From Groom to Tack Innovator: How Kimberly “Kimba” Maloomian Built DziaSport

Kimberly “Kimba” Maloomian understands what it is like to have too much to do and too little time to do it. Before becoming a dietitian, entrepreneur, and the founder of DziaSport, Kimba spent many years working as an A-circuit hunter groom. That experience continues to shape almost everything she creates.

HorseGrooms Contributor

At HorseGrooms, we know Kimba best as one of our longtime contributors. She has supported HorseGrooms from the beginning by sharing practical nutrition advice and healthy, filling recipes created specifically for busy grooms. She understands that most grooms do not have hours to plan, prepare, and cook meals, but they still need proper nutrition to get through physically demanding days.

Kimba has joined us at several MeetUps, where she prepared healthy snacks and quick, nutritious meals together with attendees. Today, she continues to share her knowledge by contributing a new recipe for grooms to our website every month. She is always willing to help and think about what our community needs. 

We are incredibly grateful for the time and expertise she continues to give to HorseGrooms. 

Dzia Sport

But her recipes are only one part of her work. Kimba is also the founder of DziaSport, a growing equestrian tack company built around a simple but important question: How can we make this easier and better for horses, grooms, and riders?

From Groom to Business Owner

The idea for DziaSport began with a problem Kimba had noticed during her years in the barn.

She imagined a martingale that could clip directly to the girth, allowing grooms to make tack changes between classes without spending so much time helping riders get on and off their horses.

“I had been thinking about the idea for years, but I didn’t know how to get started,” Kimba said. “One day, I mentioned it to a good friend who was already in the business of making tack and apparel. She scribbled a number on a piece of paper and said, ‘Here, call my guy.’ So I did, and in the fall of 2019, DziaSport was born.”

That first idea became the Easy-Off Martingale, but it also established the purpose behind the entire company.

Grooming Experience Helps

“The vision was always to create products that helped grooms complete their tasks in less tedious ways,” Kimba explained.

Her years as a groom gave her more than an understanding of tack. They taught her to recognize the small frustrations, inefficient routines, and equipment problems that people working with horses encounter every day.

Grooms are often the first people to notice when something is difficult to use, uncomfortable for a horse, or unnecessarily time-consuming. Kimba used that knowledge to become a product designer and business owner.

“I wanted everything I designed to be easy for grooms to use and friendly for the horses,” she said. “I didn’t want something just because it looked pretty or fashionable. I wanted products to be comfortable for horses, easy for grooms, and able to function properly.”

Introducing a New Idea to a Traditional Sport

The Easy-Off Martingale

The Easy-Off Martingale was the first product of its kind, and many people wondered why no one had created one before. However, having a good idea did not mean everyone was immediately willing to try it.

“It didn’t catch on that quickly,” Kimba admitted. “Everyone thought it was a great idea, but no one would use it.”

At the time, Kimba had three or four hunters competing, but even her own horses were not showing in martingales.

“My groom was furious,” Kimba laughed. “She would say, ‘You own a martingale company, and none of your horses show in a martingale!’”

Eventually, Kimba tried the martingale on the horse she thought would be least bothered by the change. Slowly, other people at the farm in Wellington began using it, and word started to spread.

That experience taught her something important about introducing new products into the horse industry. Even when an innovation solves a familiar problem, people may need time to understand it and become comfortable doing something differently.

Products Inspired by Horses, Grooms, and Riders

Some DziaSport products introduce something new to the market. Others take familiar pieces of equipment and improve their comfort, function, or ease of use.

Happy Horse Leather Halter

The Happy-Horse Leather Halter, released in August 2025, is a 100 percent leather halter that cinches under the chin in a way similar to a rope or hybrid halter.

Hunter Girth & Clip Bridle

DziaSport has also redesigned classic products, including an ergonomically shaped leather hunter girth and a clip bridle with leather pads behind the clips. The pads prevent the metal clips from resting directly against the horse’s face.

