We are proud that this article is part of a collaboration between HorseGrooms, Wellington International and Paper Horse.
Sofie Karlson, 29, is from Sweden and has worked for Olympic individual gold medalist, Christian Kukuk for 10 years. Kukuk and his Olympic mount, the 15-year-old Westphalian gelding, Checker 47 won Saturday Night Lights $215,000 CSI4* NetJets Grand Prix with Sofie on hand as groom.
What led to your job working with Christian Kukuk?
When I started working for Christian he was riding in 2-stars and the majority were National shows. It’s not like where we are today. I did not have so much experience when I started. And I was not really planning to work there for ten years. I just wanted to work with horses and it happened through contacts that I had. I thought it was a huge opportunity.
How would you describe Checker 47’s personality?
He has quite a personality but he’s very shy with new people, especially when it comes to new men. He prefers people that he knows, and when he’s secure he’s very open to everything. As soon as he knows people he’s quite a clown. And he eats everything from candy, to carrots to chips, whatever comes along.
How did you prepare for the Saturday Night Lights $215,000 CSI4* NetJets Grand Prix?
The preparation was nothing special. Especially as Europeans we come with half the amount of stuff that the Americans have. We were really busy, riding a little bit - nothing special I would say. I lunged him an hour or two before the class and then he was resting and then off we went, because we were number three [in the order of go] so Christian was already on him at 6.30. I try to keep it really simple - try not to do too much.
This time he was very relaxed [in the walk up to the ring]. Normally our horses, when they get braided and things like this, they know what's coming - especially a horse that has been around as long as Checker has. This week he was very relaxed. He can be a bit riled up because he doesn’t really like loud music and things like this, so this week I would say he was more relaxed than normal.
What do you love most about your job?
I wouldn't say one specific thing. It's probably just a mix of everything. It's really tough as we have to put the rest of our life on hold, there is no private life. But it makes it all worth it when you can work with horses, and you get to meet so many people and you get to travel and see things that many people don’t get to see.
To a non-horse person they probably think we just [muck stalls] but there’s so much more around it with the blacksmith, with traveling, with organizing, with the vet - you learn to do so much with so many different kinds of businesses, with whatever comes along. And you have friends from everywhere, from all kinds of backgrounds and countries.
I would say it’s a mix - working with the horses, the joy when it goes well, and all the people we get to meet and the life we get to live. It also has some down parts - it’s not all golden green forests. But the majority of the time the good things are heavier than the bad things.
What advice did you give to somebody wanting to work as a groom at the top level of the sport?
Be eager to learn new things from other people. And then just work hard for it. Work hard. But also don't let it get into your head because it gets into the head of a lot of people and then they go crazy. Don’t take everything on your shoulders when things happen. Don’t take everything personally.
You see it in other people, and I’ve also learned this - to keep a bit distant sometimes because otherwise everything that’s happening is too much to take into your head.
There are some people who think that the horses cannot survive without them, and they are the only ones who can do it. But they will survive if someone else is feeding them or taking them out. The horses will be fine if you’re not there.
