surprise at how far she had come in just a matter of hours, Gaynor said: "I was happy to stand in front of a horse with a big iron gate there, that was as far as I would have gone this morning. And yet, I've just stood next to a horse, led the horse in a few hours. That's quite incredible."
Lynn later shared her pride at Gaynor's progress. "I think she's done absolutely amazing. To trust the process that we've been through and trust her own body, trust me, trust the horse - lots of people can't do that in their first lesson," she said.
Our Great Yorkshire Life is available to stream on 5, while Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
