Meet the Grooms
“I find the sport so interesting and so fun and this is the only way I can be that close to it and still be involved and part of the team” - Bruin
Tori (left) and Bruin (right)
I took a moment to chat with Tori and Bruin, who currently groom for Tiffany Foster and Susan Horn. Tori is from Northern Ontario and has been a groom at the top level for 5 years. Bruin is originally from BC, and now lives and works for Susan Horn in Ontario.
Tori: I work for Tiffany. She did the Nations’ Cup today, it was awesome. it's always nice when you go to the ring - all your hard work pays off.
Bruin: My name is Bruin, and I work for Susan Horn. She's a lovely amateur from Ontario. We came out for Thunderbird before Spruce, and then we're heading there from Spruce, and then we’re headed home again.
That's awesome. What got you into wanting to be a groom?
Bruin: I've always loved the horses. I've ridden since I was three. It's kind of something that-- I don't really know. Nobody else in my family rides or even likes horses specifically. But I've kind of done it forever and I wasn't in a financial position to be able to do it myself. I showed a little bit as an amateur in my high school and early university years.
But honestly, I never enjoyed the competition side of riding. I really enjoyed the training and the working with the horses. So grooming allows me to kind of have that input without having the pressure of having to be the person to go into the ring and do the competing. I don’t mind doing the young horses and the babies, but I have no desire to jump a meter sixty! But I find the sport so interesting and so fun and this is the only way I can be that close to it and still be involved and part of the team. It's a really cool way to do it without having to have the ability to jump 1.60m and so on.
I love that. You found what you liked in this world.
Tori: I’ve noticed too, is once you get into grooming, it’s really hard to get out of it!
Bruin: It is! I went to school. I did my degree - financial management, economics. But I cannot imagine getting up and going to an office every day. It’s getting up and going to the barn and seeing the horses and going outside – it’s way more interesting.