The wedding of Stephie Joustra and Jono Smith

THE TALE OF A CHAMPION SHOW HUNTER RIDER AND FORMER MISS UNIVERSE NEW ZEALAND FINALIST MEETING A TALENTED AUSTRALIAN SHOW JUMPER, MARRIAGE AND AN EXCITING FUTURE

Rewind a few years to when Stephie was a teenager and had a wonderful jumping horse called Mandella. He was a bit of a handful for Stephie, who describes herself as being a twig back then, so she decided to focus on Show Hunter to hone her skills.“I got hooked and haven’t looked back since,” she says. “As a sport it really reflects my personality. A perfectionist who likes doing things the correct way, and I like things to look pretty! I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat and anything over 1.30m doesn’t look like fun to me, so Show Hunter is perfect!”

Currently her team of stars include Disney, Hirondelle (his half sister who Jono has claimed for himself) and new addition Bloom. “I’ve had Disney for six years now and we’ve become an old married couple really. He’s extremely quirky and likes to give me a tune up a few times every season but I still love him to bits.”

Disney has royal connections in his bloodline. His dam is called Hino who is the granddaughter of Tira Mink, the sire of Charisma, so it is no surprise that he is not only good looking but an amazing jumper.

Bloom is a very exciting young horse Stephie recently acquired from his breeder Claudia Hay, by Euro Sport Heartbreaker. “I can’t wait to get him out to his first shows next season, he is very flash and exciting,” she beams. Stephie has many people around her that she gathers inspiration from for her riding. “I’m lucky to always have Jono on the ground to give me a tune-up if I need it. It’s great to have someone to bounce ideas around that I’ve seen online with. I’m always coming up with new ideas – most of them don’t work but some do! Jono’s mum Sue is an amazing dressage coach and I love it when she comes over from Australia to see us. Des Lowe really started my serious riding career and has been hugely influential - and he still is!”

Stephie and Jono both come from horsey families. Stephie’s family all ride and Jono’s are super competitive and amazing riders in their own right - his dad Chris, was selected to ride for the Australian show jumping team in the Moscow Olympics and won many championships including the Olympic Cup in New Zealand, and his mum Sue is a Grand Prix dressage rider, so it is easy to see where the talent comes from. NOT WITHOUT CHALLENGES

One title that Stephie has been chasing for a few years now is the elusive Show Hunter of the Year. “I don’t think Disney, or any horse that I will compete in Show Hunter, as I compete in Amateur Show Hunter too, will win in the current format, which is a real shame,” she says sadly. “Currently the Open title is held on the last day of the Show Hunter competition after all the Junior, Amateur, Equitation and Open championship titles and series classes have finished. By this stage all the true Show Hunter horses are fairly tired, especially with typically terrible ground conditions. Jumpers come in with fresh legs and win it. I’m not sure what the answer is to change it but I think the quality of competition would significantly improve if it did. Nearly everything else is done well. ESNZ Showhunter and the area groups where we attend shows are run by fantastic and passionate people who love the sport as much as I do - we are so thankful for them.”

Outside of the competition ring Stephie has had to overcome tall poppy syndrome, terrible loss and sadness. “Having a very thick skin has been something I’ve had to develop a lot over the years. Tall poppy syndrome is still alive and well! No one likes coming second but you just have to go home, work hard and come out blazing next weekend,” she says. “There was a year where I had just clicked with Disney and Mandella was still competing where I did extremely well. That year was extremely tough as my dad had just died, and I was very vulnerable and got bullied quite badly at the shows for doing well. He died suddenly when I was 18 and he never got to see me win a major title or national championship, which still sticks with me every day. I wish he had got to see me do well - he’s where I got my competitiveness from and I miss him so much. That year was really tough. But it taught me that hard work speaks louder than words, and that if you want to do well you actually have to put the yards in and not make excuses as to why you can’t win. I think being tough on myself has contributed a lot to my success. It’s very rare for me to come out of the ring 100% happy with my ride around every corner and to every fence. There is always something that can be improved and I make sure I never make the same mistake twice. Some say I’m too tough on myself, I say I learn more and quicker!”

In addition to losing her dad and rising above bullying, Stephie has to deal with a few health problems on a daily basis. “It can make things a bit tricky, you would definitely sack me if I was a horse!”

Not surprisingly Stephie and Jono met at a horse show – Horse of the Year 2012. “Jono came over to ride for New Zealand Performance Horses and was staying with friends of mine,” she recalls. “We got along like a house on fire and then somehow Jono managed to miss his flight home. No-one believed us that it wasn’t on purpose!”

Not one to waste time, she flew to Australia the following week and they haven’t been apart since. It is easy to see how much Stephie adores her husband. Other than being the best show groom ever, he’s her support system, truck driver, very-naughty-horse rider, in-house comedian, sous chef, horse breaker, coach, biggest fan, toughest critic and her best friend all in one. “Things are much more fun when we do them together,” she says.

Juggling family life and horses comes naturally to the newly-wed’s close family. “We all ride! Mum and her partner hunt during the winter, Jono show jumps and my sister Meg competes in Show Hunter as well. It is actually the thing we all have in common. My English and Dutch nonhorsey grandparents have had to learn to love them over the years!”

Outside of horses Stephie manages events and works in PR, as she loves styling, being creative and using those talents and passion in her work. WEDDING BELLS

The happy couple were married on 22nd January 2016 at a beautiful spot in Queenstown called Jack’s Point. “I was down there for work in February last year and by chance met a fellow stylist and event planner and she told me about it. It worked out perfectly as we had lots of overseas guests and Queenstown is perfect for tourists. It’s our favourite place and now we have even more fond memories there,” she smiles. “We went to Wanaka for three days afterwards to relax but we are hopefully heading off to the United States and Canada for a month or two next winter for a proper honeymoon.”

Stephie says married life has been exactly the same as before, just with a lot less money in their bank account - but plenty of fond memories that are worth every cent. There’s no rest ahead for the pair, however, as they have some big adventures planned for the coming year.

“We are looking forward to our big trip next year - the honeymoon. We did three months in Europe in 2014 which was incredible, and we have been getting the travel fever back again recently!

We can’t wait to see what the future brings for Stephie and Jono, and wish them all the best in their coming ventures. C 40 | SHOWCIRCUIT MAGAZINE