Talking about an unaffordable career is less an oxymoron than it is a reality for many horse grooms. Emma Ford, author of ‘World Class Grooming for Horses’, has long campaigned to bring longevity to the vocation of a horse groom. “Making it more of a career choice rather than just a… we do it until we can’t afford it anymore,” she said.
To that end, Ford, who is also an equine sports massage therapist and who groomed for Eventer and Olympian Phillip Dutton for 16 years, is working alongside the Aiken Horse Park Foundation to launch the inaugural World Class Grooming Career Development Grant.
Criteria Designed To Find The Right Candidate
“For the criteria, the main focus is to encourage people who already know they want a career in the competition field but maybe haven’t had the opportunity to experience it at a higher level,” Ford said. “It is important that candidates should be experienced enough to have more than the basic horsemanship skills and enough knowledge within the industry to pursue a career in international grooming.”
Three Disciplines Catered For In New Grant
Three disciplines – show jumping, eventing, and dressage – can be catered for within the internship-style opportunity that will pair the chosen applicant with an elite professional who has competed successfully at international level.
“We’re going to provide a list of mentors who have agreed to facilitate the internship,” Ford said. “What was very important to me was that the recipient groom has a long-term professional groom as a guide who is going to be able to teach and show them the ropes as well as give them a very authentic experience when grooming at the top level of the sport.”
Only one grant – which also includes a cash donation of $5000 – will be awarded in the program’s inaugural year in order to ensure there is room to learn from the process. “It’s probably going to be a big learning curve,” Ford said. “But you have to start somewhere.”
Ford feels her grooming journey was part luck and part jumping on opportunity. Born in England, she first worked stateside for eventer Adrienne Iorio in Massachusetts. She met Dutton right when he was seeking a new groom. “I had made the decision to be a full-time groom, and it was a no-brainer if I wanted to go to the top to take that opportunity,” said Ford.
Helping with this new grant is something Ford sees as an opportunity to pay homage to her experience as a groom. “I feel very blessed in my career, the way it’s come full circle,” she said. “I was very fortunate as I had a good network of people. When I got the opportunity to work with the Aiken Horse Park Foundation on this, it sort of seemed like a viable way of helping out a little bit and giving back.”
Looking For Sustainability In The Industry
Beyond individual careers, Ford sees the initiative as part of a broader effort to stabilize and professionalize the grooming workforce.
“I often hear… ‘I do it for the love of it,’” she said. Unfortunately, passion does not pay the bills, and the U.S. has unique challenges with expenses for grooms, including healthcare.
“You’ll have someone really good come into a barn,” Ford said. “But then they have to come off their parents’ health insurance… and they’re like, ‘well, time for me to get a real job.’”
The industry suffers as a result, with talent falling by the wayside. “We lose people to that,” she said. “We need to up the standard where that isn’t the case.”
That means not only better pay, but also greater recognition of the groom’s role. “People need to understand the work ethics, knowledge, and value that we bring to the sport,” Ford said.
Modern Movements Reflects Growth in Grooms’ community
Momentum is building across the industry, with more grooms stepping into educational and leadership roles. Ford penned ‘World Class Grooming for Horses’ with business partner Cat Hill. The concept of sharing knowledge has become a welcome addition to grooms nationwide.
“Grooms in the eventing world are going out and giving their input across the States,” Ford said. “We feel proud that we sort of set up a way for grooms to share their knowledge and make money at the same time.”
With applications newly opened – and due to close on July 1 – time will tell as to how many aspiring grooms pitch for the placement. “It only opened a few days ago,” Ford said, noting that applicants must submit references and materials. “We’re not expecting to see anything for at least a month. But for the first year, it’s going to be an interesting one.”
How To Apply
Click here to learn more about the World Class Grooming Career Development Grant.
Click here to apply for the World Class Grooming Career Development Grant.
World Class Grooming
Click here to purchase Emma Ford’s extensive grooming book World Class Grooming for Horses at Trafalgar Square Books.
Sarah Eakin has a long history of sports reporting and covering equestrian disciplines – particularly show jumping, polo, racing and dressage – for a range of international publications as writer and editor-in-chief. In 2024, Sarah launched Paper Horse – an online magazine with an eclectic mix of stories from the horse world at www.paperhorsemedia.com. Paper Horse is an official Media Partner of Wellington International. Sarah was born in England and came to the US in 1996 as Sidelines’ Polo Editor; at the time she was chief polo writer at the Horse and Hound and Polo Correspondent to The Daily Telegraph. She married US professional polo player Gary Eakin and stayed Stateside traveling throughout North America while covering equestrian events. She is also an author; Wed, White and Blue, her first novel is on Amazon.
