What does it take to turn a childhood love of horses into a career at the highest level of show jumping? For 25-year-old Canadian groom Eva Jensen-Wark, the journey started with mucking stalls in exchange for riding lessons. A few years later, she found herself grooming at five-star competitions and the World Championships in Aachen. Her story is about dreaming big, working hard, learning from others, and finding opportunities, even through some of life’s most difficult moments.
Photo courtesy of Charlotte Gardner Studios.
It All Started With a Dream
Eva grew up in Ottawa, Canada, and loved horses from a young age. But her path into professional grooming wasn’t straightforward. After taking a break from riding, she found her way back to horses at around 18. She started mucking stalls in exchange for riding lessons, happy to do the work if it meant she could spend more time around horses.
At that point, working with top-level sport horses seemed like a distant dream. She didn’t have a ready-made path into the international show jumping world. What she did have was determination, a willingness to work, and a desire to learn.
One opportunity led to another. She gained experience at different barns, met people who believed in her, and eventually made her way to Wellington, Florida, one of the world’s major show jumping centers. There, she discovered just how much there was to learn about caring for horses competing at the highest level.
Learning, Watching, and Taking Every Opportunity
One of the things that stands out in Eva’s story is her willingness to learn from everyone around her. Working in Wellington introduced her to different barn routines, high-performance horse care, and the attention to detail expected in professional show jumping programs.
From leg care and clipping to preparing horses for competition, she discovered that even familiar tasks could be done differently.
She also spent time watching experienced grooms at work, especially during the big competition nights at Wellington International. She observed how they handled horses, communicated with riders, and managed everything around the warm-up ring. Rather than assuming she already knew everything, Eva asked questions and kept learning.
She also attended HorseGrooms MeetUps, where she met other grooms, made friends, and learned from experienced professionals. These connections became an important part of her journey.
For aspiring grooms, there is a valuable lesson here. You don’t need to know everything when you start. Be curious, ask questions, observe experienced people, and don’t be afraid to take an opportunity that feels a little bigger than you are ready for.
When Life Changes Everything
Eva’s journey hasn’t been all excitement and success.
In January 2026, while she was working in Wellington, her father passed away unexpectedly. He had been one of her biggest supporters, and losing him was devastating. Eva speaks openly in the podcast about that difficult period, the support she received from friends, and the comfort she found in the horses.
One particularly moving moment came when she was crying near the stall of a horse named Cadeau. The horse rested his head on her shoulder, offering the kind of quiet companionship that so many horse people will recognize. For Eva, horses have always been much more than a job. They have been a constant presence through changes, challenges, and some of the hardest moments of her life.
After finishing that winter season in Wellington, she returned home to Canada to spend time with family, grieve, and think about what she wanted to do next. She couldn’t have known what the summer would bring.
From Spruce Meadows to Aachen
In June, an unexpected opportunity took Eva to Spruce Meadows in Calgary. She was offered the chance to groom horses competing at the five-star level, something she had dreamed of doing for years. Suddenly, she was preparing horses for some of the biggest classes at one of the most famous show jumping venues in the world.
And then came another opportunity.
She received a message asking whether she would travel to Europe to groom a horse at the World Championships in Aachen, Germany. Imagine that moment. Only a few years earlier, Eva had been mucking stalls to earn riding lessons. Now she was being asked to groom at one of the biggest championships in international equestrian sport. She accepted.
Her summer took her from Canada to the Netherlands and Germany, where she experienced European competitions, worked alongside an international team, and found herself surrounded by some of the riders, horses, and grooms she had admired for years. She admits that she was nervous at times. But she also discovered that she belonged there.
The experience was especially meaningful because of her father. Seeing the name Wark, her father’s surname, displayed alongside her own at the WEG in Aachen brought back powerful emotions. After the heartbreak of losing him earlier that year, she was living a dream she knew he would have been proud to see.
Professionally, it became the best summer of her life.
The Dream Doesn’t Stop at Aachen
Despite everything she has already experienced, Eva doesn’t consider herself someone who has made it to the top. She still sees herself as a groom with plenty to learn and many more dreams to pursue. She hopes to groom at more major championships, perhaps even the Olympic Games one day, and eventually take on greater responsibilities within a professional show jumping program.
Her story also reminds us that success rarely happens in a straight line. There are difficult jobs, moments of self-doubt, people who discourage you, sacrifices, homesickness, and personal challenges. Sometimes the opportunities you hope for don’t come when you expect them. Sometimes they arrive when you least expect them.
What matters is continuing to learn, building relationships, doing your work well, and staying open to what might come next.
You Might Be Closer To Your Dream Than You Think
If you’re a young groom working in a local barn and dreaming of five-star shows, international championships, or a career traveling the world with horses, don’t assume those opportunities are only for other people. You might be closer to your dream than you think.
Eva’s journey shows that there isn’t just one path to the top. You can start by mucking stalls, learn from the people around you, work hard, and gradually build a career that takes you further than you ever imagined. And even when life gets difficult, your dreams don’t have to disappear.
Never stop dreaming.
Listen to Eva Jensen-Wark on The HorseGrooms Podcast
In this episode, Eva shares much more about her experiences in Wellington, the differences she noticed in horse care routines, her first five-star competition at Spruce Meadows, and what it was like to groom at Aachen.
She also talks about the people who supported her, the horses who helped her through difficult times, and her advice for anyone hoping to build a professional career with horses.
Listen to The HorseGrooms Podcast with Eva Jensen-Wark here, on the HorseGrooms website, on your favorite podcast platform, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or through the Equus Radio Network.
If you enjoy the episode, please leave a review of The HorseGrooms Podcast on your favorite podcast channel. Your reviews help us reach more grooms and horse people around the world.
This Episode of the HorseGrooms Podcast Is Presented by Horcery
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