The IGA is very proud to count CHIO Aachen among our Show Supporters. For 2023 IGA Coordinator Helen spent a couple of days at the show to see some of the changes they are making to improve grooms’ experience at this incredible show.
"Whenever anyone talks about CHIO Aachen you hear the phrase ‘the best of the best’. I have groomed there 3 times and loved it; incredible sport, incredible horses and an atmosphere like no other show.
We have met with the show organisers through the year, and they are some of the most enthusiastic and engaged people we work with. Where they already have provision in place they want to know if it could be better, and when they hear new suggestions they always work to implement what they can.
The site at Aachen is old, and many of the buildings are permanent, which slightly limits possibility for change, but the show work hard to maximise space and have as many tack boxes as possible.
Additionally, the show is huge- having four disciplines competing means a lot of horses to be stabled and their kit stored.
Due to the layout of the venue the driving horses are stabled separately in temporary barns, the plus side being that they have more tack boxes and storage space available than in some of the permanent buildings.
Facilities for the driving grooms were also sited away from the permanent stables so they weren’t trying to get across the showground to the Stables Inn for meals.
New initiatives for this year included welcome gifts including useful, usable items like a thermometer, reusable food containers, a notebook and towel. Additionally the show introduced the Boehringer Ingelheim “Very Important Grooms Lounge” within the stable area.
More than one groom told me this was a ‘lifesaver’ as they could quickly grab a snack and some water or coffee – next year there will be tea!- or sit and use the WiFi or watch the livestream... Boehringer Ingelheim also provided entertainment with quizzes, giveaways and a board for the grooms to sign their names.
For everyone, CHIO Aachen is an intense week, but the offset is the atmosphere and a drive to make everything better, which extends to the grooms as much as the riders and owners.
Grooms often tell us their biggest wish from shows is to work in conditions that help them do their job well. Aachen paid attention to those important basics.
Discipline-specific WhatsApp groups running throughout the show so grooms were quickly getting relevant information; good food is provided, this time with some takeaway options; and as a number of grooms pointed out, the facilities were cleaned regularly (both horse and human).
I absolutely loved the organiser's idea of the grooms’ leaving gift. The final day at a show is often full on, and when you’re facing a long drive home it’s often your own stomach that gets forgotten, so being provided with a little takeaway pack-up was a lovely touch from the show.
Finally, I have to say how great it is to work with organisers who are so keen to receive feedback and continue to make improvements.
Our task now is to see this development happening at other shows. So many grooms told me that they have noticed positive changes happening at shows they have been to, so now we need to work so that these changes become the norm, across the disciplines and at the lower levels as well as the top of the sport."
