Carmen is presented with her award from Johathan Edwards
Photo: FEI
Behind every good rider is a good groom. It doesn’t matter if you are riding at a lower level or reaching the dizzy heights of the Olympics having someone who simply helps you get your horse ready to someone who runs your whole yard is vitally important.
A few years ago the FEI started to present a Best Grooms Award in recognition of all the work that grooms do and indeed our own blogger, Michelle Robson – groom to Shane Rose, won the award back in 2009.
The FEI Best Groom Award for 2013 went to Carmen Thiemann from Germany who has groomed for Olympic Eventing Gold Medallist Ingrid Klimke since 1990. In the eight years prior to working solely for Ingrid, Carmen worked for Ingrid’s father, the legendary Dr Reiner Klimke. So for those people who think that grooming isn’t a ‘proper long lasting job’ think again as grooming has been Carmen’s career choice for over 30 years! She has travelled the world with ‘her’ horses, attended four Olympic Games along with a multitude of other major championships, enjoyed the highs and coped with the lows.
Take a look at the short video below to find out more about Carmen who plays a vital role in the Ingrid’s success and is described as ‘the very soul of the stable.’
