Tag Archives: equilifesa

Getting to know your Grooms ~ Sikhangele Mbambo

We had the pleasure of meeting with one of Burlington’s favorite grooms Paul Sizakele Ngubeni. One thing one can say about this animated gentleman is that he absolutely loves his charges and thoroughly enjoys his job. Like a parent with a favourite child he has a soft spot for Midgard Zingaro owned by showjumper Carolyn Chelchinskey. And like the favourite child that he is Zingaro hurt his groom on the left arm once, was forgiven and remains forever loved.

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Paul and Zingaro

 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am 42 years old, from Zimbabwe but I have had S.A citizenship for the past 15 years. My wife, who stays with me here at Burlington, works in Fourways.We have two children, a girl who is 13 and a boy, 8. They stay in Zimbabwe with their grandmother.

And grooming, how did you get into it?

My brother got me into grooming after the company where I was working closed down. I used to be a supervisor at Indimex, we exported dried tomatoed from making outfit in Musina. He then called me down and got me a job as a groom at Linbro Park.

And now you are at Burlington….?

Yes, I worked for 2 years in Linbro park at Byerely Stables and then l moved to Sunlands and became a groom for Claudia Dvrettas for 6 years after that. I loved it there but I couldn’t stay with my wife so I started looking for a job where I would be able to stay with her. Anne-Marie took both of us in and we have been here ever since. That was seven years ago.

Describe a your typical day as a groom.

I wake up at 5am daily, bath and put on my work suit. I drink my special ZCC tea, a whole 2l. At 5:50am I clock in at the stables. I open the 6 stables that I am in charge of, wash the water buckets refill the water and grass. I check on the well being of my horses and note their temperature . If any of them seem unwell I tell the manager, David Wilken or Anne-Marie. All this takes me till 7:45. From 8 – 9 I go for my own breakfast. After that I dress them all up in their fly sheets, fly masks and put on their paddock boots. Then I take them out to their paddocks and come back to clean the stables. At 11:00 I bring all my horses in. All those on medication are dosed and then I feed them their different foods.Zingaro (came from Namibia) who is about 4 yrs old for instance eats Epol Gold cup (1scoop) and Cosmo rider cubes. After all the horses are fed, given their lucerne, bran and watered, its time for my lunch. It runs from12:30 till 2 :30 then I come back and check the water again and on the horses. From then it’s grooming for all of them till about 4pm. I fill up on grass, check the water again (horses hydrated much? ☺) , give them their evening meal from 4:50pm and settle them down for the night. If I am on night duty (which he loves as it brings in extra cash) then I check on the horses after hours to make sure that they are all fine.

Do you ride?

No ways, I fell off a donkey when I was young and I will never get on another animal again hahahaha.

What are your plans for the future?

I am happy as a groom, I have done well for myself so much that I even have my own car. One day I will get a truck driver’s licence and drive the big Burlington truck full of horses to shows. (Does anyone else want to be Anne-Marie’s groom? )

How do you tell if one of your horses is not well?

There are so many signs to pick from. A horse will paw the ground, absence of droppings, food and water not touched or a horse just lying down. It’s important to keep the horse’s temperature checked. I alert the manager quickly so that action can be taken quickly.

Any show experience.

Yes and I love going to shows. I have been to Shongweni , Bloberg and lots of other venues. Blouberg is my favourite as it has really nice clean toilets and hot showers. We sleep in the truck when we are away mostly. It’s fun to meet other grooms from all over and exchange stories.

How would you describe a good groom?

Know your horse, know the signs of a healthy horse. Be patient, talk to your horse, be gentle and gain the trust of your horse so that your horse is comfortable with you.

What advice do you give your clients before they compete?

Be brave but cautious , make sure the horse is warmed up enough and do not rush. I remember once telling that to Debbie Last when she was competing with Picture at Shongweni and they won.

Do you think some types of food affect horses’ behaviour?

