Meet Emma – Our wonderful Groom Manager

Meet Emma – she's our wonderful Groom Manager. She is 26 years old and has a bachelor's degree in public administration, which she uses in the administrative part of her job, keeping track of all our grooms. Emma is passionate about working with young people, which shines through in all her volunteer work at her local riding school, where she works extensively with children and teenagers and organizes events for them. These experiences make Emma the perfect person for this job.

Emma's love of horses began when she was 6 years old. Her parents even tried to encourage her to try other sports like handball and football; however, Emma had fallen in love with horses and everything around them.

Emma also has her own horse, or rather, she borrows the horse Macee. Emma and 6-year old Macee are still relatively new to each other, so they are still getting to know one another. Emma is also an experienced competition rider, and she hopes to compete in dressage with Macee, and also reach higher levels in the future.

So, what does a Groom Manager do? Emma's primary responsibility is making sure that all the grooms are happy and thriving. This extends not only to their working environment but also to their personal lives. Many of our grooms are living away from home for the first time when they join us, which can be scary. Therefore, Emma also has a “big sister” role for these grooms – she is someone they can come to for support and guidance, and she is always ready to just listen and be a confidant no matter what they want to talk about. In addition to our Danish grooms, we also have several foreign grooms whom Emma helps with all the practicalities when they move to Denmark – from opening a bank account in a Danish bank to assistance with various administrative matters.

Our grooms have many reasons for choosing to become grooms, but two answers stand out: some want to spend their gap year working with their passion, which is horses, before starting university studies, while others want to explore potential careers in the horse industry, such as professional grooming, master rider education, horse management, or even veterinary science. This means that motivations, interests, and ambitions are very different from groom to groom, which is something Emma also needs to take into consideration when talking with our different grooms, so they get the most out of their time here.

Emma loves her job, which she calls "the best job in the world". She feels that she makes a difference every day. When she walks through our stables (she is the groom manager for all three locations here at Helgstrand), it's often where she has really good conversations with our grooms. It's much easier to start a good conversation over the back of a horse, which is why they often open up about what's happening in their personal lives, how things are going in the group, how the job is going, and much more. "It's the best way to get to know each other and build trust. If they have to come to the office every time they want to talk to me, it might stop some of them, as it can be scary to have to go to a formal office," Emma explains. That's why Emma spends a lot of her time simply walking around the stables and helping with various tasks.

Emma has also learned a lot about herself in the few months she has been here. One of the most significant things she has learned is her own ability to quickly adapt, which is key in the fast-paced environment of our organization - being flexible is essential

While we focus on our fantastic grooms this week, we also want to give Emma a pat on the back. Emma's passion for horses and her dedication to our grooms make her an invaluable part of the Helgstrand team. Thank you, Emma!