Jessica Rauers, groom of Frank Schuttert, voted best jumping groom Indoor Friesland 2025

Just like last year, Indoor Friesland is once again honoring the grooms. These horse caretakers are there day and night for the riders' athletes. Many sacrifice themselves for the horses entrusted to them. Thanks to Indoor Friesland, Duo Hoef, HorseGrooms, Horse & Country, Bakkerij van der Kloet, Marjan de Wildt, and Renate Brandsma Photography, the very best grooms were honored at Indoor Friesland. German Jessica Rauers, Frank Schuttert's groom for 13 years, was the absolute best.

Second place went to Dutch rider Jitte Exterkate, groom of Belgian rider Annelies Vorsselmans. Third place went to French rider Adeline Amary, groom of Spaniard Sergio Alvarez Moya.

Over the past few days, the show jumping grooms were monitored and assessed by no fewer than six undercover judges. From the horses' arrival on Wednesday until the final round, the various parties made rounds through the stables every day. Among others, former grooms and an FEI veterinarian gave their assessments. How often do the horses leave their stalls, do they always have clean water, how much attention do the horses receive, how well-groomed do they look, how well-groomed do the grooms interact with colleagues and other people; these were just a few of the aspects that were taken into account. It was a close competition because the quality was high. All the horses looked happy and meticulously cared for.

Frank Schuttert about his groom Jessica Rauers
"I can only say positive things about her," Fran Schuttert begins, referring to his groom. "She's never missed a week; I can't remember her ever having a vacation. She does everything for the horses; they are her passion. She enjoys good results just as much as I do. We're a close-knit team. If I tell her which horses I want to bring, she takes care of the rest. Yesterday, I arrived late at the stables to take off my boots, and while everyone else has already left, she's still busy. Grooms like her are old-school. They're rare and don't make them anymore. On paper, she works six days, but in reality, she works eight. She knows the horses inside and out, and she makes the difference between a good and an extremely good groom."

Jessica Rauers : “I like it, I really like it, and I never expected this when you were all walking through the stables. There are so many good grooms and I have never won anything like this!”

Annelies Vorsselmans of Stal de Sjiem about her groom Jitte Exterkate"
Jitte is still young, 21, but she has the responsibility of someone who's been doing this work her whole life. She came to Stal De Sjiem through an internship and then stuck around. She also often went with Jeroen, but now that he's competing less, she comes with me. She's polite, clean, and well-organized. She arranges everything perfectly for a show. I can sleep well when she comes along; she takes a lot of stress away. She's also always cheerful, even when things aren't going so well.

Jitte Exterkate : “I was super surprised, but I think it’s really great. That you are doing this and that I am one of the winners. It is a wonderful recognition for us grooms; normally all the attention goes to the riders. It would be nice if more competitions did this. Why am I so surprised? Because there are so many real grooms walking around here who have been doing this for a very long time, and I’m actually just starting out.”

Sergio Alvarez Moya on his groom Adeline Amary"
I can say a lot of positive things about Adeline. She loves the horses very much and is always with them. She takes care of them, she's always busy with them. Another positive thing about her is that she's always in a good mood.

Adeline Amary : “I was really pleasantly surprised. Both by the prize and by the way we received it; it was really cool how that went in the ring. I’ve already looked at the gifts and I think they are really nice too. So many different things, and not just things for the horses, but also for us and the dogs. Thanks again so much for everything!”

Text: Media team Indoor Friesland
Photos: Digishots