Adam Short works for current world No.1 Tom McEwen and was part of the 2024 Olympic Gold medal winning team in Paris.

We caught up with him on his return from a successful visit to the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event (where Tom and Brookfield Quality finished 5th and Adam won the Best Turned Out prize).

The British horses are transported to Kentucky by the IGA’s partner the Dutta Corporation, who also manage the horses and grooms during quarantine. Adam is super enthusiastic about the Dutta experience, giving it 10/10. 

He explains that before and during travel the Dutta team are always available to answer any questions, and make sure everyone (including first time travellers) understands what is expected of them.

Whilst the horses were in quarantine the grooms were looked after by Olly and Timmy from Dutta who Adam says went above and beyond to be hospitable, making the grooms’ lives as easy as possible and making sure they had fun too.

“They were always happy to help - we were all in a group chat and there was lots of banter throughout the week. Olly came to watch at the weekend; they’re almost like American family” he says.

As for the event itself, Adam says Kentucky is ‘top notch’. He describes how everyone who works in the office at the event made sure the grooms knew where to go if they needed help, whether that was a lift to the supermarket or bringing in food.

Arrival is made easy with lots of people to help unload all the kit needed for a 5*, and the grooms are given access to golf carts to get around the park.

Alongside Tom and Norris’ successful week, Adam also received the Best Turned Out prize of $1,000. He laughs “I’ve never had a groom’s prize before – that was the right place to win one!”. 

The prize is awarded at the end of the Sunday jog. Adam had gone back to the stables and was “faffing about” when GB Performance Director Dickie Waygood came to tell him he needed to go back to the trot up because he had won $1,000. 

He says “I thought it was a joke at first! When I went back, I had to shake a lot of people’s hands and have lots of photos taken. I felt really appreciated for my work.”

Monetary prizes are something the IGA would like every show to consider (rather than merchandise or grooming products) as they make a real difference to the winning groom.

Winning $1,000 meant Adam was able to celebrate with his friends and buy drinks for the other grooms – who he says are like family – and he can now buy something special to remember the moment.

He says “I never expected to win this, and it is such a lovely bonus. It is a super generous prize - $1000 is a lot of money and I really can’t thank the organisers enough.”

Adam has been a Team GB groom for nearly 8 years; talking about representing Team GB he simply says, “I love it.” Sewing the Union Jack onto saddlecloths feels special, as does wearing his own Union Jack clothing. 

Between winning an Olympic Team Gold and working for the current World Number 1 Adam has covered a lot of ground in his career. 

In terms of career goals he says it’s not about being competitive. His philosophy is more “we’re going here, we’re going to have a great time and make the most of it and we want our horses to come out of it well.”

“I love to see the horses going well; I really love this sport, and I love spending time (and making memories with) my friends. 

When you’re having a time where it all goes well it is very confidence giving that you are doing something right; we have so many exciting young horses now, my goal is to just keep going and going!”

He adds that what he loves about his career is the people as well as the horses. “I’ve been doing this a while now – I remember a very young groom asking me how to do quarter marks at Blair a few years ago. Now she’s smashing it with a very high-profile team, and I love seeing people develop like that.”

Next week Adam is off to the iconic Badminton 5*. Grooming at Badminton – the event everyone grows up watching – is a “warm fuzzy feeling”. He is headed there with a serious contender but takes the view that he is looking forward to being there with a great horse and making more friend memories.

In addition, the Badminton social media team have asked him to be more involved in giving a groom’s view of life in the stables. 

Finally, we asked Adam how he maintains his energy through a busy season with back-to-back events. Initially his answer is easy – he says “I love it. Doing two 5* events back-to-back is so exciting.”

During the season Adam says he is always planning and getting excited for the next event; he rests and takes holiday at the end of the season.

On a serious note, Adam says that while he runs on adrenaline and excitement a lot he also consciously manages his energy saying “I will have an early night tonight, and a day off tomorrow. It’s very important to know your limits and know when you need some rest.”