the groom's role ?

Stormin

Stormin

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Jun 28, 2007
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OK, I'm not talking about the one who picks out the feet and brushes all the tangles out of manes and tails but the one who appears to have the less-comfy ride at the back of a cart (I get sick when I travel backwards :eek: )

Is a groom compulsory ?
When would you need a groom ?
What does the groom do exactly, and how ?

Thanks
 
I know nothing about the specific roles grooms play in competition or showing. I can only speak for the sort of driving I do - i.e. a short potter down the road or forestry/heathland tracks.

In such cases the groom's job is to act as back up. The groom stands by the pony's head while I get in the cart, and again at the end when while I get out. If I know something really spooky is coming up when we're out, I will ask my groom to walk by the pony's head to help reassure, and hold if necessary. Similarly at road junctions, the groom may stand by the pony for safety. If I'm on the forestry tracks, my groom has to unlock and open the barriers, then shut them when we're through.

I do drive coachman, so I can normally signal and thank other road users, but my groom takes on this role too on those (thankfully rare) occasions when both hands and/or all my concentration are occupied keeping control.

I drive shetlands - i.e. the cart is not high off the ground, so my groom normally sits along side me, even with the 4 wheeler. My OH is my main groom, but as you can see I do not require any special skills, so I am happy to take others out with me.

This is my granddaughter as groom when I took 2 young friends to their school prom. She is walking alongside for safety, because of all the noise, taxis and limos (not that Grace was the slightest bit bothered!)

P1000316.jpg
 
Ohhh you did posh up, sweet!

The groom is compulsory for any showing or competition, However for indoor trials now, if you are driving a Shetland or Mini, the groom is allowed to stay in the ring, and does not have to travel in the vehicle.....so I am told. (you'd need to check)

Basically the safest place to be when driving is in the cart. You have more control, so if you get into trouble you need someone to go to the horse's head, give him courage or make him stand still. Often when trouble starts the appearence of someone a the horses head nips anything in the bud, they settle and away you go again.

In Private driving, you will often see the grooms at the ringside ready to grab in case of emergency. The good thing is they will grabanyone who needs help. I got into trouble in the main ring in tandem once, My grooms were miles away, but someone else's stepped in, and got the wheelers front leg from over the lead trace in a jiffy and away we went again. Little things like that are the groom's jobs. They are invaluable.
 
mine does everything that sparky lily's does plus i get her to signal left turn for me, and also to give bike hand signals to warn a car behind if i am slowing down to a halt or something ie when i need to stop to get in my gateway. she also sees me out onto the road on leaving, and i get her to keep track of whats coming up behind me, when in traffic, and oh , most of all she has to listen to all of my health complaints, my rotten jokes, my whinges about anyone who has p--d me off, and she assists in verbally running down the bad car drivers, the loose children, and loose dogs with a smile on our faces, of course! she has to plonk my hat back on by head when it blows off, and gets caught on my ponytail. once back and tied up, she also unharnesses her side, while i do my side, then she washes or brushes down my girl, and does her feet, while i get the harness ready for the other one, and put the cart away. she also acts as photographer, to chart my pony's progress. crikey, i sound like a slavedriver!
 
Wow, never thought the groom had so much to do.
There I was thinking that the groom was essentially a tourist :eek:

Does this also mean that it's not recommended to drive by yourself then (for safety reasons) ?
 
hence the reason your groom also has to be able-bodied! They don't need to know much about horses (although it helps) so long as they are prepared to follow instructions, instantly, without hesitation, that is probably their most important job, as you need them to literally be your right hand and act as soon as you see something happening and not act on their own initiative without checking with you, unless in an emergency of course (a groom who suddenly does their own thing is a liability).
 
I have son so well trained now (hard to beleive I know, Esther, after the "incident with the pair!! ;) ) with the tandem that he's out and half way to the problem before I have asked him.

I take 2 grooms into the show ring with the tandem, just in case. One with the pair and one with singles. I only take one groom out with the tandem.

What Esther says is SO true, Sometimes you are better off with a totally keen beginner than someonw who "thinks" they are doing the right thing.

I was having a spot of bother with the tandem once and repeatedly asked a friend to go to the wheeler, NOT the leader, as it's the wheeler who steers the vehicle, they kept hauling on the leader getting us deeper in the doo-doo.
 
Just a sidestep question about tandem, as you mention it.
What is the purpose of the leader, apart from to look flashy ?
I mean if it's the wheeler who steers and it often looks like the wheeler is doing more of the pulling than the leader ?
Not saying that the leader isn't pulling but I've seen a coupld of photos where it appears that the harness between leader and cart is slack ?
 
Leader is utterly pointless, he is just there to look flashy and make it harder to drive, traces should be slack at all times. His traces are attached to the wheeler pony, not to the cart so he cannot really help unless you get the timing perfect (I have occasionally let my leader go into draft up a steep hill but you have to get it right or you can end up towing the wheeler. Basically you longrein a smart leader in front, while driving the wheeler at the same time to show what a good driver you are :D

The only tandem with any use was a sporting tandem - the leader would be your hunter, and would have a saddle on, and so it meant that you or your groom (of the riding groom variety) could drive your hunter to the meet without making it do any work and tire it out. The days before trailers..
 
Thanks for that, very interesting about the hunter part in the bottom.
Is that any relation to the horses that are ridden and driven who pull the Queen's carriages ? (horses on the left)

images
 
please could we have more posts on tandams ,with pictures please, if possible, its something i have always loved the look of, know nothing about, except for what has been written in these few posts? and is driving a team the same, in that the front pair dont pull? wally, how do you train your groom so well? you said you wanted mine, but she would far prefer to stay in the seat, i always have to tell her what to do, during the drive itself- no automatic responses, even after all this time!
 
I think my son does not liek being shouted as so has learned to get out and anticipate trouble! ;) :D


You can see here the traces are tight on both leader and wheeler, it doesn't show in the pic, but the hill we are about to go up is quite steep, so I have Charlie in draught. It is VITAL you never let the leader into draught down hill, as Esther says, the leader can actually pull the wheeler over onto his knees.

tandem-6.jpg


As we are in the showring here, it is vital I never let Charles into draught, the lead traces must stay slack at all times.

15May-008697.jpg


Teeny bit too slack here,

may008606copyh.jpg


friends turout, ....her ponies are so good she can dispense with a groom!

Web-Anna-and-Tandem.jpg


This was the first time I put Andy and Whiffy together, as you see, no traces, in an emergency it's quicker to get out of trouble.

tandem-andy-whiff-6.jpg
 
If your leader is in draught, your steering is no good. You must take the leaders out of draught before you can make a turn.
 
Stormin said:
Thanks for that, very interesting about the hunter part in the bottom.
Is that any relation to the horses that are ridden and driven who pull the Queen's carriages ? (horses on the left)

images
Click to expand...

What you have there is postillions, they ride the horse and lead the other by its side. There are generally two footmen on the back who. on a heavy cart operate the brakes. I know very little about team postillion driving and would love to know more, like how do they all co ordinate everything without shouting orders to each other? Who is untlimately in charge, the guy on the wheelers or the leaders?

Ther reason we drive in the left is due to postillion and coachman driving. In France coachman driven coaches were rare, they are all postillion, so if you are riding the left hand horse it's more comfy for the rider to be on the crown of the road. So they kept right. Postillion was not as popular here, we were all coachman, sitting on the right hand side of the cart, and the driver wanted to be on the crown of the road.
 
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