A Show Grooms: Rates & Job Details

Just trying to get some info on what we see out there as far as day rates v. weekly rates for an A show groom, meaning someone who will be at venues such as HITS, VSF, Lexington, etc.

I know for away shows housing and meals are typically included. How is that usually handled? Are grooms allotted $ per day/does the employer purchase food for the house/bring lunch to the barn etc?

Day shows or local shows… do you handle rates differently?

If you are doing stalls… do you charge more/less if you do or don’t have stall duties?

Say someone wants you to meet them in another state and stay a few weeks… is gas reimbursement typical?

Just interested to see what people are doing across the board, thanks!

My Experience as a Groom

I groomed on the A’s a few years ago. At that time my experience at big multi-week shows was as follows:

-flat rate of $400-$600 per week depending on experience and length of employment (summer workers paid less than regular full time staff)

-$100 cash per week for food, given to me at the beginning of the week by my boss

-vehicle provided and gas covered

-housing paid for

-no days off while showing; they were banked up and we got to take them when we got back home

-pay was the same regardless of what work we did and # of hours put in (i.e. doing stalls or waiting for trailer to show up at 1am or driving through the night and starting a regular work day as soon as we arrived on the showgrounds)

-when we were at home attending day shows, there was no $ for food and you had to pay for your own gas (unless trips were work related)

I groomed in the summers during College (so 8 years back now) and I made $100 a day plus $20 for food and my living was covered. This was AA level on the East Coast and I was paid by the trainer who ran the program.

I’m an ammy in California now and there is an interesting phenomenon of freelance grooms. Trainer arranges to have top quality worker meet group at show and the clients pay the groom directly. If I recall correctly, it was 65$ per horse, per day. That said the groom handles his own accommodations.

I also groomed in summers during college (over 10 years ago). I got $75/day plus housing. Gas and food were not covered (all of my work was at shows, not at home, so travel was always involved). It was the same at a couple different barns I was with. One barn, I didn’t have to do any mucking–we all shared duties for all the horses, and those with less hands-on horse experience filled their time with things like mucking and throwing hay. Another barn, I had full charge of a certain number of horses. Hours were about the same either way. No days off, but I did have some time to get some personal things done on Mondays in between hand walks, mucking and feeding.

I think I’d probably go with the same arrangement now, maybe be asked to put on the food tab. But now that I am not a college kid, I would raise my rates or charge per horse. I think it’s easier to not have to be reimbursed for things like gas which can vary a lot and depends on where the job is that week. Just factor that into what you need to charge to make the job worth it.

I groomed last summer (2014) on the circuit in New England.

I got $45 per horse per day plus tips (many of our clients were very good to me). I had between 2 and 6 horses to care for. Most shows were 3 or 4. I was paid the same rate regardless of if it was a day trip or we were staying overnight. If we were staying overnight, hotel & food was paid for (either the clients just paid when we went out or my boss picked up the check for both of us and included it in a split later). I sometimes grabbed a coffee on my own on the way to the show but at the shows either one of the clients slipped me some cash for food or it went on my boss’s tab. At day shows I didn’t pay for lunch. I was never reimbursed for gas but also never drove more than 3 hours to get to a show.

My rate was the same regardless of if it whether it was a haul in or the horses were in stalls and I had to do them. Since this was over the course of a summer I think this pretty much evened out - some haul-ins I really didn’t have much work to do but other times when we were gone for a week or two it was A LOT of work. The only time I ever was paid differently was a client whose pony was on half-care (pretty much they did the stall and if I was in a crunch would throw the tack on their pony) - this was a special arrangement with a client our trainer knew was struggling to get her kid to all of the shows she wanted to go to.

Being a show groom was some of the most intense work I’ve ever done but SO worth it. I cannot say enough about how wonderful our clients were and how good they were to me. Having a great relationship with my boss, our animals, and our clients kept me looking forward to going to work every day (and keeps me wondering if I shouldn’t just go back while I’m writing this from my desk job…)

This was, ohhh, ten? years ago, and at AA shows - we usually did Lake Placid, HITS and Vermont etc etc. I got $100 day plus tips for 4-5 horses. This included all work for said horses - stalls, bathing, lunging, etc etc etc. I also still got paid on Mondays, even though trainer and her husband usually helped out with the stalls and hand walking. Food was kinda up in the air, usually a client or trainer would buy me breakfast and lunch while at the show, but at night, we usually did our own thing. We paid for our gas. Rate was same for day shows. Since I was a working student kinda, I only got paid at shows when I was in full groom mode - can’t speak to what the pay was for the full time guys at home.

