Through the eyes of the Groom
A lovely update written by our Head Groom, Jess Errington.
The winter is upon us. We have been lucky with the mild weather so far but now the temperature is dropping and with the high winds and the rain this doesn't make my job very appealing. As I walk out the door in already too many layers of clothes to be able to move property at 7.00am to feed my woolly and rather fat horses I can't help but keep reminding myself that 2016 is getting closer and before we know it myself and my team will be wishing that we could have that quiet November back again!
Most of our top horses have actually gone away on holiday back to their owners etc which is nice but at the at the same time it feels a bit like sending your child off to boarding school! That horrid feeling of saying goodbye and knowing that they will be fine but you just can't help but worry and miss them. Having spent so much time with them during be season, and then not having them there for you to take care of is just for me the worst part of my job! One of our eventers has been doing a bit of hunting this winter which has been brilliant for him so his holiday was very much delayed but he is a having a very well deserved break and it was worth the risk that hopefully will have paid off!
It's been a quiet couple of weeks for the team which we are very much making the most of! Our 1 hour for lunch and finishing at 5.15/ 5.30pm is just brilliant and very rare in the season. Harry has been very busy with pre hunting courses, clinics and lecture demos all over the country so I have barely seen him but I do like to have a bit of time to myself when he isn't here so I can get on with my hundreds of jobs that need doing all before the end of December and before all the horses come back.
Away Cruising has had a nice long break, has done his walking and trotting and has just started schooling. I think it is safe to say he is enjoying being back in work! I did the major transformation of him last week and a full clip and pulled mane and tail were called for! This is another step closer to the season and keeps me motivated over the winter! Our two lovely new rising 5 yr olds have got hind shoes back on and are also now starting to come back into work. I'm excited to see these two go into next season and compete in their first few events. They already seem pretty grown up and are two of my favourite young horses we have ever had!
So, slowly but surely, we are starting to get back to normal, I say normal but actually the crazy life that us grooms live! Eating on the go, early/late hours, running everywhere and thinking to ourselves how and why do we do this!
Any minute we will have a full yard of very keen and fresh horses wanting to be out and about again. We will be busy and yet another step closer to those Dressage and Show Jumping shows that are approaching fast!
