Not forgetting the home grooms

Hey, I’m Liz, one of the behind the scenes people at the BGA. A big part of my job is managing the BGA’s social media stream, and most recently the focus has of course been on the World Equestrian Games (and not just the weather/cancelled events).

As part of my role, I have had the pleasure of once again working with BGA member and Ambassador Alan Davies on his fabulous blogs and I want to say a personal thank you to Alan for all of his time spent and fitting us in each day. I have loved editing and reading the blogs and I know many of you have enjoyed reading them too.

By doing the blogs Alan is raising the profile of grooms across the globe and allowing others to celebrate the awesome work that happens behind the scenes. In turn this also allows the wider public to see grooms as respected professionals in their own right. I’d like to also mention BGA members Jess Errington and Kate Harley for the fab work they do by regularly blogging for us too.

Our Patron, Charlotte Dujardin, is another brilliant example of riders bridging the gap between themselves and grooms. Her wonderful gesture of giving Alan one of the smart watches she won at WEG speaks louder than words. A former groom herself she is a true credit to her profession and team.

It’s also important to recognise that Alan, and all of his fellow Team GBR grooms, are part of a much bigger team of home grooms. Although the focus recently has been on competition grooms, and quite rightly so as it is their time to shine, so very many grooms we work with at the BGA are non-competition grooms, or lower level competition grooms.

At the BGA we'd all like to give a special mention to all the stay at home grooms too. You might not be in the spotlight yet, you might not have any desire to be in the spotlight ever, but we really truly believe in every single one of you and the BGA is here for you. We certainly don’t want you to think that we have forgotten about you if you are not grooming at WEG – we most definitely haven’t. However, during this time of high media attention on WEG, we wanted to continue to raise the recognition of the role of the groom and their profile.

Sometimes it’s worthwhile taking a step back to realise how incredible it is that finally grooms are getting recognition and becoming high profile stars in their own right and we need the wonderful Alan's of our world to help with this.

Each and every one of us should be proud of that (I know I am). Ten years ago there would have hardly been a mention of grooms at all, and now we have an insane social media reach and shares because people are interested.

Thank you to Alan once again for raising the awareness of grooms around the world, helping to make the role a more respected one, and inspiring the next generation of grooms coming through.

The BGA is here for everyone and no matter who you are, what discipline you work in, on your own, or in a big team, we would love you to join us and make a difference.

Liz x

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