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“It's tough enough as it is – it would be really hard if no one would be there to lend a hand every once in a while,” Johanna Berg tells World of Showjumping about the community of grooms traveling the world from one show to another. “People always tend to look after each other if anyone ever has an issue. It becomes a bit like a traveling circus because you're taking your truck, going from one venue to another, and you see each other every week. It's hard to have time for a family or a private life when you're living like this, so the people you are around every week kind of becomes your family.”

“We're all in this together, and everyone cannot win every single week,” she continues. “I know that I'm always happy when it goes well for someone else. It's a hard job, and everyone has to put their time and the hours in. Of course, it's competitive, but I think everyone's out there to help each other.”

To World of Showjumping, the 31-year-old – who for the past seven years has worked for Ireland’s Cian O’Connor – tells about her career path, the pressure of working at the very top of the sport and how her role at Karlswood has evolved.

From Sweden, Johanna grew up in a small town of Svenljunga, near Gothenburg. “I had ponies myself from a very young age and I started when I was about nine,” she tells about her childhood. “I tried everything possible with my own ponies back then: I did a bit of showjumping, some dressage, and eventing as well.”

“However, further on I decided to stop competing myself,” Johanna says. “I grew up surrounded by horses, and I loved them deeply, but the stress and pressure of competition was hard for me. It was never pressure from anyone in the family, it was all about my own mindset. Coming out of the ring, I could never see what was good with the round, I would always focus on all the negatives. A constant question in my head was why I was paying all that money, putting time and effort into something that actually brought me down.”

Working with horses is addictive

When Johanna finished high school in 2013, she wasn’t sure what to study and decided to take some time off. “I still loved horses, and we have quite a lot of friends in the industry back home, so my mum used her contacts to find me a job,” she tells. “That way, I ended up in Austria, working for Gerfried Puck. The full year I spent at Gerfried's as a home groom and home rider, learned a lot and I value the experience I gained highly.”

A year off had not given Johanna clarity about the future though. “I still didn't know what I wanted to do; if I wanted to go back to school, or what I wanted to study,” she recalls. “However, I felt like I wanted to see Florida, because everyone was always talking about it. I ended up working for Alonso Valdez, who was based six months of the year in the Netherlands, stabled and trained with Jeroen Dubbledam, and the other half in Florida. I rode the horses, he showed up and we went to the shows. I was with him for four full years, and we accomplished quite a lot. We went to the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015, the Olympics in Rio in 2016 and the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018 before I started to work for Cian later that same year.”

Even though stress and pressure were the reasons Johanna quit competing herself, managing those same feelings on the side-line of the ring is not an issue. “There's a lot of pressure and a need to pay attention to details, but if I've done my job well and send the horses off to the ring it’s not on me anymore. It's going into the ring myself that triggers me,” she explains.

You have that bond with the horses, no matter how it went in the ring

“I couldn't handle the pressure in the ring as a rider – that affected me poorly. I couldn't keep doing that to myself. That was a very important realization for me, to understand that I can't handle that side of the sport.”

“A lot is expected,” Johanna continues to tell about the role of a groom. “You get to spend so much time with the horses and you see them every day. It's nice, being able to connect with them. When we're going into the ring, we’ve done everything we can to make sure our horses can perform at their very best. And when they are coming out, they're always looking for you; you have that bond with the horses, no matter how it went in the ring.”

Since joining O’Connor’s Karlswood Stables in 2018, the operation has expanded and Johanna’s role has evolved. “When I started, I would be both grooming and riding a bit, as well as coming along to shows,” she tells. “If you look at Cian’s operation from when I started seven years ago and today, it's a completely different business – it's gotten so much bigger. When I started, Cian would have had four or five horses, and a couple of clients – and that would have been it. Now, at any given time there's approximately 60-70 horses at the farm. My job is making sure that Cian is up to date with what's going on with his horses and making sure that we have everything that we need.”

“At Karlswood, a lot of staff members have been there for a long time – like Ross Mulholland, who plays a major part in making sure that everything runs as smooth as it possibly can,” Johanna tells. “It's a big operation, and we have everything that's required to do a good job. I'm lucky in that sense, because many other grooms are dealing with the paperwork, driving and taking care of the horses – organizing everything alone.”

I think working as a team is mainly about trust

“There are so many people involved in our logistic plan, so that's something that is off our minds, and office staff take care of the paperwork. In general, grooms don't drive at Karlswood and I think it's a very good way of doing it,” Johanna explains. “This structure gives both the horses and the grooms an opportunity to give their best at the shows. We are given every chance to be able to work with the horses; we can really focus on them and normally we do a lot with them. Often our horses are being worked twice a day and then they're being groomed and grazed. Every kind of tool that can help them is available for us, whether it's spa, water treadmill, magnetic blankets… We actually have the time and the opportunity to do it all. For me, it's a nice way of working.”

For Johanna, working for O’Connor has meant adapting to working as a team instead of solo. “In teams and in big groups, everyone needs to be on the same page and push forward,” she says. “Where I came from, it was way smaller teams and if I did my job that was the only thing that mattered. It didn't matter what anyone else did, because I only depended on myself. For me, it has at times been a bit of a tough transition, to actually depend on other people, to trust them and to understand that we all have the same goal – that I am not alone. I think working as a team is mainly about trust. If you have a team of ten people, it is like Cian says; you're not going to love all those ten people, but you still have to be able to work with them because at the end of the day, the horses will always come first. That is something that Cian instils in all of us, and that should always be our goal – both as a team and as individuals.”

