Natalie Campbell is Competition Groom and Yard Manager for Andrew Gould at his yard in Bolney, West Sussex and has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from working at yards including previously be Assistant Manager for Gareth Hughes. The dedicated and hardworking Natalie is also a mentor for the online community “Horse Grooms” and lives in nearby Pulborough with her super supportive husband and her dog, Wednesday.
Have you always wanted to work with horses and how has your journey progressed?
Natalie with Genie training at home. image courtesy of @immytbmedia
I started riding as a kid – my mum took me to the local riding school – I think just as something for me to do. Honestly, I just loved horses and riding straight away and as soon as I was old enough, I’d go and help out on the weekends.
I don’t think I really thought about doing it as a job, I did all my A-levels thinking I wanted to become a psychologist or a vet. ‘Groom’ just wasn’t something that you heard about as a career option. I was torn between going to study psychology further or to do ‘something horsey’. I ended up at Nottingham Trent to do a degree in Equine sports science, which is where I met my now husband.
After University I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do but I wanted to get some practical experience as what I had was very limited. I went to Welington Riding as a working pupil for a year and did my BHS stages 2 and 3 riding and care. It was there that I started to realise that I really liked taking care of the horses. What followed was a year of travelling and doing different things until I took a job as a groom on a private Dressage yard and that’s where it really all started for me. I went to Andrews as head girl a year or two after that. I did end up leaving to go to Australia and staying for two years, working at yards but also in bars and restaurants. On coming home, I went to Gareth Hughes as assistant manager and learned loads under his manager, Steph. Around a year later, Andrew needed a manager, and I went back, and I’ve been here now for about five and a half years.
What does your role involve?
Natalie with Genie before a test at Hickstead CDI. image courtesy of @immytbmedia
My role basically covers everything from day-to-day care to competition grooming. I used to ride all the breakers, but I have retired from that now, and run things from the ground.
We usually have between sixteen to twenty horses on the yard. I work full time doing all the normal duties including mucking out, tacking up for Andrew, managing the team and taking care of the horses, as well as show prep/clipping/ taking clients to shows. The list goes on! I also have the big responsibility of keeping a constant eye and being caretaker of Andrew’s top horse, Indigro to make sure he’s always feeling his best.
Alongside this I’m also responsible for lots of admin, ordering feed, arranging vet/farrier/physio visits, keeping vaccinations up to date, booking and arranging travel and all the paperwork involved to travel the horses abroad. I do all the show entries and registrations and help drive the horses. It can be full on, particularly during competition season in the Summer with one big international a month normally starting around May. Luckily, we have a brilliant team who I can rely on to help me give all the horses the best possible care.
You are a mentor for Horse Grooms, can you tell us more?
HorseGrooms is an online community set up by Dinette Neuteboom and Amy McGann, as a place for grooms to connect and share knowledge between each other, from all around the world.
They post lots of great educational content, whether about horse care, grooms wellness and even financial advice for grooms. There is lots of free to access content and then they have insiders, whereby you sign up an have access to exclusive videos, Q&As with top grooms, demonstrations from bodyworkers and plaiting and care videos. Insiders also have access to the mentors.
HorseGrooms mentors are all professional grooms from different disciplines and backgrounds, and we are in there to answer questions from community members on the threads and we all create content when we can. We are also here to chat privately if anyone wants to. Dinette is great at understanding how busy we all are with our own jobs and doesn’t pressure us to put out loads of content so we all do what we can.
It’s something that I’m proud and honoured to be a part of as I think it’s something that is desperately needed in our industry. As grooms we all have learned from others our whole careers, and this is a resource that I’d have found invaluable when starting out with the wealth of knowledge that they have to offer. I know I find it useful now.
What makes being a groom so special?
Natalie plaiting Active Solaris ‘Solly’ at BD Nationals.
image courtesy of Shelley Ireson
I think that what makes the job special is the bond between horse and groom. Especially when I’m lucky enough to look after horses that have taken me to incredible shows, and I get to look after them one on one and just give them all my time and effort. It creates such a special bond I can’t really describe it. To top that off with watching them perform at their very best is just amazing.
