Grooms' liaison

Jenny Ellis on giving the London International grooms a good party to thank them for their work, travelling the world with It's Otto and pot-hunting on a puissance star

- Martha Terry

My route into horses was the same as that of many other little girls. When I was six we moved to the countryside and I went down the Pony Club route as a source of education. My pony, Stardust, was vile. He was so naughty and would dump me and laugh at me! It didn't do my riding career any good.

I stuck at it though and rode competitively for a bit, but wasn't good enough so I decided to brush horses instead. I'm now 63 and still brushing them.

I've worked as a groom since I was 16, for the likes of Geoff Billington and John Whitaker. I've had great times, and it's been colourful.

Geoff's Olympic horse It's Otto was my horse of a lifetime - he had a great sense of humour. I did him from 1996 until he retired in 2001. The Sydney Olympics was a highlight. Otto took me around the world. I didn't get to see that much because you're not on a sightseeing trip, of course, but I had the time of my life.

I started working as a liaison with the grooms when the London International was at Olympia. For a time they had to park the lorries at Wembley, and so the grooms - who had usually driven all the way from Geneva or another European show would unload the horses at Olympia and then have to drive another hour to park. It was a logistical nightmare, and the grooms were so tired.