Elizabeth Charleston is a force.
When I met her in person for the first time last weekend, she had an aura about her. Bright, bubbly and exuberant, with an infectious joie de vivre. She was at the Harness Jewels to judge Fashion in the Field, and had brought her mother, racing-lover Jocelyn, along for the day.
Charleston is renowned for her fashion prowess and impeccable racewear looks. But she’s also a passionate advocate for Brain Injury Awareness, and she faces her own challenges every day.
“I’ve had a number of concussions,” she says candidly.
“Up in England, a big stallion I was leading out to the arena for a ride reared up and struck me on the top of my head in 1996. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet which was left with an imprint of the horse shoe on the top of it.
“A year or two later whilst I was living in South Africa, I had a car accident when a drunk driver turned in front of me and they didn’t indicate. I didn’t even have time to hit the brakes. I smashed my head against the windscreen, the car spun out and crashed into a building, causing me to hit my head again on the windscreen.
“In 2005, the horse I was riding flipped over on top of me and I smacked my head on the rock hard ground, knocking me unconscious. In the overall scheme of things, that accident didn’t seem so bad, but people who saw the accident said it wasn’t much fun to look at. Unfortunately, it was that accident that brought my life to a standstill after all the compounded concussions I’d had over the years.
“With my health issues, one by one, the things I like to do get taken away from me. I used to love writing. I worked as a journalist for a while which I thoroughly enjoyed, mainly in equestrian, and I covered the Olympic trials at a number of events in Europe in 2008 for Eventing and Show Jumping and swung past Singapore on my way home to cover the racing carnival.
“But it got to a point where I had to stop because I couldn’t remember from one word to the next what I was writing. I’d re-read the sentence and forget what the sentence was about. It became impossible and far too stressful so I had to start declining requests to write articles.
“I used to enjoy photography, but with the headaches, fatigue and everything that affected me from staring into the camera, I had to stop doing that too which was a shame.”
Despite the battles that she’s faced and continues to encounter every day, she leads a remarkable life. These days, she’s one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent Fashion in the Field judges and entrants. But she’s also a former champion equestrian and in-demand international model.
Charleston grew up in Hoe-O-Tainui, north of Morrinsville on a farm, and spent a lot of time at her grandparents’ place at Leamington, near Cambridge, as a child. She inherited her family’s love for horses from an early age, and has enjoyed horse riding in the various disciplines, having success throughout New Zealand and in places further afield, including Australia and South Africa.
“Mum grew up in Cambridge on a dairy farm. Her parents wanted her to do ladylike things like play the piano, but she loved riding horses! In her teenage years she started competing in eventing and represented Waikato at the Pony Club eventing championships and also had success with her show hacks. Granny and Grandad loved their hunting, while on my father’s side, his family bred Clydesdales.
“My grandfather, Frank Bird, came out from England on a boat in the 1930s, and his younger brother, Arthur, came out a few years after that. Arthur was a chief stipendiary steward in the North Island, and people used to tell me that Uncle Arthur gave the jockeys a holiday. When I was little, I used to wonder where they went on their holidays and thought everyone must love my Uncle Arthur!”
At age 15, Charleston entered a modeling competition, Revlon Look of the Year.
“It was hosted by an agent called Maysie Bestall-Cohen,” she remembers.
“I would never have had the confidence to walk into an agency and say I wanted to be a model, but I saw an entry form in a magazine, so sent in some photos and was selected as one of the finalists. That’s how I got my foot in the door.
“For my first ever modelling audition, Mum picked me up from Morrinsville College. I was still in my school uniform, and I got changed in the car on the way to Auckland. The casting was at Fashion Quarterly and I landed the job. At that time, it was quite unheard of for someone aged 15 from Morrinsville to get booked for their first ever editorial modelling job at Fashion Quarterly with Paula Ryan.
