I bet you’re all wondering what event grooms do over
winter, when the excitement of the last event season is behind then and the
new season seems so far away? Well, so did I, so I asked Crisy Salmon, groom to top eventer, Sarah Bullimore, to spill the beans having experienced the ‘other side’ of
the eventing world and her first winter on the job...brrrr!
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| Vally enjoying lunch in bed |
Well time has flown by since my last blog and we have been keeping busy. While the horses have been enjoying a well-earned rest, we have spent more time around the stables, clearing out, tidying,
and organising ready for the impending season. We
now have all the horses back in work, primarily hacking with some schooling. I assume the horses will start jumping again soon and at some point, they’ll go to the
gallops. Towards the end of last season, Sarah gave her two 4-year
olds their holiday so she could bring them back into work after her last event
of 2015 (Pau**** with Reve Du Rouet, Valentino and Lilly Corrine), whilst the ‘top
boys’ had their break.
I’m sure Sarah won’t mind me saying that the horses all
got quite scruffy over winter, with bushy tails, long manes, whiskers, outgrown
clips and even some feathers! I love this because it just shows how much effort is
put into making all the horses look their best and ready for competitions. And,
after all, when the horses are either living out or in the field at
night, there isn’t really any need for them to be looking their best.
We have been hard at work in readiness for them coming back into work. We have spent the last
couple of weeks washing, scrubbing, disinfecting, hoovering, pressure washing,
painting and repairing all the stables to get the yard looking spotless ready
for the horses to be clipped, tidied up and back in at night. The 4-year olds
will still live out along with the other youngsters and the mares carrying
Lilly’s foals, but I suspect the others won’t go out as much over the next
couple of months given the weather. The fields are like mud baths and will
become very dangerous when frozen so it may be safer to keep them in.
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| Elfie (Corouet) 4 y.o. and first bred horse out of Lilly Corinne |
The most enjoyable thing for me over the past few months has been learning about the
life of an event horse in the winter. Having never owned or worked with event
horses before I wanted to see how long they would holiday for, what
would be the process of bringing them back into work, and how soon they would start
full fittening work again. I also feel like I have got to know Sarah and the horses much
better which has given me more confidence going into the season. It now feels like we are in the final stages of our
winter break and I am very excited about the prospect of starting my first full
season working here. Whether looking after the yard while Sarah is away
competing, or going with her to events, it is a great feeling to be part of the
team, so bring on 2016!
Kathryn White
is owner and director of Cathean Ltd Medical and Copy Writing Services. She is a
published medical, copy and equestrian writer with a passion for creating
compelling text in collaboration with her clients. Her customers include pharmaceutical,
healthcare and equestrian businesses across the world.
