She is currently making her way to the top and conquers it all with a smile. Last month we took the time to have a small talk with Stephex-rider, Jonna Ekberg...
How did your career start?
I started riding when I was young, first time maybe even when I was three years old on small ponies and then I started on the riding school in Sweden when I was six. I got my first pony when I was thirteen. I kept riding like that.How did you end up at Stephex Stables?
I moved from Sweden when I was twenty years old and first I moved to England. I worked there for Angelie von Essen and James Davenport. After that I moved to Belgium to work for Abdel Saïd. After 2,5 years working for Abdel I got an offer from Stephan Conter to work at Stephex Stables. We met at a show, he saw me riding and asked if I was interested in the job.How do you like it here?
I really like it here, especially at Stephex. The facilities are amazing and we have a really nice life here. I also like the country, the shows… It’s very good, we are in a good location, close to many good shows. I miss Sweden of course, but to work with horses Stephex Stables is the best place to be.
How does your day look like at home?
Basically I just ride. We start in the morning and I ride around 7-8 horses a day, sometimes more or less, it depends. From Monday till Wednesday we normally are at home and on Wednesday we leave for a show. I’m busy riding and my groom is packing.Do you take some time to do sightseeing at a show?
It depends. Not so much actually. I’ve been at many nice shows in nice cities and I wish I had more time to see more things, but you’re quite busy with the shows and the schedule is spread out over the day. You see a little bit, but not as much as I would want.How is it to ride a show at your own stable?
It’s quite special, it’s strange because we work here every day and now you can’t even recognize the place. It’s very nice and it’s nice when the whole stephex team is at the same show. We don’t have that so often, so it makes it really special. We are all very proud of this show because it’s a fantastic show and it’s really nice that Stephex has such a good place to make such a good show. It’s really really cool.Is there more pressure now to have good results?
Yes, and no, always when we go to shows, we want to have good results. It’s always like that, but for sure here you really want to do good because it’s at home. All the riders put a little more pressure on their selves to do good results. We do as good as we can, we try our best. Last time in Knokke, Daniel’s win was a win for every one of us.
You ride quite a few young horses; how do you prepare them for the ‘big work’?
Normally I start the year with going to a tour for a few weeks. Like this year I went to the Sunshine Tour for four weeks, which I find super for the young horses. They get a lot of experience, do many rounds. The seven year olds I can bring them with me to the bigger international shows when there is a youngster tour. This is really good for their experience. Sometimes when we don’t have time to go to national shows, I go to jump a course somewhere else in the week. Just so they see different arenas. We also work a lot at home. We do flat work to make them stronger. Sometimes when we have the big shows it’s difficult to find time for the young ones, but we try our best to give them as much experience as possible. We have also good arenas at home to jump.Air Pia is your best horse for the moment, can you tell us something more about her?
She is a super nice horse, she is my best horse since this year. I did my first 5* Grand Prix with her in Knokke. She was clear, we just had a time fault, which was my fault. She’s been developing really well, she just needs some more experience for the really high level. She has all the quality, she has a good technique, has the scope. We became a really good team I think, in the ring I have the feeling that she would do everything for me and I really like her. She is a bit of a princess, you have to treat her like one also. She can also be shy sometimes. When she is in the ring she really tries her heart out.At what shows can we expect you at in the future?
I hope to get a spot in the Swedish team for the nations cup final in Barcelona. It depends what the chef d’equipe thinks. It’s still a dream for me, but we will see what will happen. After that we slowly start with the indoor season. It will be difficult to get a spot for the World Cup this year since we only have one for Sweden this year. I’m going to do my best, I would be really happy to do a World Cup. Otherwise I will try to do some nice shows here in Belgium. Hopefully next year I will go to a tour to start the outdoor season with.
What are your big goals?
My dream is to ride a championship for my country. That’s what I really want to do. Next year we have the European Championship in Gothenburg. That’s a very big dream, maybe it’s still a bit far away, but you need to have dreams. If I have a good horse like Air Pia, it isn’t impossible even if it takes a lot of hard work. We have a lot of nice horses to work with and you have different goals for each horse. For sure my dream is to ride a championship and a few more Nation Cups next year. I need to take it step by step and see how it goes.Do you have any advice for our readers?
Never give up and believe in yourself! Work hard, even when you feel like you get sick of it or you feel like you’re getting nowhere. In the end the hours you spend with the horses and riding is what counts. In the end, what I think is that hard work always pays off. That’s my spirit.She is currently making her way to the top and conquers it all with a smile. Last month we took the time to have a small talk with Stephex-rider, Jonna Ekberg...
