#Supergroom for the FEI Para Dressage European Championships

The FEI Europeans provides so much excitement, we all thoroughly enjoyed the recent Eventing Championships.

To keep the momentum going we are looking forward to the FEI Para Dressage European Championships, set to take place in Riesenbeck, Germany, from 5–10 September.

We caught up with Liz Geldard ahead of her trip to Riesenbeck.

How did you get into working with horses?
"Both of my parents worked with horses, they were both into racing. I then went to Germany where I worked for 12 years for Fiona Bigwood and Anders Dahl before becoming a freelancer."

How do you juggle life as a mum and a freelance groom?
"I have been very lucky to be able to pick and choose which shows I go to and to be able to choose my own hours. I tend to only need to be away for about 6 weeks of the year so it isn’t too long."

We have had a lot of recent enquiries about juggling the mum/groom life balance – have you got any tips?
"You can definitely still do it. Choose your hours around childcare or school hours to help you have a better work/life balance."

Who has inspired you in your work?
"Definitely my Mum. She has always had high standards and even now, at the age of 44, I still have to work hard to achieve her standards!"

What has been your biggest achievement to date?
"My daughter definitely, but for work, there are so many highpoints it is hard to choose. I have been very lucky throughout my career and seem to have been in the right place at the right time. I have always been willing to keep doors open, be friendly and polite, hard working and I always take pride in my work.

I am not afraid to approach someone who might have done some beautiful plaits to ask how they did them or ask if I can watch them plait up. I think everyone should be treated the same, it doesn’t matter if you are an Olympic rider or your first pony event, everyone is the same."

How did you get involved with the Para’s team?
"I think it was from networking, Sarah Armstrong who worked for the BEF approached me and asked if I would be able to help in 2017 and the rest is history!"

You are going to the Europeans next month with the para’s team. What are you doing in preparation?
"I’m so laid back, probably sometimes too laid back about it all! Luckily, I’ve worked with the riders and horses before, so I know them well.

I like to make sure everything is cool and calm for both the riders and horses, if they’ve got a stressy groom it can ruin the dynamic a little. We have a pre training camp for a few days before heading off to Riesenbeck so everything will be ready for then."

Do you have any funny stories you can share with us?
"I have so many although I am not sure I can say them out loud! I do have one though. We were driving back from an event, my boss, Anders, said he would drive the horse box and I could drive his Porsche home. The horse box was limited to 56mph. Anders got home before I did in the Porsche!"

Why are you a member of the BGA?
"There are so many positives to being a member of the BGA. There is obviously the insurance but also so much more. The helpful contacts, such as accountants, the discounts and so on. The work the BGA does to promote grooms and their welfare is just brilliant. Starting from nothing to what the BGA has become today is brilliant and all grooms should belong to their professional association."

Photo: Liz with Team Vet Rob Oulton who she worked with at the Pony Europeans last month and will be joining Liz at the Para Europeans - The pony is George Clooney who finished 4th in the Kür.

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