If you only know Gemma Rose Owen as “Michael Owen’s daughter” or “that Love Island finalist,” you’re missing the bigger picture. She’s carved out a lane that sits at the intersection of elite sport, fashion/entrepreneurship, and modern media and she’s done it young, with the kind of poise most people don’t find until their thirties. Here’s a grounded, no-fluff look at how she got here, what she’s actually achieved, and where she seems to be heading next.
Quick snapshot so you’re not Googling mid-read
- Full name: Gemma Rose Owen (yes, “Rose” is the middle name you’ve seen floating around)
- Born: 1 May 2003
- Known for: International dressage rider; Love Island 2022 runner-up; founder of a swim/resort label launched in 2020; influencer/brand ambassador.
Gemma Rose Owen Early start in the saddle
Horses weren’t a phase for Gemma Rose Owen; they were the plan. She started riding as a child and steadily pushed into top-tier youth competition. By her late teens, she’d represented Great Britain internationally in dressage no small feat in a sport that demands years of repetition, precision, and mental stamina. The FEI athlete profile lists her for Great Britain, and equestrian coverage has repeatedly described her as an international dressage rider with dozens of international starts.
If you’ve watched any dressage, you’ll know it’s the definition of “hard things look easy.” Gemma Rose Owen’s competitive record includes Prix St. Georges (PSG) wins domestically and young-horse championship placings with talented rides brought through the levels work that rarely makes mainstream headlines but absolutely matters inside the sport. British Dressage reported PSG successes and highlighted the depth of horses in her string, while other equestrian outlets have charted her progression through small tour levels.
What I appreciate here is that there’s no shortcut in dressage. You can’t buy feel, you can’t fake timing, and judges don’t grade on celebrity. To even hold your own, you show up in all weathers, repeat the same movements a thousand times, and take your 68% today on the chin so you can fight for 71% next month. The evidence that Gemma Rose Owen has put in those miles is there in the paperwork and results sheets less flashy than reality TV, but more telling if you care about craft.
Love Island didn’t make her it amplified her
Gemma Rose Owen entered the Love Island villa on Day 1 of Season 8 in 2022 and left as a runner-up on Day 58. Agree or disagree with the show, it’s a pressure cooker: you’re filmed constantly, judged instantly, and handed a megaphone you have to learn to use. She came out with a huge audience and, more importantly, options.
One of the smart moves post-show was a high-profile PrettyLittleThing ambassadorship not her inventing the wheel (Molly-Mae did it first), but still a big platform that keeps the lights on while you decide what you’re building long-term. That partnership was publicly announced in August 2022, giving Gemma Rose Owen a mainstream fashion lane alongside equestrian.
The business hat building and iterating a brand
Before Love Island, Gemma launched OG Beachwear in 2020 clean, minimal swim and resort pieces with a “luxury feel, youthful edge” angle. Early coverage from Grazia profiled the brand’s launch and aesthetic. This matters because it shows the timeline: she wasn’t waiting for a TV break to try entrepreneurship; she’d already started.
Now, if we’re being honest (and we should be), building a profitable apparel brand is brutally hard especially in swim, where margins get squeezed and marketing costs skyrocket. Tabloid reporting later scrutinized the company’s accounts and suggested the label, at one point rebranded toward loungewear as G R O Clothing, struggled to turn a profit while her separate promotions work did better. Take tabloids with salt, but the broader point stands: not every venture prints money, and iteration is part of the game.
The more interesting story is how she’s adapted leaning into brand collaborations, equestrian ambassadorships, and the racing world. Her official talent page notes ambassadorships and appearances tied to Great British Racing, the Victoria Racing Club (Australia), and the Kentucky Derby bridging lifestyle media with sport in a way that actually matches her background. That blend horses, fashion, events feels like the lane where she’s most credible.
Social presence more than thirst-traps and ads
Yes, the Instagram numbers are big (roughly two million followers), but what matters is how you use that reach. Gemma Rose Owen feed and her dedicated dressage account give a steady window into training days, show prep, travel to major meets, and the kind of behind-the-scenes horse content that only riders can produce without it feeling like cosplay. It’s lifestyle, but it’s also real work: horses are early mornings, vet bills, and a constant dance between athletic ambition and animal care.
