By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Lindsey Long
Joie Gatlin is thankful for the life horses have given her. From growing up with horses in her backyard to traveling the world to compete, Joie has enjoyed every moment.
“I really love the sport, and it’s been wonderful to me. It’s afforded me the opportunity to go all around the world and have an incredible journey. I’ve been to places that I would never have traveled to just for vacation. I’ve been to Kuala Lumpur and Geneva, Switzerland, for World Cup Finals,” Joie said. “While in Geneva for the World Cup Finals I got to ski the Swiss and Italian Alps. I’m grateful for where the sport has taken me, not only in wins in my career, but adventures around the world.”
Joie’s accomplishments in the show ring are numerous. As a Junior rider she won the USET Medal Finals, the Rhulen Rookie of the Year as well as several other National Championships. After turning professional, she’s continued to have success in both the hunter and jumper rings, winning several Grand Prix and Horse of the Year awards in the hunters as well as representing Team USA at World Cup competitions.
Today, Joie runs her Joie Gatlin Show Stables in San Juan Capistrano, California. Still an active competitor in the show ring, Joie is also helping the next generation of riders achieve their dreams.
California Girl
Growing up in Burbank, California, Joie eventually made her way to Hollywood. Both of her parents were involved in the rodeo and her mom, Marie Gatlin, was the 1961 Miss Rodeo America. “My dad, Jerry Gatlin, rodeoed and was in the movie industry. He started as a stunt man and eventually got into stunt coordinating and second unit directing,” Joie said. “We always had horses in our backyard, including his falling horse, transfer horse and rope horse.”
Horses were in Joie’s blood and always available to her. Joie’s earliest memories on horses are riding bareback and galloping around the hills. Marie’s best friend suggested she take 10-year-old Joie for lessons and introduce her to jumping. “She thought I might like it. I did, and the rest is kind of history,” Joie said.
While Joie went on to make a name for herself in the competition ring, she also had the opportunity to work on movies alongside her dad. “I still hold a Screen Actors Guild card and I have my dad to thank for that. I worked with my dad doing stunts on the movies ‘Three Amigos!’ and ‘Sylvester.’ We also worked on a few episodes of ‘Falcon Crest’ together,” she said.
Joie was part of an explosive scene in “Three Amigos!” when everyone went running through the town while it was getting blown up. In “Sylvester” she was able to use her riding skills when she was Melissa Gilbert’s stunt double and did all the stadium-jumping scenes. The premise of “Sylvester” was that Melissa Gilbert’s character, Charlie, is an orphan struggling to raise her two younger brothers when she decides to train a rogue horse named Sylvester and turn him into an eventing champion. “My dad was brilliant at what he did, and I was always so proud when I was able to nail stunts for him in movies,” Joie said.
Being part of the Hollywood scene made summers memorable for Joie. “I had a great childhood, because every summer when we were kids we’d go wherever my dad was doing stunts on a movie. I’d always have horses to ride and be able to spend all day riding, running around and meeting the actors,” Joie said.
Jumping for Joy
Though her movie-set childhood was far from average, Joie had a very traditional hunter-jumper upbringing, starting with hunter lessons at age 10 and then branching out to the equitation and jumper rings. “When I rode with Randy Redmer, he helped me move on from the basics to more advanced riding and gave me a taste of all three rings,” Joie said. “Then, when I was 15, I started to make a name for myself as a Junior and started riding with Richard Keller.”
Joie continued to focus on equitation with Richard; however, he also had quite a few Junior Jumpers for her to show. By age 17, she was competing in the Grand Prix. In 1984, Joie won a Grand Prix on Hometown Hero. “I was the youngest rider at the time to win a Grand Prix and that helped me become the Rhulen Rookie of the Year,” she said. “I will always be grateful to Richard for having the confidence in me and teaching me the skills to ride against Olympians and the best in the country in the Grand Prix and win that title at age 17.”