How did your career start?
I started riding when I was young, first time maybe even when I was three years old on small ponies and then I started on the riding school in Sweden when I was six. I got my first pony when I was thirteen. I kept riding like that.How did you end up at Stephex Stables?
I moved from Sweden when I was twenty years old and first I moved to England. I worked there for Angelie von Essen and James Davenport. After that I moved to Belgium to work for Abdel Saïd. After 2,5 years working for Abdel I got an offer from Stephan Conter to work at Stephex Stables. We met at a show, he saw me riding and asked if I was interested in the job.How do you like it here?
I really like it here, especially at Stephex. The facilities are amazing and we have a really nice life here. I also like the country, the shows… It’s very good, we are in a good location, close to many good shows. I miss Sweden of course, but to work with horses Stephex Stables is the best place to be.How does your day look like at home?
Basically I just ride. We start in the morning and I ride around 7-8 horses a day, sometimes more or less, it depends. From Monday till Wednesday we normally are at home and on Wednesday we leave for a show. I’m busy riding and my groom is packing.Do you take some time to do sightseeing at a show?
It depends. Not so much actually. I’ve been at many nice shows in nice cities and I wish I had more time to see more things, but you’re quite busy with the shows and the schedule is spread out over the day. You see a little bit, but not as much as I would want.How is it to ride a show at your own stable?
It’s quite special, it’s strange because we work here every day and now you can’t even recognize the place. It’s very nice and it’s nice when the whole stephex team is at the same show. We don’t have that so often, so it makes it really special. We are all very proud of this show because it’s a fantastic show and it’s really nice that Stephex has such a good place to make such a good show. It’s really really cool.Is there more pressure now to have good results?
Yes, and no, always when we go to shows, we want to have good results. It’s always like that, but for sure here you really want to do good because it’s at home. All the riders put a little more pressure on their selves to do good results. We do as good as we can, we try our best. Last time in Knokke, Daniel’s win was a win for every one of us.You ride quite a few young horses; how do you prepare them for the ‘big work’?
Normally I start the year with going to a tour for a few weeks. Like this year I went to the Sunshine Tour for four weeks, which I find super for the young horses. They get a lot of experience, do many rounds. The seven year olds I can bring them with me to the bigger international shows when there is a youngster tour. This is really good for their experience. Sometimes when we don’t have time to go to national shows, I go to jump a course somewhere else in the week. Just so they see different arenas. We also work a lot at home. We do flat work to make them stronger. Sometimes when we have the big shows it’s difficult to find time for the young ones, but we try our best to give them as much experience as possible. We have also good arenas at home to jump.Air Pia is your best horse for the moment, can you tell us something more about her?
She is a super nice horse, she is my best horse since this year. I did my first 5* Grand Prix with her in Knokke. She was clear, we just had a time fault, which was my fault. She’s been developing really well, she just needs some more experience for the really high level. She has all the quality, she has a good technique, has the scope. We became a really good team I think, in the ring I have the feeling that she would do everything for me and I really like her. She is a bit of a princess, you have to treat her like one also. She can also be shy sometimes. When she is in the ring she really tries her heart out.At what shows can we expect you at in the future?
I hope to get a spot in the Swedish team for the nations cup final in Barcelona. It depends what the chef d’equipe thinks. It’s still a dream for me, but we will see what will happen. After that we slowly start with the indoor season. It will be difficult to get a spot for the World Cup this year since we only have one for Sweden this year. I’m going to do my best, I would be really happy to do a World Cup. Otherwise I will try to do some nice shows here in Belgium. Hopefully next year I will go to a tour to start the outdoor season with.What are your big goals?
My dream is to ride a championship for my country. That’s what I really want to do. Next year we have the European Championship in Gothenburg. That’s a very big dream, maybe it’s still a bit far away, but you need to have dreams. If I have a good horse like Air Pia, it isn’t impossible even if it takes a lot of hard work. We have a lot of nice horses to work with and you have different goals for each horse. For sure my dream is to ride a championship and a few more Nation Cups next year. I need to take it step by step and see how it goes.Do you have any advice for our readers?
Never give up and believe in yourself! Work hard, even when you feel like you get sick of it or you feel like you’re getting nowhere. In the end the hours you spend with the horses and riding is what counts. In the end, what I think is that hard work always pays off. That’s my spirit.