“We shot all day in an art gallery in Auckland for the editorial. Meanwhile, my dad and sister, Jennifer, had driven the truck down from Morrinsville to Gisborne showgrounds for the Poverty Bay A&P Show. My sister got both of my ponies ready, and my mother and I drove through the night to make it to the show.
“Thanks to Jennifer turning my ponies out so beautifully, I won Supreme Champion Pony of the Show that weekend. However, it was the first and only time in her life that my sister didn’t win a single prize at a show on her own horses – I probably should have given her my big wide ribbon as a thank you present! Jennifer and I have always been very proud and supportive of each other. I was modelling in Sydney when Jennifer lifted the team’s trophy in Whangarei for Pony Club Champs as the captain of the Franklin Thames Valley winning team in the early 1990s.”
For a few years, Charleston led a semi-surreal existence. She was signed to Ford Models on a four-year worldwide contract, and found herself jet-setting to America and Europe, doing shoots and walking runways in New York and Milan.
“I represented New Zealand at the Supermodel of the World Contest in 1992. The big problem with modelling though, was I used to get terribly homesick. In those days, there obviously weren’t any cellphones and collect calls cost a fortune.
“It all looks very glamorous and exciting and it is to a degree, but there were some tough elements, and whenever someone approaches me now and says that their daughter wants to be a model, I tell them to finish school and enjoy their teenage years.
In 1998, she moved to South Africa where she combined her passions for modelling and horses. She was shooting television commercials and booking campaigns, and she was also riding horses at a variety of different disciplines.
“I was very fortunate to win state national titles over there and was selected for the state team. Whenever I went on a modelling job in a different country, I was like, where can I find a horse to ride?!” she laughs.
“I was so lucky I got to compete in horse shows overseas, especially the Royal Shows in Australia which was made possible by people arranging for me to have catch rides on some beautiful show horses over there. Competing in the Garryowen at the Melbourne Royal Show in 2003 was a lifetime goal that I fulfilled.”
She moved back to New Zealand in 2004 after her marriage in South Africa ended. She is an avid racegoer, with a particular penchant for jumps racing.
“Mum was the very best of friends with Ann and Kenny Browne, and with the Brownes being so involved in my life, I’ve always had a big passion for jumps racing. I was at the Te Rapa races a couple of weeks ago and attended a meeting with Ann about the jumps racing situation in New Zealand.
“The meeting was hosted by Paul Claridge, the NZ National Jumps Coordinator, and it was attended by a number of prominent jumps trainers, jockeys, owners and people like myself who have concerns. The numbers are dwindling here because of a number of factors, including the fact there aren’t that many jumps jockeys here.
“We need to find a way to get more jockeys to cross over to jumps racing and we need to come up with ways to future-proof this part of the industry. With the imminent loss of The Hill at Ellerslie, we need to put our heads together and come up with some effective ideas to be progressive. ”
Charleston and her family have both owned and bred a number of racehorses over the years, but eventually gave up after finding limited success.
“We got to a point where we drew the line and just said, okay, well, we’ll just enjoy going to the races. If I won lotto though, I’d want to buy a lot of racehorses!
“I’ve obviously been to the races a lot over the years, but I did really struggle with sensory overload after my injuries. I had a good team of ‘baby-sitters’ who would take me to the races, and they would be on standby if I wasn’t coping with being out in public and they would get me home or back to my hotel.
“I love the social aspect of racing, but I really do love the horses.”
In 2015, she was living in Gisborne, when she started what became a global phenomenon: The Naked Challenge. She posted a photo of herself which inferred she was naked, holding a placard saying, ‘I’d rather go naked than not wear a helmet’.
“I told my mum what I was going to do so she could prepare herself for the possible fallout from the campaign, and she wasn’t sure; she thought it was a bit much. Two weeks later, it had spread like wildfire around the world, TV1 News had been to the house for an interview and I featured in Horse & Hound magazine, and then my mum was like, ‘we’re so proud!’