No Rub Stirrup Leathers

One of the company’s most popular products is its No-Rub Stirrup Leathers. The wider leather distributes pressure over the rider’s shin, helping to reduce rubbing. The design can also stabilize the rider’s leg. Some riders have reported feeling more secure in the saddle, while others have been able to ride with less knee, hip, or ankle pain.

“The No-Rub Leathers were born out of necessity,” Kimba said. “I keep an open dialogue with my retailers. I am very upfront with them that I will design and make something they cannot find in the marketplace, either as a private-label product or to fill a gap when something is not easily available.”

After the COVID pandemic disrupted manufacturing and supply chains, one retailer asked Kimba to create an alternative to a product that was frequently affected by production delays and backorders.

“We looked at the item, discussed where it could be improved, and voilà, the No-Rub Stirrup Leathers arrived.”

Similar conversations led to the creation of DziaSport’s Running Martingale Attachment and Ergonomic Leather Monoflap Girth.

Looking Beyond the Familiar

Kimba’s product ideas do not come only from the hunter and jumper world. She studies equipment and practices used across different disciplines and considers how those ideas might solve problems for other horses and riders.

Happy Back Saddle Pad

That approach led to the DziaSport Happy-Back Saddle Pad.

Kimba had been experiencing saddle-pad problems with her own horses and began noticing that many quilted pads were too small for today’s saddles. The seam, trim, or piping could sit underneath the cantle or pommel, potentially causing rubbing, pressure, or back soreness.

She remembered the simple saddle-pad setup used during her childhood: a piece of cloth against the horse’s coat, followed by a large square of mattress foam and the saddle. She began wondering how she could recreate the benefits of that system in a more modern product.

Quarter Horse Hunter People

The answer came while she was walking through the western section of the AETA/WESA trade show. What she saw there inspired the Happy-Back Saddle Pad.

“Similar to the Easy-Off Martingale, it looks different from what hunter and jumper riders are used to,” Kimba said. “I have had to show people how it works and why it works. If you haven’t noticed, hunter people don’t like to look different. But I have patience, and I believe that once people understand how it can help their horse’s back, more people will want it under their saddle.”

Quarter Horse hunter competitors were among the first to embrace the design.

Inspiration

Kimba continues to look for inspiration everywhere. She has drawn ideas from her family’s time at the Thoroughbred racetrack, museum exhibitions, other equestrian disciplines, and the Saddlebreds and Hackney ponies competing at Devon.

“I fully believe in looking at the market, seeing what is missing, and identifying what can be improved,” she said.

High Quality Without an Unnecessary Price Tag

DziaSport products are now available through retailers in approximately 20 states, as well as Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Despite that growth, Kimba says opening an account with a new retailer is still as exciting as it was during the company’s first year.

Her goal has remained the same: to offer well-designed, high-quality products at prices that are accessible to more equestrians.

“There are people competing at the highest level who believe that if an item does not cost a certain amount, it cannot be good,” Kimba said. “I cannot necessarily change that mentality, but the vast majority of horse owners across the country and throughout the world do not think that way. Those are the equestrians I am looking to support.”

Supporting the HorseGrooms Community

That philosophy closely reflects the way Kimba supports the HorseGrooms community. Whether she is developing a piece of tack, sharing an affordable and nutritious recipe, or answering a question at a HorseGrooms MeetUp, she thinks about the people doing the work and what could make their lives a little easier.

Kimba’s journey shows that working as a groom can lead in many different directions. Grooms develop valuable skills in observation, problem-solving, organization, horse care, and product evaluation. They see problems other people may overlook because they work with horses and equipment every day.

Kimba took the challenges she experienced as a groom and turned them into practical solutions for horses, riders, and the people caring for them. Through DziaSport and her continued contributions to HorseGrooms, she is helping make the equestrian world a little more comfortable, functional, and accessible.

We are proud to have Kimba as part of HorseGrooms, and very grateful for the knowledge, time, recipes, and genuine care she continues to share with our community.