Life of a showjumping groom

This is to introduce myself, I am Daniel Tarpey and I work full time as a groom for Laura Mantel and the Mantel family at their yard between Reading and Newbury in Berkshire. I have been asked to write a bit of a ‘blog’ about the life of a competition groom but not having put much in writing since I left school this could be a little interesting....

A couple of weeks have passed since the British Breeders Awards Dinner in London where I was delighted to receive the prize for being runner up in the Grooms section. The evening was a great night out and I think everyone who attended enjoyed themselves.

It was just as well I was not working the next day!

Life at the yard has returned to normal after a quiet Christmas period. The yard is basically a showjumping yard and Laura competes and produces horses full time. From the beginning of January we have been back in full swing and extremely busy. At the beginning of the month we had the British Breeding Stallion Parade where we were exhibiting 5 stallions for the New Priory Stud. We currently have 15 horses in work, some are ones who were with us last season but we also have some new exciting prospects.

We have been to a couple of local shows at Addington Manor (Bucks) and Crofton Manor (Southampton) and all the horses have jumped well with several good placings.

This last ten days has been a flurry of activity getting everything ready and organised for our forthcoming trip to Vilamoura in Portugal. The lorry has had to go for a service and feed, bedding and forage ordered and then loaded ready for the trip. We have been working lots of early mornings and late nights and I have had man flu to cope with as well! No time to be ill though. 

The next few days will be spent clipping the horses who will be going, making sure they are newly shod and the health papers issued by the vets. There is a lot to think about and organise in a short time span. 

I think the difference in being a groom, or a ‘good’ groom is all down to organisation and communication. This is not just with Laura on a daily basis, but with the owners of the horses, the farrier, vets, feed merchants etc. I have a yard diary which is my bible and everything has to be written down methodically. I take great pride in everything being tidy and organised, ‘there is a place for everything and everything is in its place’ is my motto . . that way you don’t waste time looking for things and when you come to packing for a long trip I know where everything is.

Hopefully with everything organised well in advance, the route planned and the overnight stops booked the horses and Laura and I should arrive in Portugal fit and ready to compete. Hopefully they will go well and do me proud!