Indoors was the same pay usually, Capital Challenge was treated like a normal show. Harrisburg/WIHS/NY (when the national was still in the city!) were the same too, but the work was way easier bc it was usually only 1 horse (we had a small barn and trainer let grooms go with “their” horses, so often we’d have two grooms there for 2-3 horses). Tips for indoors were also huge - the better the kid did the last day, the happier the parents and more generous with their wallets.

Loved grooming, miss it a lot - it was a great way as a kid to learn personal responsibility and make a boatload of summer money.

[QUOTE=osgoka01;8242755]

I’m an ammy in California now and there is an interesting phenomenon of freelance grooms. Trainer arranges to have top quality worker meet group at show and the clients pay the groom directly. If I recall correctly, it was 65$ per horse, per day. That said the groom handles his own accommodations.[/QUOTE]

This is what our barn does at shows. Our trainer arranges a groom to meet us at the show. We pay $50 a day per horse plus $10 a day tip. We don’t pay for food, housing, etc.

I’ve only worked for one lady a few times. Caring for 2-3 horses.

I know for away shows housing and meals are typically included. How is that usually handled? Are grooms allotted $ per day/does the employer purchase food for the house/bring lunch to the barn etc?
The 2 times I was working at an away show I was also showing my own horse so I covered my hotel and food.

Day shows or local shows… do you handle rates differently? I’ve only done multiday shows.

If you are doing stalls… do you charge more/less if you do or don’t have stall duties?
Stalls were always included in my duties for the same fee

Say someone wants you to meet them in another state and stay a few weeks… is gas reimbursement typical?
Haven’t done anything like that.

I have gotten between 75-100 a day. 100 for the away shows, 75 for the home shows.

Very interesting! Some good stuff to know, reading all of it please feel free to chime in!

My experience has been similar to Mia Sorella, over quite a few years of shows and 3 employers (current employment involves no shows, so not as relevant to your questions).

$450-600 per week. Some paid by the week, so Mondays worked blended in to that rate, but then we generally get a little time off still paid. Others paid by the day and if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

Housing is either provided or paid for. Accommodations on the road are arranged and paid by employer.

Usually given some vehicle access when living on barn site or at a show, but may be shared with other staff. When living off site and having own vehicle, no compensation for gas (or the million other expenses having a car brings :(), but if you take your car on a long trip to a show (and especially to Florida!) that gas is comped. On a large staff it usually works out nicely that some people want their own car there, while others would rather not put the miles on, because the employer likely wouldn’t pay for everyone’s personal vehicle. In cases where people fly in or go with the horse shipper, rentals are sometimes done, again covered by the employer (and again, usually shared unless you have a super sweet boss).

Meals at home are your own responsibility. At shows it’s usually covered on some level, whether a casual “hey I’m going to the concession, want anything?”, having a tab with the food provider, or being handed $100 cash at the beginning of the week. The latter is typical at away shows, since we don’t tend to eat every dinner with the boss present [and if anyone out there is adding up whether $100 will cover 3 meals a day for a week, it won’t. Because even if we are staying somewhere with a kitchen, we’re probably too tired to use it. But it’s better than nothing]. The former works better at the local shows. There are always lots of random coffees and food treats from clients and employers, as well as plenty of nice dinners. Very little makes a groom happier than food :smiley:

$45 per head per day, accommodations provided (big camper, rented trailer, apartment or hotel room with roommate depending on show). Per diem for food, no idea how much. 4-6 head each. Plus tips. AA barn, based in Midwest doing WEF, Devon, KHP circuits indoors, Finals etc. probably 40 weeks a year on road. Full time adults only. No riding.

The 45 per head per day was every day the horse was on the road, showing or not so some days were relatively light, weekends were nuts. Since the grooms worked most of the season together, they had an arrangement amongst themselves if one was jammed up while another was idle, but that was left to them to work out.