Definitely. Epol Gold Cup gives them energy

How do you prepare your horses for shows

I am always careful about saddle marks. I use Palmolive Aloe Vera shampoo, Trident mane and tail detangler. I make sure they are well plaited and well groomed .For flies I always use Quadrepel, it works best. No, I do not rotate fly repellents.

How do you think the lives of grooms can be improved?

Grooming is a dangerous job, it would help if grooms had medical aid and life policies.

Would you own a horse it you could afford it?

Definitely, my son would ride it and jump it. The girl is too shy, she would never get on a horse

 

“Wow, a professional rider?! That is, like, SO glamorous!” ~ Georgina Roberts

Let me give you the short answer first: no. And the long answer? Hell no.

This came as we were celebrating a successful show with the usual mix of Horsey meets Normal people. The normal people were breathlessly labouring under the illusion that we – the professional riders – were living examples of Jilly Cooper’s ‘Riders’, the fast living, high flying, leather clad elite.

Oh, how wrong they are.

 

The first excellent example was when it came up that one of us had won a provincial title at the championship show.   ‘Amazing! Let’s have champagne!’ … Let’s not.
In reality, shows cost the professional riders, because they miss out on a week of work to compete, entry fees accumulate quickly, and even IF you do take some prize money home … ‘Er, who’s paying? Because I only won two hundred rand. And my entries were six hundred.’

The bankers and lawyers look at us blankly. The obviousness of the bad business model flew over our heads as we revelled in our triple (!!!) tier rosette and pretty sash.

It doesn’t really make sense, we know. It especially doesn’t make sense that we don silk top-hats and tailored tailcoats, but three year old jeans with holes in the crotch and a t-shirt of dubious colour – it could be tie-dyed, it could be a mixture of hoof varnish and grassy gob, who knows?

 

And then we have the second round of Riders-Induced Disillusionment – drugs and riders. As my friend limped in I opened my bag and furtively offered her a tablet. Half the guests’ eyes widened (“You see, I knew no one would ride a horse unless they were on drugs”) and the other half prepared to sidle closer… relax. When riders DO strip their clothes off, the bruises, scars, and bizarre tan lines reveal a history of Myprodol and Cataflam dependency. We WISH we could afford hardcore uppers: they would be cheaper than eventing, and less dangerous to our health.

Furthermore, if our horses so much as trip we call the physiotherapist out, but we will nurse a limp for months before spending a cent on ourselves. And as friend of mine said recently, ‘We don’t always fall off, but when we do we ride before the doctor says it’s okay.’ That’s because our horses can’t afford to have a day off before competing, and we can’t afford to take a day off from earning. As it turns out, irony is not a drink best served stirred.

 

The third example of the Jilly Cooper Myth was my girlfriend from varsity (money well spent, mom) ogling a dashing rider as he strolled past, flicking his forelock for the appreciative crowd. “So, who is…” she giggled before we all bellowed into our Savannahs in unison, “GAY”. Some heated discussion ensued, which was mitigated by him sitting down and flirting outrageously with her startled brother, who had been insisting not a minute before that it was a fallacy that all hot guys were gay. Really, Mark? The only phone number I get asked for is my beauticians.

 

And the third example – aka “The Nail In The Coffin Of Fantasy” – was as we walked out of the marquis just in time to see an impeccably manicured woman shriek as her child’s grey show pony started to poop… then cup her hands and sigh with relief as she caught it. Can’t have manure stains on those hocks before the championship! She pointed toward her Dior handbag and calmly called for a wet wipe. Someone’s friend dry heaved. I offered them a Myprodol and a swig of vodka to wash it down. They promised to come to Derby, but haven’t been returning my calls…

 

So before you joke that horse ladies like cat ladies with more money, remember this: not only do we have less money, but there is even less testosterone at a horse show than at a pet store. And the testosterone we DO have is coming from one of the aging dressage aunties who is trying to get her horse into the box.