It was an exceptional day in his grooming career when his charge, Katriona, won the Southern Arches $140,000 CSI 3* Grand Prix – Rene Morillo Garcia was back at work the next morning and still feeling the excitement of the experience. “It was a good day for the whole team,” he said after Katriona took her first international victory with rider Peter Lutz on the Derby Field to close out week two of the Winter Equestrian Festival. “Everyone was excited. We celebrated a little last night but it was quite late when I finished and work comes first.”
Garcia has been with Peter Lutz for 13 years. Working for the USA Grand Prix rider was his first job when he arrived in the States from Mexico. In his home town there were plenty of horses around. “I would see them and pet them,” he said. “But I did not work with horses until I came here.”
Now 31, Garcia says he is still adding to his knowledge. “Peter has a lot of grooms,” he said. “And I have learned about grooming from working with them.”
Garcia has worked specifically with Katriona for four years and it has been a special connection for him, which comes across when he talks about his relationship with the mare. “I love Katriona – she is a special horse. I have spent four years looking after her and I have created a bond with her. It has become something beautiful – taking care of her is like taking care of a queen.”
Sunday’s class brought special challenges to the grooms when an unexpected squall sprung up over the Derby field, causing noise and distraction. Katriona, who had already jumped clear to qualify for the jump off, was waiting in the wings and Garcia said she was unphased. “The wind didn’t bother her,” he said. “I walked her around, she didn’t get excited. She was extremely relaxed. She knew it was show time.”
When Garcia watches from the ingate, he cannot help but feel emotional. “I get nervous,” he said. “I want everything to go smoothly.” Next weekend will be a further test of that, as Katriona is currently slated to go in the Saturday Night Lights NetJets CSI4* $215,000 Grand Prix. “That is the plan at the moment,” Garcia said. Katriona competed under the lights for the first time last year in week 11 at WEF in the $50,000 FEI 4* Hermes 1.50m Classic Series Final and was unlucky not to make the jump off. “She had two time faults,” Garcia said. “But she jumped well – and of course the time faults did not bother her.”
As winning groom at last Sunday’s Grand Prix, Garcia was the recipient of the Double H Farms Winning Grooms award – a $500 check. “It was emotional,” Garcia said of the presentation. “And it gives me motivation.” The money he planned to spend on something special. “I will buy some treats for Katriona I think,” he said. “To reward her for being so good.”
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