These Grooms Are Unsung Heroes for Brandywine Valley Horseback Riders
Share
Photos by Jim Graham
Working behind the scenes, grooms like Hunter Holm and Grace Harris prove critical to the success of riders and trainers alike.
Grace Harris keeps busy in the stables at Phillip Dutton’s True Prospect Farm.
It’s one of those cold, dreary winter mornings in the rolling hills just outside of Unionville. Hunter Holm, his face placid beneath his jockey’s helmet, leads a horse from a darkened barn to the mounting block just beside a battered fence. He quickly swings onto the animal’s back, then the two slowly plod up a rutted path toward a field where a few jumps await.
KSN Racing’s Katherine Neilson follows a few paces behind on her mount, simultaneously talking on her cell phone and chatting with Holm about the morning’s exercise plans.
Holm is atop Withoutmoreado, the 9-year-old winner of the 2023 Maryland Cup. As they reach the top of the rise, the horse begins to act up, shaking his head and gently snorting. “He’s just too fresh today,” says Neilson, one of the Brandywine Valley’s most esteemed trainers.
She quickly judges Withoutmoreado’s temperament, calling an immediate halt to the exercise plans. Holm swiftly dismounts while keeping a steady hand on the reins as the horse kicks up his hooves. He leads the horse back downhill, then removes his bridle and saddle. Withoutmoreado charges across the enclosed paddock, bucking and hopping like a schoolboy who’s just found out it’s a snow day.
Hunter Holm and Grace Harris have a unique understanding of their horses at all times. This is especially true during competition, when all the focus is on the animal, its rider and its trainer.
The 23-year-old Holm’s calm handling of the situation echoes the crucial role a professional groom plays. They must understand and control their charge at all times, especially on competition days—those highly public moments when all the attention is on the horse, its rider and its trainer.
“I need a groom who really cares about the horses,” says eventing champion Phillip Dutton, who trains at his True Prospect Farm near Avondale. “It also has to be someone who can read the moment, as there are times to be really efficient and hustle, and other times when that’s not a priority.”
“I need a groom who really cares about the horses.”
—Eventing champion Phillip Dutton
Dutton has competed in seven Olympics, winning a gold medal at the 1996 games. His groom is 24-year-old Grace Harris, a New Zealander by birth who recently moved to Chester County. Harris was working with horses in England when she answered an ad posted by Dutton. “We did the interviewing by Zoom,” she says.
Harris came to the United States in 2022. Just two weeks after settling in Pennsylvania, she was acclimating to driving on a different side of the road all the way to a competition in Florida. In June 2023, Harris traveled back to Europe, this time in charge of getting Dutton’s highly rated mount, Z, through customs. The horse had been flown to Germany so Dutton could be part of the U.S. team in the Aachen CCIO4*-S international competition. Following a training accident in France this past October, Dutton retired his 15-year-old riding partner.
A quick study, Harris began riding horses when she was 8 years old. Since then, she’s quickly moved up—and across three continents.
In the world of equine competition, the role of a groom is detailed and demanding. They’re responsible for the physical and mental well-being of a mount—or several mounts—before, during and after competition, and all the times in between. “Grooms are basically people who like to be caregivers,” says Max Corcoran, a career groom who currently serves as Eventing Elite Program and team facilitator for the U.S. Eventing Association. “Many ex-grooms go into nursing or some sort of healthcare.”
Basically, says Corcoran, a groom is a nanny. “You feed and groom the horse,” she says. “When the rider appears, the horse should be ready to go.”
In a large stable, a groom may be partially responsible for four to six horses. “You take care of all the equipment; you have to be ready when the vet comes,” Corcoran says. “After a competition, you check shoes, groom the horse, water, feed, check for soreness, be sure the animal is getting enough sleep. Some grooms will also be asked to exercise a horse.”
Hunter Holm and Grace Harris come from widely divergent backgrounds. Holm is a local, having grown up in Cochranville in a family of horse people. His mother worked with the Neilsons, steeplechase icons in this region and beyond. “I started riding almost as soon as I learned to walk,” says Holm. “I started racing horses when I was in high school and also began work as an exercise rider. But I wanted to do more.”
When it’s time to compete, Holm knows how to read a horse and act accordingly. “When Withoutmoreado won the Maryland Cup last spring, Hunter stood outside the stalls and grazed him for four hours before his ride,” says Neilson, noting that this kept the horse calm before the race.
Neilson may have as many as 15 horses in training for various owners, and that keeps Holm quite busy. Despite the workload, he graduated in 2022 with a degree in biology from York College in New York and may eventually go on to graduate school. He also finds time to ride his own horse in point-to-point races. “You get up earlier in the morning,” he laughs.
Some grooms see the job as a stepping stone to training or ownership—but certainly not all. “I wasn’t a good enough rider, and I didn’t have the financial resources to be a trainer,” says Corcoran. “I love working around horses.”
Holm can’t see himself as a big-time trainer, but he wants to be part of the industry. “It’s really easy making connections,” he says “The horse world is super-close.”
“I started riding almost as soon as I learned to walk. But I wanted to do more.”
—Hunter Holm
A quick study, Harris began riding horses when she was 8 years old. Since then, she’s quickly moved up—and across three continents. “Generally, Grace will travel to every competition with me and the horses,” Dutton says. “We go over the times that I’m competing on that day and then make a plan. Sometimes it may require Grace to meet me with another horse as I finish with the previous one. Each day of competition is a little unique.”
Lots of packing is involved before traveling to competition. Normally, it’s a three-horse trailer, with Dutton driving separately in his own car.
“I start thinking about it a week in advance, then start packing the trunks two or three days in advance,” says Harris. “We tidy up the horses and get the trailer ready.”
International competition is a whole other world. “Horses have to have passports—just like people,” Holm says.
For all international Fédération Equestre Internationale events, those passports are issued by the USEF. “The transport companies come to the airport to pick up the horses,” Harris says. “Usually there’s quite a wait to get them off the plane and into the lorries.”
While Withoutmoreado may not possess an international passport, he still has the need to feel special. “The main thing is to keep an animal happy,” Holm says.
Withoutmoreado even has his own support animal. As with some other high-spirited horses, the prize-winning mount hangs out with a miniature pony to help keep him grounded and happy.
Sometimes, even a groom needs additional assistance.
Neilson may have as many as 15 horses in training for various owners, and that keeps Holm quite busy. “You get up earlier in the morning,” he laughs.
Related: Remembering Ross Kershey: A Look at the Coatesville Teacher’s Legacy
