We have changed the landscape

BGA's Lucy Katan chats about the changing landscape and the impact of grooms in the media...

In 2000 I was selected as the non-travelling reserve groom for Team GB heading to the Sydney Games.

There were moments in our two weeks of quarantine that my heart leapt as I thought we would in fact travel, but alas it was not to be…

That experience lit my Olympic flame and led me to be part of the Team GB support team (non-equestrian) at two future Games and then part of the London 2012 Organising Committee – culminating in the greatest experience of delivering a home Games.

I love the Olympic Games and everything about them, but I’ve never forgotten my experience as a groom, and a ‘nearly’ Olympic one. 

Five Olympiads, or in normal talk, 20 (+1) years ago, the media were quite simply not interested in grooms.

There we were, about to fly to the other side of the world, and not one article was written. No one really cared about us and our work in the background which enabled the horses to perform at their best.

Social media didn’t exist in those days. However, all the same publications that we read today did, and there was simply no interest in the British Team grooms.

The British Equestrian Federation has always been supportive of our vision, but at times, it has felt like wading through thick mud!

It has taken 20 (+1) years. But crikey haven’t we simply smashed it during these Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

It hasn’t just ‘happened’. As a team, the BGA has worked tirelessly on behalf of all grooms to achieve a dramatic increase in publicity and recognition.

British Equestrian have won their own gold medal in their constant focus on the grooms.

Our asks have been well and truly delivered upon.

Include the grooms in the team announcements – Simple to achieve and at the FEI Sports Forum I challenged the rest of the world to follow Team GB’s lead.

Great groom photos – Jon Stroud takes awesome pictures, but someone must decide to use them – and thankfully they now have been countless times.

Name the groom in the photos – not just ‘the groom of X horse/rider’. This has been kept to and it makes such a difference to the individual who is getting the recognition of who they are.

Focus on the grooms – whilst in quarantine and at numerous other times, there have been dedicated interviews and snippets about what the grooms have been doing.

Say thank you – this has been just continuous and glorious. It was also lovely to see vets, physios and other key athlete support staff being thanked for their contribution.

I am even more pleased that this is not just British Equestrian that has delivered this change in reporting culture. Horse and Hound, British Eventing and British Dressage have too.

Francesca Gorni was interviewed on BBC 5 live after Tom McEwen won his individual Silver and Oli Townend twice thanked his team at home on his BBC interview.

However, it is our glittering in gold Patron Charlotte Dujardin, and her mentor, Carl Hester, who have led the way – nearly every social media post included their support team. Charlotte is ground-breaking in the way that she publicly involves and praises her grooms, and always has been.

It is for this very reason that I knew she was the right Patron for the BGA. Both she and Carl adhere to all the R’s – respect, recognition, reward and the retention of staff.

I believe that Tokyo 2020 will be remembered for more than just sport; these Games will be looked back upon as the ones where there was a change in culture. From Simone Biles raising the awareness of mental health, to the British grooms experiencing a media focus like never before.

Thank you to the team, Winnie and Rachel, at British Equestrian for delivering. I promise to never ask you to focus on the grooms again, because I know the landscape has been changed forever.

Over the past 16 days, we have proven that it can happen and it has.

As your professional association, we need all grooms to believe in that revolution and join us to become catalysts for change in the rest of our industry – yes to make it a good, legal, and happy place to work and have a career.

Our last hope is that being a groom is now seen as a respected career choice and one that can lead to many amazing opportunities.

If our articles, blogs and social posts have inspired you then I hope that you will come and join us and be part of changing history.

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