Johanna’s all-time favourite is the now 13-year-old gelding Kilkenny, O’Connor’s former championship ride that in recent years has been seen under Max Wachman. “I spent a lot of time with Kilkenny and he will be my favourite forever," Johanna tells. "When Max took over the reins of Kilkenny, Cian wanted the care to stay the same. I got the chance to take a year off from Cian to go with Kilkenny, and the decision came easy. I’m grateful I got the option.”

Kilkenny is a horse that has so much personality and so much charisma

“From the very first show that Kilkenny did with Cian back when he was an 8-year-old until he left for Max, I did everything with him,” Johanna explains. “Kilkenny is a horse that has so much personality and so much charisma, he's one-of-a-kind. At that stage, I was still riding a bit so I would both ride him and look after him – it was very special. He would always crave more and more attention – he thrived of it. I think that's also why I got so attached.”

“When I got the option if I wanted to go away with Kilkenny, Cian didn't have too many horses, and he also had another show groom that was doing a lot of the bigger shows. For me, it came kind of naturally to go with Kilkenny,” Johanna says.

In recent years, more attention has been given to grooms, their role and rights. “Some shows are definitely trying to take more steps towards promoting grooms,” Johanna says about the changes she has seen. “Dublin is a good example; they're trying to do good for the grooms. They have an award for the best groom which Karlswood sponsors – something that has started to pop up more – and it is a lovely initiative from Aloga to hand out goodie bags and get riders to sponsor breakfast every morning. At the Winter Equestrian Festival, another good example, they started with awarding the grooms for the full season. Denise, who works for Kent Farrington, won last year, and I was lucky enough to get it this year. In Florida, they were also doing a dinner at the end of the circuit where everyone can come and actually enjoy spending time together – that was nice.”

If Johanna could change one thing, it would be the timetables. For horses attending FEI events, rest hours are already regulated by the FEI Veterinary Regulations art. 1008 I 7 k). A change to these regulations, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, made it mandatory to close the FEI stables area for six consecutive hours overnight with minimal lighting and noise. However, since the rule entered into force, there have been little, or no significant, changes at European-located FEI events.

To enforce a certain time limit when everything needs to be finished, would be a good starting point

While the horses’ need for adequate sleep and rest is meant to be protected through the VR art. 1008, the grooms’ working hours are not specifically regulated in the FEI’s own framework. However, in the template for the FEI schedules it is clearly stated that: “Competitions must not start before 08:00 h and must not finish after 23:00 h, unless prior approval is granted by the FEI.” 

“Schedules at shows can be tricky,” Johanna points out. “It is difficult when some shows have exercise times at seven in the morning and the last class starts at seven, eight or even nine o'clock in the night. It's not nice for the horses or the grooms, because you're being woken up early in the morning and then you're not finishing until very, very late. It's just hard to get a routine, both for horses and people. To enforce a certain time limit when everything needs to be finished, would be a good starting point. I do think that it would be very good for everyone involved.”

“I think it is important that you get to have time away every once-in-a-while and look at the bigger picture,” Johanna tells about the ways that grooms – and other equestrian professionals – can look after their own wellbeing. “The majority of those who are grooming are doing it for the love of the horses, but you still need to be able to take time for yourself as well. Otherwise, you give and you give and you give. You need to actually look out for yourself as well, get some distance and remind yourself about why you started in the first place. That's something that I have gotten slightly better at."

Mental health is very important, especially in an industry like ours

"Mental health is very important, especially in an industry like ours. If you don't feel appreciated when you're working day in and day out, that might start nagging in the back of the head. Feeling appreciated is something that you can only ever really get from your employer.”

“Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy,” Johanna continues. “The horses will survive if we take a day off – especially when you have a trustworthy team around you. Cian is very good about it; if you need to pop home for a few days or a week in between shows, he’ll give you the opportunity to do so.”

For Johanna, what started as a year off has led to a thriving career and a happy life. “After having spent more than a decade in this industry, I have a hard time seeing myself not working with horses to some extent,” she says about the future. “Working with horses is addictive. I still enjoy the hard work, and I don't see myself stepping away from grooming for a while – I am happy with what I am doing. Once my time on the road is finished, Karlswood is still an expanding company that offers plenty of opportunities in Ireland for me.”

I have a hard time seeing myself not working with horses to some extent

“Going to university was something that would have been expected of me,” Johanna says when asked how her family has reacted to her one year off extending to a decade. “They're still asking when I'm going to come back home and go back to having a normal life. I think it’s about them not knowing the full extent of what grooms do. It's hard to explain if you're not a part of the industry. At the end of the day, you're a problem solver; so many of the attributes you need as a groom are actually going to be helpful with anything later on in life. While you don't have a degree, or a piece of paper that says that you've gone to university, being a groom can definitely be a serious career.”

“I've done a lot of championships, but the one thing that I haven't personally been part of, is winning a medal,” Johanna concludes. “That is of course something that I would want to accomplish. That being said, you can have your goals set, but that doesn't mean that it ends there. What you always have to remember is that just because you achieved a goal, doesn't mean that you're going to stay put. It's constant work, because it's easier to get to a certain point than to maintain a position. With the world ranking as an example, it's built up over a period of 12 months, but whenever the results from the previous year disappear, you need new results. You constantly have to be on that top level, you constantly have to perform. For me, it's a goal to actually be able to achieve being on the top level constantly. That's also a result of good work; constantly being able to perform.”

4.11.2025 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.