Margo Thomas's love of horses began at Camp Merrydale in St. Francisville. She had the opportunity to ride and camp and came home begging for equestrian lessons. She's been working with horses ever since. After graduating college with a degree in Equine Studies, she started her equestrian career.

Now, she serves as a groom for Olympic Silver Medalist Laura Kraut and her horse, Baloutinue. Margo was a wee bit busy last week, what with the Olympics happening, but we spoke with her mother, Jackson resident, Genny Nadler Thomas about what it's like being part of an Olympic team.

 

 

First of all, tragically, Genny wasn't able to hang out with Snoop Dogg and Martha. However, there is a reported Olympic after party happening at Laura Kraut's Netherland's ranch, and we have high hopes for some VIP attendees there, so we're holding out hope for that. Fingers crossed, everyone!

Laura, the oldest ever Olympic medalist at age 59, and Team USA took the team silver in Jumping, and Laura took 8th overall in the individual competition. This is particularly impressive because Equestrian sports are unique among Olympic competitions in that women and men compete against and with each other.  Equestrian sports are also unique in that riders and horses are selected as pairs. For the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, Laura has been paired with her Hannoverian gelding, Baloutinue.  

Keeping million-dollar horses in competition condition is a huge, 24/7 job and one that Margo Thomas takes incredibly seriously. She travels with the horses from international show to show and stays with them when they summer in The Netherlands and winter in Florida. Beyond just grooming them for aesthetics, Thomas coordinates with veterinarians, equestrian chiropractors and even acupuncturists to make sure that Baloutinue and Kraut's other stable of horses are in tip top shape. 

Grooming also entails carefully looking for any signs of injury or illness in a horse and being aware of the tiniest issue that could derail a competition. Most grooms, including Thomas, have a background in Equestrian sports. They understand the horse deeply, including personality traits like waking up in a grumpy mood or needing a particular type of warm up to perform at her best. They give these important tips to the riders who trust them implicitly. 

 

After the Olympics wraps up and the Thomases attend Kraut's aforementioned soirée, the team will be back on the road. They have upcoming competitions across the world. Margo Thomas will make sure that Balolutinue and the rest of the crew are well taken care of and ready to jump...wherever in the world they're going to be.