“It was meant to be good fun, and it also got a message out there that I was very passionate about. The most common thing I hear from people who’ve had a brain injury or concussion, is that they didn’t think it would be that bad.
“When you have a broken arm, you know the due process, but with a brain injury, it’s so far-reaching into every aspect of your life. The nausea, the world spinning around, the not coping with lights or loud noises, the living inside with curtains drawn.
“One of the other things is that it can affect your mental health, and it can give you a high chance of getting depression.”
These days, Charleston has learnt to live life differently as a result of her injuries.
“I travel around with a plastic container full of medication in my car to deal with various things. There’s been a plethora of injuries all around my body. I’ve had two back operations now.
“The second time my back went, the disc just went completely through the spinal cord area. After that second back operation in 2019, I unfortunately wasn’t able to use my arms and legs properly for some time.
“That night, when I first collapsed at Waikato Hospital, it was quite upsetting and scary. I’ve had to overcome a number of things in life and setting goals is one of my coping mechanisms. I had a group chat with my mum and sister that night when things got ugly, and I said to them, ‘if I manage to get out of this one, all I want to do is ride Cash, my sister’s warmblood at the Canterbury A&P Show.’
“And I made it there just a few months later. Cash won or placed in every single class but the highlight was getting a wide sash in a class called the Diana Rainey Memorial.”
Charleston isn’t just a believer in setting goals; she also considers the journey in reaching one’s goals can be just as rewarding.
“Last year, Mum and I had a lot going on in life, and Covid didn’t help. I looked around and realised I didn’t have anything to look forward to. So I made a plan that I was going to go to the South Island and ride my sister’s horse again at some shows.
“And then, I thought about what I needed to do to make the journey enjoyable. So I bought some new riding boots that made riding a bit easier because of the left side of my body not working properly, and a tailor up in Bali made me some riding coats because I’d gained some weight post-op and didn’t want a jacket that was too tight and restricting me.”
During her trip, she helped out the Poverty Bay A&P show and ended up competing in the Dual Jump event on the last day as well. She made it to the South Island in November, and competed in the Nelson A&P show aboard Cash, which had been the ultimate goal.
“It couldn’t have gone better. I won Champion Side Saddle on the first day, and I hadn’t ridden side saddle in about three years. The next day, we won the Champion Show Riding Horse and Champion Paced & Mannered Horse.”
She credits her sister Jennifer and niece Stephanie for the success, with them having gotten Cash prepared for her.
“Because of the neck and back injuries, and the left side of my body not working as it should, I’m very limited as to what I can do. Tacking up a horse with raising my arms above my head is a big no-no for me.”
After she returned from her South Island sojourn, the left side of her body still wasn’t fully functioning and she was granted an appointment with a neurologist in Hamilton.
“I just wanted to know what was wrong with me and to get a diagnosis. At 45 years of age I felt that I was entitled to know what was going wrong with my body and what the future could hold. My face would go numb on the left side and the body would collaspe. Sometimes my tongue wouldn’t work and I’d get very selfconscious. It was hard to pick things up with my left hand and the nerve conduction test showed up that the C6 myotome was being affected. The issues had been affecting me for several years and were getting worse.
“The neurologist diagnosed me with dystonia. It’s very early days, but I’m on a medication that’s helping me relax with my face and tongue problems and muscles. Just having the diagnosis helps though.
“One thing that exacerbates it is stress which meant I had to make some decisions about my future.
“So I’ve found a cute cottage to live in between Cambridge, Hamilton and Morrinsville, so I’m independent but still close to family and friends. The landlord lives next door in the main house, and his cat Munchkin comes to visit me. There are horses grazing outside in the paddocks around the cottage. When I wake up in the morning, I draw the curtains and if I’m lucky, I have the cat in bed with me as I have a hot drink. And I look at the horses outside, and I think, life is not ideal, but I’m making the best of a bad situation.”
