Diary of a show groom - The show season kicks up a gear
It might seem like the show season has been in full flight for a couple of months now but the end of May/ beginning of June is when it really kicks into high gear and it doesn’t slow down until September!
The last of the Royal International qualifiers have just wrapped up, always a manic week trying to pick up those last tickets with four or five shows in as many days, the HOYS qualifiers for some sections have started and others start this weekend.
With the start of the HOYS qualifiers comes the start of our busiest period, anyone that is in anyway involved in showing knows that insane couple of weeks in the middle of June with what feels like a hundred shows in ten days, Cheshire Lincoln week being the worst. The time when it’s stranger to be asleep at 3am than it is to be awake, you live off red bull and sugar (drumstick squashies are my go to), you travel the length and breadth of the country and lose all track of reality (there could be a government coup in that time and most of us would be none the wiser) all in the pursuit of those golden tickets.
This is what proves whether you can survive as a show groom or not, can you hack the constant 2am starts and 10pm finishes, running on a couple of hours sleep, McDonald’s and more Red Bull/coffee than is strictly healthy. Does your get up and go get up and go after two days or are you still somehow smiling at the end of the fifth show in seven days (I can confirm it’s usually “if I don’t laugh I’ll cry” smile by that point).
Over the next three months the shows come thick and fast. Every year it’s the same, we get to the end of May, look at our diaries for the rest of the season and question our sanity and life choices. What I can guarantee is that next year will be exactly the same, as much as we all complain we all love it and couldn’t do anything else.
One thing that always becomes apparent to me over this time is how well staff are treated, you can tell the grooms that are dead on their feet a couple of days in from the ones that are still going strong at the end of the week. Show grooms are an essential part of the team and looking after them is crucial, it doesn’t have to be anything special, simply ensuring there is food and water within easy reach will make their day immensely more pleasant. I am in the fortunate position that I can be picky over who I work for now and I am fussy. I have a lovely small selection of teams where every member of staff is valued and well looked after. Most of us are happy being thrown a chocolate bar to eat whilst we carry on lunging, I’ve occasionally managed a sandwich with a well behaved one (the hand delivered bacon roll at one show was definitely a highlight!).
A sense of humour is essential for this job, we’re all in the same boat at this time of year and no one needs a Debbie downer bringing the whole team down when everyone is tired. I tend to think of the show season as a bonding experience, you see each other at your worst and if you can make it through the summer without wanting to knock each other’s heads off then you will probably be good friends. I’m very lucky to work with some fantastic people that have become real friends over the years (just as well as I see them every week!), I can’t wait to reunite the “Dream Team” at Team Elenor on Sunday!
I will write some “survival guides” for the summer season and post those ASAP!
For now I will wish everyone the very best of luck, may the alarms not be too painful, the days straightforward and the traffic kind to us all!
