‘He does everything bar feed me’: longstanding top groom wins prize on 22nd Burghley visit

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Helen Wilson groom Fraser Kirby at Burghley Horse Trials: best groom prize winner
Fraser Kirby wins the best groom prize at Burghley Horse Trials with Helen Wilson's My Ernie
(Image credit: Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials / Peter Nixon)

Fraser Kirby, who has been working as a groom for 30 years, won the prize for the best turned-out horse, My Ernie ridden by Helen Wilson, at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. My Ernie completed in 21st after jumping clear across country and knocking just one rail showjumping.

Freelancer Fraser has worked at top events all around the world, including the Olympics, nearly all the CCI5*s and multiple championships. It was his 22nd visit to Burghley, and although he is extremely experienced, he said his job was made easy by Ernie’s temperament.

Martha Terry
Martha Terry
Features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.