This is where she’s differentiated from generic “influencer.” Plenty of creators do hauls and airport fits. Far fewer can talk through a test sheet, a hot warm-up ring, or why a half-pass fell apart in front of E. The equestrian audience can smell authenticity, and Gemma, love her or not, speaks that language.
Handling the knocks publicly
To pretend it’s all up and to the right would be dishonest. In early 2023, Gemma Rose Owen announced the sudden loss of Sirius Black, a top horse in her team, after a run that included notable PSG wins. Losing a partner like that hurts in ways box scores don’t capture. Sharing that news publicly, and then getting back to competing and rebuilding the string, tells you plenty about her resilience.
There’s also the noise that follows any young woman in the public eye relationship gossip, comparisons to other alumni, “has she faded?” threads on Reddit, the usual chorus. The answer to all that is the same as it’s always been: keep showing up, keep riding, keep shipping. Careers aren’t built in a summer; they’re built in seasons.
Where her career stands sport, media, and the spaces in between
In sport: The pathway is clear: consolidate Small Tour scores, keep producing horses, and step toward Grand Prix with the right partner. Reports around horses like MSJ Florenza show she’s aligning with the horsepower and coaching needed to move up. If you’ve watched riders make this jump, you know it’s patience and partnership, not just talent.
In media/fashion: Expect more limited capsules, event appearances tied to racing/equestrian calendars, and selective brand partners where her audience actually overlaps with the product (e.g., equestrian lifestyle, luxury outerwear, accessories). The PLT chapter built awareness; the next chapters will likely be about depth and longevity, not just splashy one-offs.
In influence: With a still-large, engaged base on Instagram (and likely cross-posting elsewhere), she has distribution most entrepreneurs would kill for. The trick now is using that reach to back things that are hers be that a refined apparel concept, an equestrian training/content platform, or something left-field that still fits her story.
What actually counts as “achievement” here?
Let’s strip the gloss and name the real wins:
- Representing Great Britain internationally in dressage. That’s earned, not gifted. The FEI profile is the boring receipt that matters.
- Competing and winning at respected domestic levels (through PSG), and staying in the arena through the ups and downs young horse classes, small tour consistency, and building a pipeline of rides.
- Launching a brand pre-fame, taking the lumps, then iterating. Plenty of people start labels; fewer keep going when the accounts don’t sing.
- Turning a reality-TV spotlight into long-tail opportunities the PLT ambassadorship, the racing/equestrian partnerships, and an audience that cares when she posts show-day clips, not just beach shots.
- Balancing public scrutiny with private grief (e.g., losing a top horse) and still moving forward competitively an under-discussed part of any athlete’s life.
The human read
What strikes me most about Gemma isn’t that she’s “famous.” It’s that her through-line horses hasn’t changed even when everything else did. TV came and went. Deals came and went. The riding stayed. That’s usually a good sign when you’re judging someone’s career trajectory: do they have a craft they’ll still care about when the hype quiets down? For Gemma, that answer looks like a yes.
And look, not every door opens because of grind alone. Being Michael Owen’s daughter put her in brighter light earlier. But bright light cuts both ways: it amplifies the missteps as much as the wins. In that light, staying the course in a demanding sport, building a (sometimes messy) business footprint, and showing up consistently for your audience is… actually impressive.
What to watch next
- Performance metrics, not headlines. Scores edging up at Small Tour; credible Grand Prix starts in the future with the right horse.
- Fewer, smarter brand plays. Equestrian-adjacent collabs and racing event partnerships that feel organic rather than spray-and-pray.
- Content with substance. More training notes, test breakdowns, and life-with-horses storytelling alongside the fashion. That’s her edge.
Final word
Gemma Rose Owen is not just a reality TV alum doing spon-con. She’s a working athlete in a technical sport, a young founder who’s had to pivot in public, and a media figure learning to steer a big audience toward things she actually lives. If you want the headline version, sure: Love Island star, PLT ambassador, dressage rider, two million followers. If you want the real version, it’s simpler: she gets up, rides, competes, learns, tries stuff, and keeps going. In 10 years, when the Love Island chatter has long faded, the most interesting line on Gemma’s CV might still be the one that starts with a horse. And honestly, that tells you everything.