It’s been a few years, but we paid the grooms directly whether they were our regular ones or contracted ones. At the time (2009) it was $50 a day per horse plus tip. Any living expenses were split based on horses. At some shows the grooms would stay in a tack stall (this might be a California thing, as it’s been debated here before). Clients would often provide food during the day. I’ve been sent on food runs for dinner; trainer offered to reimburse me (and I’d accept if I was the only one doing it, night after night). Those costs were split amongst the horses.

Not all barns provide food. I saw our groom share his dinner with the less fortunate on more than one occasion.

The cost per day per horse was the same for any level of show, from the very local affair we walked to, to county shows to Thermal.

$50 a day if 4 horses, $60 a day of 3 horses. Hotel is covered, food/gas is not. No tip. Grooms meet us at shows all over the country and are paid cash directly by clients. Same pay for our full time guys that come from the home farm to groom at the shows. They are NOT paid their regular salary in addition. They can make up to $1400 a week grooming. I know it can be 7 days a week, 16 hrs a day, but I’d say that amount in CASH is pretty darn good.

Used to get $120 per day, breakfast and lunch included, dinner on the grooms, hotel/housing covered. Gas to and from was on us. Tips were expected and typically based on how many days your horse was at the show–$20 from the two day people, as much as $100 from the full weekers. Still works out to not very much an hour when you work 14-16 hour days, but can’t beat the experiences or the references!

From a tax stand point ( I suppose from a Social Security one as well…) are grooms considered to be self-employed? Or employees? In other words, at some point (I do not know what the income level is) does the person who hires them have to provide a 1099? If the labor cost is below that of minimum wage, is that a problem, or is this a labor class that somehow is an exemption? I am not asking these questions to throw a wrench in any one’s works-- it has just occurred to me however in reading the responses to this thread. I am just interested in how groom arrangements are handled with respect to labor laws.

[QUOTE=LovesHorses;8245487]
$50 a day if 4 horses, $60 a day of 3 horses. Hotel is covered, food/gas is not. No tip. Grooms meet us at shows all over the country and are paid cash directly by clients. Same pay for our full time guys that come from the home farm to groom at the shows. They are NOT paid their regular salary in addition. They can make up to $1400 a week grooming. I know it can be 7 days a week, 16 hrs a day, but I’d say that amount in CASH is pretty darn good.[/QUOTE]

Is this per horse?

It’s been a couple years, but I groomed for awhile in Ontario and travelled with them to HITS and Vermont.
I was paid $100/day, plus tips. I lived in an apartment above the barn for free, accommodations were provided away as well. Food wasn’t covered, but my bosses or clients would often buy my meals if we went out.
I had my own car at home, but I drove one of the trailers to Florida and used one of their vehicles whenever I was down there.

The grooms would have either 3 or 4 horses in their care each day.

[QUOTE=Sunflower;8245664]
From a tax stand point ( I suppose from a Social Security one as well…) are grooms considered to be self-employed? Or employees? In other words, at some point (I do not know what the income level is) does the person who hires them have to provide a 1099? If the labor cost is below that of minimum wage, is that a problem, or is this a labor class that somehow is an exemption? I am not asking these questions to throw a wrench in any one’s works-- it has just occurred to me however in reading the responses to this thread. I am just interested in how groom arrangements are handled with respect to labor laws.[/QUOTE]

Sunflower: FWIW there are wage/hour legal problems with this type of thing that I keep thinking someone is going to get sued over (or maybe already have been). If you have direction and control of the person’s duties (ie tell them what time to be there and what to do and how to do it) – in most states – they are your employee, even if “temporary” and should be paid on a W2 not a 1099. It’s the same for working students and assistant trainers; most states and the IRS have really clamped down on independent contractor status–its very hard to prove and the employers responsibility to prove the person met the correct test (or be liable for taxes owed plus potentially overtime not paid).

1099 is $600 a year, IIRC. Barn is required to report paying that or more to the IRS, each individual recipient is responsible to report receiving that or more.

Do they? Only they know. Barns I know revamped their bookkeeping a few years back when that started and do. I do as recipient in years I hit that. I’m sure others don’t but that’s between them and the IRS if they get audited along with everybody they did business with.

Think it’s a fair question to ask as a client using those services.