From the beginning, Joie felt like her calling was in the jumper ring. “It’s just my passion. I think the thrill of being able to develop a horse, get those double-clear rounds, go fast, make the jump-offs, get good placings and wins, it just makes all the hard work so rewarding,” Joie said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
While jumpers are Joie’s passion, she loves the opportunity to lay down a flawless trip in the hunter ring too. “I love the beauty and precision of the hunters. There’s nothing more rewarding than having a hunter all dialed in, mentally and physically, and laying down a trip that is so precise, strong and beautiful at the same time. Having a flawless trip in the hunters is way harder than people think it is,” Joie said. “But when it all comes together, it’s really a thrill.”
Joie decided she wanted to pursue a career with horses a couple of years after being out of the Juniors. As fate would have it, Joie attended a Rodney Jenkins clinic, where, after seeing Joie ride, Rodney extended an invitation for her to come to Virginia and be a working student for him. “My mom and I talked about it and agreed I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that. So, we loaded two horses up on our two-horse trailer and drove cross-country from Burbank, California, to Montpelier Station, Virginia,” Joie said. “It was a great adventure!”
Equipped with their horse-hotel map, Joie and her mom would drive seven to nine hours a day and then check into a horse hotel, let everyone rest and get up in the morning and do it all again.
That working student experience with Rodney helped open doors for Joie. After working with Rodney, Joie moved to Pinion Farms as their young professional, eventually making her way back to California in to work for Joan Irvine Smith as one of her professionals for many years.
Enjoying the Ride
In 1996, Joie met her husband, Morley Abey. “He had come to California to work for someone else and that didn’t pan out, so we ended up starting our own business, Joie Gatlin Morley Abey Show Jumping. We did that together for over 25 years,” Joie said.
It was a great adventure for Joie and Morley. “Between the two of us, we’ve had many wins at Young Riders, Horse of the Year Champions and wins at indoors and medal finals. Morley was the ground man, the coach, the man behind the scenes, and I was the rider, the star who was out there in front of everybody,” Joie said. That worked wonderfully until the end of 2023, when we made a few changes and Morley is doing his own freelance training work and clinics. I am so grateful for the time we spent together and I am excited to see where the future will take us in our different directions.”
Now under the name Joie Gatlin Show Stables, Joie is carrying on the business built with Morley. “I have a great team working with me—my farm manager, Lisa Motschke, my head groom, Hilberto Corona, my assistant, Savannah Hemby, and Carrie Coker fills in at home when we are away at shows. It truly is a team approach, we all work together to support each other,” she said.
After decades in the horse industry, Joie has tweaked the way she approaches her training philosophy. “When you’re young you want everything quick. But now, I’ve learned to just slow down take a breath and take a little more time than I used to,” Joie said. “I’ve come to the realization that if a horse is having a bad day, they’re having a bad day and there is always tomorrow. I take more time, listen to the horse and I’m not quick to ask them to do too much too soon.”
It’s this love of the process of developing horses and riders that makes Joie excited to go to the barn every day. “Working with a horse to try to develop its full potential or teaching a client who’s coachable is so rewarding. It’s so great to see the horse or rider improve after each ride or training session,” Joie said. “I just love seeing the process unfold. It’s so much fun when you’re working with talented horses and riders.”
Joie believes hard work pays off. She encourages aspiring professionals to take the time to watch how others ride, train and handle their horses. “Go be a working student, watch how other trainers and riders handle their horses in the schooling ring, then take pieces of what you like and start using that to build your own program,” Joie said. “Put yourself in a position to learn from people you respect and admire. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions; questions are how we learn.”
Over the years, Joie has learned there’s no place she’d rather be than working with horses and surrounded by like-minded individuals. “As I look towards the future, I think Joie Gatlin Show Stables is in a great spot as we continue to grow with both hunters and jumpers. I’m not ready to slow down and retire from riding just yet, I’d love to get a couple of horses back in the Grand Prix ring, develop a few young horses and continue enjoying what I do,” she said.
As grateful as Joie is to the sport that’s brought her so much happiness, she hopes she’s done the same for others. “I’m so thankful for everything I’ve been able to accomplish and all my adventures around the world. I hope I’ve been a good role model for young riders and other equestrians who are part of this great sport,” she said.
Follow Joie on Instagram @jgshowstables or visit jgshowstables.com
Photos by Lindsey Long, lindseylong.com
