Imogen with her Badminton-winning charges Paulank Brockagh and Sam Griffiths
Fantastic news today that Sam Griffith’s Head Girl and AEL blogger Imogen Mercer has been nominated for the 2015 FEI Best Groom Award
The Best Groom Award seeks to highlight those grooms who really go above and beyond for their horses and riders and Imogen is certainly one of those. However she is up against stiff opposition from Alan Davies (groom of Charlotte Dujardin/Carl Hester and minder of Valegro) and five other grooms Jennifer Arnsten (groom to the USA Vaulting Team), Marlen Schannwell (groom to Bertram Allen, show jumper), Zoltàn Herczeg (groom to Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, dressage rider), Clark Shipley (groom to show jumper Beezie Madden, John Madden Sales), Jose Eduardo “Eddie”Garcia Luna (groom to Steffen Peters, dressage rider)
The nomination for Imogen reads
“At just 22 years old, Imogen Mercer certainly belies her years. The maturity she shows in her role as our head girl is quite extraordinary. She is a ‘people person’ and has a unique ability to be as good at caring for the horses as she is at managing the other members of the team and talking to our owners. With intelligence and common sense she continually strives to create and maintain a happy environment and can handle any situation positively and calmly. This quality is hard to find in anyone, let alone a girl of just 22 years old. She shows the experience and maturity of someone who has been in this industry for many, many years. Imogen maintains continuity on the yard, managing a team of horses and staff, ensuring that the team of working pupils, grooms, work riders, physiotherapist, dentist and farrier all understand the requirements and commitments of each individual horse. Her steadfast ability to think clearly in times of pressure such as preparing horses for international competition means she can always be relied upon to ensure Sam’s horses receive the very best care”
Eventing grooms have taken to the stage several times before to receive the prestigious award with the 2014 FEI Groom of the Year going to William Fox-Pitt’s head girl Jackie Potts
Jackie was the fourth eventing groom to win the award since its inception in 2009 when it was won by Australia’s Michelle Robson, then groom for Shane Rose (and another AEL blogger). In 2011 the winner was France’s Alice Gaillard who has groomed for Marie-Christine Duroy, Bruno Bouvier, Jean Teulere and Astier Nicolas during her career and in 2013 Ingrid Klimke’s groom Carmen Thiemann was the worthy recipient
We wish Imogen the very best of luck and hope that her end of year holiday this year includes a trip to the FEI Awards Gala on 13th November in Puerto Rico to pick up her award!
Find out more about Imogen here and read her blogs here
