“The plaiting is very different for showjumpers… I did learn how to do jumper plaits from TikTok!” says Georgie Driver, travelling head groom for Gemma Stevens.
Even before arriving at Mars Badminton Horse Trials this week, Georgie had had a busy seven months since joining Gemma’s team last October.
She travelled to the Sunshine Tour with her showjumpers in both the autumn and February, as well as accompanying her event horses to Kronenberg and one-day events such as Thoresby, where Gemma won the Lycetts Grantham Cup.
Georgie grew up quite near Badminton and before joining Gemma’s team she worked for eventer Kat Raybould.
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She said: “Obviously when you’re younger, you’re always like, ‘I want to ride’, but then I was like actually, ‘No, I don’t want to ride’. But I never wanted to go to uni, I was desperate to work with horses as soon as I could. I literally moved to Kat the day after I finished my A levels.”
What attracted Georgie to grooming?
“I think it’s the love of the horses. I like seeing how you get them and then they go on,” she said. “I’m quite competitive, so I like seeing them do well.
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“It’s obviously so much pressure for the riders, so it’s nice to be that person with the horse where it’s nice and quiet and they can trust you. You get such a nice relationship with the horses when you go away.”
“I think you have to be really organised. Also, the riders are under so much pressure, so you’ve got to make sure the horse never feels that pressure,” she said.
Georgie is the head travelling groom for Gemma Stevens’ team of both showjumpers and eventers, while others take the responsibility for riding and running the yard at home.
“We’ve got a really good group of girls at home who have been so helpful for me coming into a new team – they’ve told me everything I need to know about the horses,” she said. “It works really well. We can get home from an event and have two days at home and be gone again and know that everything’s OK.”
Gemma Stevens and Chilli Knight at the 2026 Badminton first trot-up.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Georgie’s charge this week is Christopher and Lisa Stone’s Chilli Knight (Alfie), the winner of the 2021 Bicton Horse Trials five-star.
“He’s very cheeky – he’s an easy horse look after, but he knows what he wants,” she said.
“I have got stuck on the lawn multiple times this week, because he wants to stay there and eat grass all day. I tricked him on Friday morning with some treats, but he’s definitely not going to fall for that again. He doesn’t make Gemma’s life easy at times, but he’s pretty special.”
Georgie has actually spent more time with Gemma’s small string of showjumpers than her eventers since joining because of their two trips to the Sunshine Tour in Spain.
“When you go eventing, it’s like a family and you seem to know everybody, whereas jumping is more like a business,” she said, joking that the jumps in pure showjumping warm-ups are too high for her to reach as she is quite short.
“Generally we look after the showjumpers pretty much the same,” she added. “They have a different fitness regime because they’ve got to be able to go and perform for a short amount of time, while these guys have got to be able to go and run across country for stupid amounts of time.
“I still graze the showjumpers for hours when there’s time – I spend my life watching horses eat grass!”
Georgie says the busy lifestyle with a lot of travelling suits her.
“I’m not very good at sitting still, so it works quite well. I don’t know what my own bed is, but that’s fine,” she said.
And how does she keep her energy levels up?
“Good snacks! And I’m quite good at napping.”
How to watch and listen to Badminton Horse Trials
To watch Badminton Horse Trials live or via catch up, including the trot-ups, from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, you need a 2026 Badminton TV Pass. Badminton TV is once again powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £22.99. Go to badminton-horse.tv to sign up. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. Also check out the Badminton app, which provides free live results and much more this year. Sign up for Badminton Plus membership for £4.99 to access the live Radio Badminton broadcast and receive exclusive offers from on-site exhibitors. Search for Badminton Horse Trials in your app store.
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To ensure you keep up to date with all the breaking news, behind the scenes insight, and the best of the action throughout Badminton Horse Trials with no limits on how much you can read, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now. And don’t miss our bumper 28-page magazine report on Badminton, including in-depth analysis and exclusive comments from top names, in the issue of Horse & Hound dated 14 May.
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
