Emma Ford – an eventing groom’s tale of horsemanship, stamina and roughing it
Badminton Horse Trials is well underway this weekend, and while it is a true test of a rider and horse in all three disciplines – dressage, cross-country and show jumping – eventing used to be a lot more than that.
Emma Ford groomed for Olympian Phillip Dutton for 16 years, and has been around long enough to witness the changes. “I was pretty lucky,” said Emma, originally from England. “Because I started grooming at the top level in the last two years of roads and tracks and steeplechase. So I got to do a bit of both. I saw the outgoing of the long format, and then the incoming of the new format.”
For many traditionalists, the removal of endurance phases marked the end of a tougher, more demanding sport. But Emma believes modern horses need to be every bit as fit as their predecessors. “They have found the horses have to be just as fit nowadays, because of all the technicality and the speed as well,” she said. “People didn’t think horses would have to be as fit, but it’s actually no different.”
Originally from North Devon, Emma contributes much of her horsemanship and work ethic to the British Pony Club system. “I credit a lot to what I learned through Pony Club and also the work ethic,” she said. “Things like Pony Club Camp where you have to care for your own horse.”
That grounding carried her to the top levels of international eventing and she landed her first high profile job stateside grooming for eventer Adrienne Iorio in Massachusetts, before being in the right place at the right time, to land her long term job with Phillip.
As much as a three-day event is an endurance test for the competitors, it is also something of a marathon for the groom. Behind the scenes often involved long days, little sleep and improvised living conditions. Emma recalled a particularly grueling scenario at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. While the horses were comfortably accommodated, the facilities for the grooms were yet to be fully completed.
“We literally lived in shipping containers that had an air conditioner in and then a bathroom,” she said. “You couldn’t drink the water and the toilet would run down through the middle of the floor because it was leaking.”
Emma insists those experiences became part of the camaraderie that defines life on the road. “At the end of the day, I don’t call any of them bad because you’re staying with your friends,” she said. “You just sort of have a laugh about it and go, ‘Well, this is what we do.’”
A strong proponent of good horsemanship, Emma co-wrote a book with her business partner, Cat Hill, ‘World Class Grooming for Horses’, which is being revised and reprinted to publish an updated version later this year including the modern-day component of FEI rules. She is also working alongside the Aiken Horse Park Foundation, to launch an inaugural ‘World Class Grooming Development Grant’ that will see a cash donation of $5000 and an opportunity for an aspiring groom to take up an internship with a rider at the top level of their discipline, be it dressage, show jumping or eventing.
Today, England’s Ros Canter finished her cross-country course on her dressage score – meaning no additional penalties – and is leading with Lordships Graffalo going into tomorrow’s final test of show jumping at Badminton. Back in the day – the cross-country course would have come at the end of Saturday’s activities after some ten miles of roads and tracks punctuated by a steeplechase element. The pacing for time and preservation of energy in the roads and tracks was paramount and it was not unusual to see a competitor running on the ground alongside their horse, to save their mount’s stamina.
The sport even without the roads and tracks and steeplechase is still arduous and the competitors still tough – Ros gave birth to her second child just three months ago. If she wins, she will be the first rider to win Badminton three times on the same horse. Emma, whose eventing career has taken her to many places such as the Pan Am adventures in Rio and the revelation that “I can’t believe I am an author – I nearly failed English at school”, would recommend the journey. “I’m not going to say it’s easier to go into eventing, but I think it’s definitely a good time to be going into it as a career choice,” she said. “As everyone’s becoming more aware of the position and how much value we as grooms do bring to the sport.”
This could be interesting:
Throwback Thursday – How USA’s Eventing success was built on Jack Le Goff’s program