Which are your least favourite tasks?
There aren’t many things that I really hate doing but I really dread packing the hay into the lorry for big trips. I have big bale hay that I have to pack into builders’ bags and stack in the back, Its back breaking! And I absolutely hate telling people off. Luckily, I don’t have to do that one much.
What have been your most memorable highlights so far?
Highlights to date would of course be going to the Paris Olympics with Indie, that was a bucket list moment. Getting to groom at London 2022 was an incredible experience, an amazing show.
Weve been lucky enough to take horses to HOYS a couple of times for the Dressage Future Elite Championship, and to experience Aachen.
Hopefully there is more to come as well.
What have been your proudest moments?
Natalie doing a tack check with Indigro at Hickstead CDI.
image courtesy of @immybtmedia
Proudest moments would be Indies Freestyle at London, it was an amazing moment for all of us, he showed the world what he could do. Genies freestyle at the last Hickstead CDI was a proud moment for the whole team; It’s just around the corner from the yard so everyone drove over after work to watch him, and he did brilliantly, it was so nice to have everyone there to see him.
Indies most recent Lier Show is up there too, he hadn’t been out all winter and he went straight to a 5*. Scoring the best of the brits and 2nd place individual. I was super proud and may have had a tear or 2 at the end of his special!
What is the hardest part about being a groom?
The hardest thing for me is having a work/life balance, especially during competition season. The hours are long, and the job is mentally and physically tiring. Grooms put our heart and soul into our jobs and horses and it’s hard to make time for ourselves.
What advice would you give to those who’d like to follow in your footsteps?
Get work on a yard with a great head person that you can learn from and don’t stop learning. Work hard but don’t let yourself be taken advantage of. You can’t show up 100% for your horses if you’re running on empty.
Prevention is always better than cure, get to know your horses inside out. Noticing a slight bit of puffiness on a leg and acting straight away can make the difference between an easy day and a big injury and months off. Noticing if they’re grumpy to tack up one day and having them checked over before they get sore, or if they’re off their food, checking their temperature.
Trust your gut and if something seems off – act on it.
What are a few tips for getting competition ready?
- Any clipping should be done at least a week before in case they have any reaction, then you have time to treat it
- Get your mane trimmed to a good length before you come and try to plait it
- I like to tidy up any feathers/beard/excess ear fluff a couple of days before so its fresh
- Shampoo the mane a few of days before to make plaiting easier
- Bath everything else the day before and talc white socks.
- Check vaccinations and that you’re within CleanSport rules.
- Have a ring bag packed with towel, scraper, fly spray, sugar and anything else you might need in the warmup.
What does it mean to you to be part of the support team?
Going away to lots of shows with one horse it does feel like we are a team of three, me horse and rider. We’ve worked together for a long time now and I definitely try to support Andrew as best I can at shows. The pressure can be a lot for riders, and I want to make sure that he’s not got to think about anything other than riding. I’m there to worry about the care of the horse and he doesn’t have to ask me to do things, he knows I’ve got it under control.
What are some unexpected parts of the job?
I think it’s the level of skill and the amount of knowledge that top grooms have. Its mad because until recently (and there’s still a way to go) it wasn’t even broadly considered a career and grooms weren’t given a second thought. Grooms work every day alongside vets, farriers, bodyworkers and you learn so much from all of them.
When I very first started out, I really thought if I could plait and turnout my horses the best then that would make me the best groom! Instead to find out that that part is just the fun bit you get to do on top of everything else.
What are your competition packing must haves?
Always have a waterproof sheet in the lorry that you can put over top of the horses’ normal rugs, whether for hand grazing or leaking show stables to keep them dry. And a fly sheet in case the flies are bad, and they must wear it in the stables or grazing.
A Chiffney or a chain that you can get to in the horse area in case of emergency offloading.
First aid kit and stable bandages and a spare set of shoes.
I always have a massage rug for them, ice boots and a freezer. My wooden grooming box with all my brushes and essentials and I never travel without ReCovery mash.