Is your family involved with horses?
I started working with horses when I was 10 years old. Although I didn’t come from a family linked to equestrianism, I grew up riding and grooming, competing with two horses.
Why are you mostly in Europe?
You have to be in Europe in order to be part of the biggest competitions and to be in the part of the world where the best riders and horses from my country are also based.
What do you like to do as a feeding routine for your horses? Do you have specific things you do for leg care? Any special tips for keeping a horse happy?
When it comes to feeding, I like to feed each horse according to their needs. I am very strict about the quantity and quality of the feed that is being fed.
I take care of my horses’ legs daily with ice, massages, hydration and medication as needed.
To keep horses happy, it is important to give them freedom during the day – turning them out in grass paddocks where they can relax and be in their natural habitat. This is what keeps our horses happy and healthy. We have to give them the best care so that we can get the best from them too.
How have you prepared for the Olympics?
For a long time, we have been preparing a routine for the Olympics. It is not easy to prepare a horse for the Olympics in a short period of time. We focus on improving technique and getting the horse physically prepared for competition.
This is my first Olympics. I am very confident in our preparation and believe the hard work will pay off.
What do you think about HorseGrooms? And what do you think needs to change to make life better for grooms?
Grooms are an extremely important part of the entire process of maintaining and preparing a horse for competition – especially the Olympics, and the HorseGrooms platform is a great help to our world of grooming. Grooms should be treated with the respect and value they deserve in representing their team. Without grooms, nothing is possible.
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.
