Head in the Games

Caring for elite horses is something a world leading groom takes in their stride, but how do they tackle their day job when their charge is an Olympic competitor? Bethany Stone asks those all-important questions

TO most, a work trip entails an overnight stay in a Premier Inn attached to a conference centre on the outskirts of a town you wouldn’t otherwise visit. To the grooms of the world’s top riders, it can spell a trip to the Olympics.

If you would find yourself questioning your ability to function facing such a responsibility, we'd be there with you. But, testament to their skill and professionalism, grooms never break their stride at a World Championship. How do they do it? Experience and graft rank high, but teamwork, a sense of humour and unrivalled camaraderie are the core tenets.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

AS Geoff Billington's groom Jenny Ellis prepared to travel showjumper It's Otto to Sydney in 2000, she recalls feeling nothing but dread.

"We'd heard from everyone that went to Atlanta in 1996 that we shouldn't bother doing an Olympics," she says. "They weren't allowed alcohol in, it was too serious and intense. We thought that we were going to prison for six weeks, and didn’t like the idea!”

Soon after arriving at the park, though, Jenny’s fears were quashed.

“I’d hidden two bottles of Scotch in Otto’s travel feed, hoping it wouldn’t be searched – but I didn’t need them!

“We couldn’t have had a better time – they put a tent up just by the stables full of whatever food we wanted and they put parties on for us.”

MAINTAINING ROUTINE

“GENERALLY, when you’re travelling, the aim is to have everything how it is at home,” explains Tilly Hughes, Laura Collett’s groom in Tokyo. With all the disciplines stabled on one yard at that Olympics, the grooms worked together to fashion a routine that suited everyone.