As a horse and rider step onto the racetrack or into the arena to begin a round of competition, onlookers see two athletes completely in sync as they pour everything they have into a race, a round of jumps or a complicated dressage pattern.
But a third member of the team, the groom, stands just on the rail — less visible, but equally important to the success of the ride.
Grooms, simply put, are the caretakers of the horses. They manage the daily tasks such as feeding, cleaning and grooming, and their jobs can also include managing the horses’ travel, their veterinary care, their shoeing and therapies. They need to be in tune with the horse to know its mood and whether something might be wrong.
“We as grooms are solely responsible for the welfare, the daily management of horses, elite equine sport animals,” said Sean Vard, who has worked as a groom for Martin Fuchs, a top-ranked Swiss show jumper, for over eight years. “We do, in the best of our powers and the best of our abilities, everything to give horses the five-star luxury life that they deserve.”
In racing, that responsibility is spread among a few roles. Hot walkers take the horse after a run and walk with it as it cools down, making sure it has recovered from its workout by the time it returns to its stall. Grooms manage the daily caretaking of the horses, and an assistant trainer may oversee that work, handling higher-level decisions.
Arturo Ramirez began as a hot walker for David Donk, a top New York trainer of racehorses, over 25 years ago. He moved up to become a groom and then assistant trainer, the position he holds today, in which he manages the daily welfare of 30-45 horses.
At Donk’s stable, the grooms begin their day around 4:15 a.m. They care for their horses throughout the day and accompany them if they have a race in the afternoon.
“The most important part of my business is my staff,” Donk said, noting that any success comes down to the whole team.
But because the work of grooms is largely behind the scenes, they are often publicly unacknowledged, and the working conditions and pay can vary greatly. In 2022, the International Grooms Association was formed to address some of these issues in sports governed by the Fédération Equestre Internationale, including jumping, dressage and others. (Racing is not included under the association, but there are groups that work within states and at individual tracks to advocate for grooms and other workers, providing services that include health care, visa help and employment support.)
In the past, said Lucy Katan, the executive director of the association, it was not uncommon for competitions to provide water and snacks for competitors and members of the press, but not to offer the same in the barns for the grooms. Though it may sound minor, it makes a huge difference to the grooms, and it’s about “respect for the long hours that they’re doing and the time that they are performing their role,” she said.
Salaries for grooms also range widely, beginning at minimum wage but sometimes reaching much higher. On the job site Yehaww, groom positions are listed with salaries starting from 2,000 euros, or about $2,950, to $4,000 per month.
The grooms association has “basically given us a voice,” said Claire James, who grooms for the dressage rider Fie Christine Skarsoe. She added, “We have someone that we can actually contact and say, ‘Look, this is happening at a show, it’s not right.’”
Few people know a horse better than its groom. They care for the animals, some at the home barn and some on the road, traveling with the horse to different cities for races or competitions. Having an intense bond is a necessary part of the job.
The horses “cannot speak for themselves,” Vard said. “So we, as grooms, have to speak for them and feel what they need and what they want.”
Whether that means a horse needs a scratch on the forehead to offer comfort in a new location or medical attention because of an unseen injury, it’s the groom’s job to know and communicate that to the rider or trainer.
“We as grooms have to learn their characters,” Vard said. “We have to portray to the riders what we feel they need, what they like, what they don’t like, how we can get the most out of them — while keeping them happy, while ensuring they’ve got a great life.”
Often that involves calling in and managing a far larger team. “Behind each horse and behind each rider is the shoer, is the vet, is the trainer, is the masseuse, is the therapist,” said Rafael Hernandez Carrillo, a veteran groom who worked for Roxanne Trunnell, a para dressage rider for the United States, at the Paralympic Games in Paris this year. “It’s like a NASCAR team. Everybody has their own job to make that car — that horse and that rider — to perform the best.”
This also means a good working relationship between groom and rider — or, in racing, between groom and trainer — is key to everyone’s success.
“They can point out anything that is a little different than it was the day before, or out of the ordinary,” Donk said.
James said, “I completely love my horses, and I will pretty much do anything for them,” but that can mean “we also kind of forget to look after ourselves.”
Many more competitions have recently introduced prizes recognizing grooms for their work. Racing has the annual Godolphin Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, which recognize workers across the sport. Ramirez won the organization’s Dedication to Racing Award in 2017.
Since the grooms association began its work, “the groom’s voice is heard now a lot more than they used to be,” Vard said. “We are respected not just as individuals on the show, but as athlete assistants, as equine partners.”
When it comes down to it, the groom’s role is to do “whatever it takes to make these horses and these athletes to perform 110 percent,” Hernandez Carrillo said.
And without grooms, Skarsoe said, “it’s just not possible.”
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