Last week, the international horse world lost was shocked by the sudden death of equestrian icon Jenny Ducoffre. For many years, Ducoffre worked as the show groom of Belgian show jumping rider Jos Verlooy. She won several awards, including last year during Indoor Friesland in the Netherlands and previously in Hickstead, Great Brittain, because of her excellent care for the horses and because she was always willing to help others. The younger and less experienced grooms saw Ducoffre as an example and their “Show Mom.”
Minute of Silence
Ducoffre’s death hit hard. This is evident from the many initiatives taken by various grooms and horse show organizations on the international circuit. Several international competitions will hold a minute’s silence this week to commemorate Ducoffre. In St. Gallen this happened prior to the vet check. In Le Touquet this was done on Thursday morning in the main arena before the first combination entered. At the Global Champions Tour in St. Tropez, almost all grooms wore something black at the vet check.
Memorial Page
After requests from several grooms to “do something together” for Ducoffre and her family, the international grooms platform HorseGrooms has started an online condolence register, or “Memorial Page” where anyone who wants to, can share a memory of Ducoffre or leave a message for her family.
Thanks to a financial contribution from Enviro Equine & Pet, an international company in supplements and care products for horses, all memories and messages will be collected and printed in a book that will be sent to the family in a few weeks. You can leave a message on the Memorial Page by following this link: https://horsegrooms.com/remembering-groomings-horse-show-mom-jenny-ducoffre/
HorseGrooms also published several resources about mental health. From a video from Mackenzie Drazan about dealing with grief to initiatives by equestrians regarding mental health. These resources are available in the HorseGrooms Community.
Ducoffre’s funeral will take place in Germany on June 18.
HorseGrooms is a platform of resources, education & support for grooms by grooms. Love for the horse is the foundation, sharing knowledge and keeping horsemanship alive are the goals. Go to www.horsegrooms.com for resources and articles that help grooms of all levels and all nationalities in their important work. Go there as will to find out how to join the HorseGrooms community and how to support HorseGrooms’ mission.
Contact: Dinette Neuteboom – Founder
561 246 9068
dinette@horsegrooms.com
www.horsegrooms.com
https://community.horsegrooms.com
Note: A photo of Jenny Ducoffre is available on request. Email dinette@horsegrooms.com