Shauna Murray’s winning feeling came to fruition

This interview is part of HorseGrooms’ ongoing groom interview series, featured throughout the Wellington season in partnership with Wellington International and Paper Horse.

Saturday Night Lights for the $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix brought a special degree of tension for Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue’s groom Shauna Murray as they waited their turn. Fourteen horse and rider combinations had tackled the Alan Wade course without a clear.  “I was watching at the Stables, because I wasn’t going until the end of the class, and I was like, oh my God. What’s going on here? Is it that difficult?” said Shauna.

Shauna’s foray into horses began when her family moved to the “Thoroughbred County” of Kildare Ireland. Surrounded by an array of stunning TB stock, Shauna, 32, traded her passion for dogs in for horses. Riding lessons and Pony Club followed before she dabbled in eventing by repurposing an off the track Thoroughbred that she trained herself.

Visits to the Dublin Horse Show launched a fascination with the showjumping world. “Watching the big classes, the height of the fences, it was amazing,” she said. “With eventing, it’s all a little bit more about scores – if you have a good dressage [test] that kind of determines your week. Whereas show jumping is a little bit more of a fair sport, because it’s whether you’re clear and you’re fast.”

Shauna acquired a position at Darragh’s Oakland Stables but patiently waited to be Darragh’s main groom. “I waited for a year and I almost gave up for a second, but I thought this is what I really want. I always admired Darragh as a rider. For me, he’s the best in the world. I don’t think anyone really compares to him.” Fate stepped in and after both grooms left, Shauna became Darragh’s head groom and has been for four years.

As in any sport, showjumping comes with highs and lows. But for six months, Darragh faced a major blow brought by an FEI suspension over a prescription drug that he took for ADHD. Forced to watch from the sidelines, Darragh relied on Shauna to make sure the horses were prepared for Darragh’s good friend Bertram Allen to show them – ready for when the Irishman returned to competition.

“It was very, very difficult for Darragh,” said Shauna. “At the end of the day Bertram did a fantastic job with the horses. I think Darragh was grateful that it was Bertram doing it – his friend. And we’re very lucky that we had such supportive owners and sponsors.”

Caring for the horses is what Shauna likes best. “My biggest thing is keeping the horses happy,” she said. “I do spoil them.” But even treats are not sufficient sometimes to make Eddy Blue content. “Blue is such an amazing horse. Anyone who knows him on the show circuit knows he’s a character,” said Shauna. “He’s not just a horse – he’s part human, part dog, part horse. If he has a fence down, he’ll be annoyed and can be a monster when walking back to the stables.”

Saturday night was the opposite. “For sure he knew he had won,” she said. “It was very emotional.” Shauna had a good omen before the competition even started. “It’s funny because I had a very weird feeling the whole day that we were going to win,” she said. “I had to keep saying to myself, stop thinking about those things, because I also feel like it’s bad luck.”

Darragh requested a different bridle – a snaffle – to be made up for the class and Shauna brought out the bridle that she had put aside when the last horse to wear it, Darragh’s Olympic mount VDL Cartello, retired.

“It was a really special night with Darragh back and me deciding to use Cartello’s bridle – which I had put away for safe keeping,” she said. “The win was also a long time coming. Eddy Blue’s been second, he’s been third. He won the World Cup in London, but he’s never won one of the five star Grands Prix before. He’s always been so close. To win one was just such a relief.”

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