Courtney Carson and Getaway. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
The grooms charged with the care of the horses in their stable are the heartbeat of our industry — and yet they are severely underrepresented in most discussion and protections. This has been an ongoing subject of discussion, and some organizations want to illicit a change for the better.
The British Grooms Association and the International Competition Grooms group need your help. For the first time, groom voices will be represented at the annual FEI Sports Forum with a session on the ‘Status of Grooms’ on the docket for discussion. If you’re an international groom, your input is requested in advance of the Forum so that groom voices and concerns are brought forth during the Forum. You can fill out the survey here. The survey, originally the brainchild of pro groom Courtney Carson, who currently works for Doug and Jessica Payne, is intended to provide a platform for grooms to share feedback of the current state of the industry and what’s missing from it.
The FEI Sports Forum is a way for changes to make their way into implementation, as the discussions facilitated during the Forum often leads to a variety of proposals intended to help equestrian sports move forward in a positive way. This year’s Forum will be held April 6-7 at its usual location in Lausanne, Switzerland.
If you are an FEI groom, you are invited to register with both the British Grooms Association as well as the International Competition Grooms group. These organizations are dedicated to supporting grooms through pursuance of fair living wages and conditions, insurance provisions, and many other areas that are critical to job performance and health. It is the hope of many professional grooms that this will be the start of much better representation and care of some of the most integral parts of any successful equine program.
