She’s got a lot of character and she’s a very special horse. She either likes you or she doesn’t, and if she doesn’t like you she’s very hard to take care of. Although she’s now an older mare she certainly doesn’t act like it – she’s 15-years-old and she acts like a six-year-old. Taking her to the ring is always difficult, as she’s very noise sensitive. We stand no chance of using plugs, as she won’t let us touch her ears. Her face is also a big deal and she won’t even let us brush it. But overall, she’s super nice to take care of but she can be challenging!
You know Spruce Meadows like the back of your hand; what do you love about it?
I love how it’s old school and it’s so much about the general equestrian-loving public. When you walk up to the International Ring you see so many spectators there rooting for the sport, which is incredible to see – they know exactly what’s going on and what the goal is, and they have their favourite riders that they want to see. It’s just a very cool place to be.
For you, how does a Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping Major differ to a normal 5* show?
The intensity level is much higher, and the Majors attract the best horses and riders in the world – they’re just on a different level. I get nervous a lot before any type of show but leading up to Majors like the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ – particularly as a Canadian – there’s a lot of pressure, so we’ve got to cope with that on top of everything else. I’ve been to the Majors at the CHIO Aachen and The Dutch Masters, which were amazing, but for me Spruce Meadows is the most special.
Tell us a little bit about how you got to where you are now…
I’m still young so I haven’t done that much in my career. I started riding when I was five-years-old, and I absolutely fell in love with it. But, funnily enough, I don’t enjoy riding that much now, I just want to be around the horses. I worked at a sales barn locally to where I was from followed by a saddle company because I wanted to remain working in the equestrian world, but I found that unless I was going to be working directly with horses I wouldn’t be happy. I then decided I wanted to go to school and studied chemistry and some business classes but my heart wasn’t into it so I decided to work at Torrey Pines with Eric, which is super cool and three years on I absolutely love it.
As a top-level groom what’s your show jumping dream?
That’s a tough question. Of course, I’d love to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But aside from that I just feel so fortunate and lucky to be doing what I’m doing. I love doing my job and I feel like what I’m doing every day is what makes me happy and I don’t expect much more. So, I guess you could say I’m living the dream already.
