It takes a special talent to juggle the sheer number of horses that eventer Ryan Wood brings to a competition, but his groom Stacey Driscoll is up for the challenge.

Wood often rides 10 horses at one-day events, so organization and efficiency is key.

“She showed up as a quiet, young, shy girl about four years ago, and she’s really developed into an amazing asset to our operation,” said Wood. “She is the head groom and runs the show. She also rides and competes. She’s very organized and does an incredible job, and we couldn’t do what we do without her.”

Driscoll grew up in Landenberg, Pa., and became interested in horses when she passed by a farm on her way to school every day.

She rode hunter/jumper as a child and helped out at a pony lesson barn, which sparked her desire to find a job in the equine world, so she decided to pursue an equine studies degree at Delaware Valley College (Pa.).

During her time at school, Driscoll helped manage a driving barn for three years, where she learned the ins and outs of grooming and horse care.

She also spent a semester abroad at Hartpury College (England) to broaden her horizons and learn more about horse care.

“I’ve enjoyed trying different disciplines and seeing what they do and what they look for,” she said.

After graduating in 2011 with a degree in animal science and equine training and a minor in business studies, Driscoll felt prepared to start searching for a job at a professional barn. With no eventing experience, she responded to an ad that Wood had put out in search of a groom.

The Australian rider moved to the United States in 2008 to base with Phillip Dutton and had recently gone out on his own, so when Driscoll joined him, it was just the two of them and six horses as he built his business.

“It was a bit of a shock,” said Driscoll. “The first show I went to, I had never done studs before and never had to deal with icing horses. Little things like that I was a little out of the water, but I picked it up pretty fast. He was really nice and always helped me out when I didn’t know what he wanted. I always felt like I could go to him with a question about how he wanted it done or something that I was unsure of.”

These days Wood’s got a huge string of horses, including many that came to his barn when Driscoll started and are now at the top levels, like recent Jaguar Land Rover Bromont CCI*** (Quebec) winner Woodstock Bennett.

“They all have their different quirks and things that make them unique,” said Driscoll when asked if she had a favorite. “I do like ‘Bennett.’ He was here when I started, and it’s so neat seeing him come along.”

Stacey Driscoll (shown with Wood’s former mount Zeizos) makes a busy day run smoothly at Woodstock Eventing. Photo courtesy of Stacey Driscoll

Driscoll runs a “tight ship” according to Wood, who now has a few working students to help with the daily running of his Woodstock Eventing base in West Grove, Pa.

“He likes to stay in touch with what’s going on in the barn, so he always has an eye on it, but he lets us run it and make sure everything goes smoothly,” said Driscoll.

“She’s a very hard worker—always the first person to show up and the last person to leave. She’s got a great attitude, and that’s what sold me on her,” said Wood.

Driscoll has her own off-the-track Thoroughbred, Luck Of The Irish, whom she recently moved up to training level, and she rides a few German Riding Ponies for one of Wood’s owners, Ilona English and her Summit Sport Horses.

Driscoll has recently been competing English’s German Riding Pony stallion Popeye, and one of his offspring, Popstar.

Stacey Driscoll competes Summit Sport Horses’ German Riding Pony stallion Popeye. Photo courtesy of Stacey Driscoll

“[Popeye’s] a blast. He has a ton of character, and he’s a lot of fun. I feel really lucky getting to work with them as well as work with Ryan,” said Driscoll.

A typical day at home for Driscoll, 26, involves riding, hacking, tacking up horses for Wood and mucking.

At shows, she often has help from working students and relies on her sense of organization to get it all done.

“I’m very big on organization, and I like everything in its correct place,” she said. “If it weren’t for that, I feel like it would be a lot harder. I will say that most of the shows are really good about making the ride times for Ryan possible. They take it into consideration how many horses he has and how to make it work. Normally it all works out.”

Driscoll’s least favorite task is icing because it means she has to stand around and not do much, but she loves braiding.

“I feel like some people aren’t a fan of it, but I find it a relaxing job,” she said. “Sometimes I will get a bit of a hand cramp from [doing so many horses]! Sometimes it’s a little chaotic trying to make sure all the horses get worked in the right timeframe and getting them where they need to be. Braiding is that kind of little break for me where I’m like, all right, I’m going to stand here and let my mind take a break!”

“She’s a master at all that sort of stuff,” said Wood. “It’s incredible at the shows when I’m riding nine or 10 horses at the one event, and every horse is ready with the right tack and on time. It makes my job much easier when I know I can rely on someone to have everything organized and ready. Riding 10 horses in three phases on one day is not that big a deal.”

This year, Wood’s hard work bringing along several young horses culminated in having three at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****. It was Driscoll’s first trip there as a groom, but she kept her cool.

“I was a little worried since it was the biggest event I’ve ever been to, but it came down to, it was a big event and a lot of people and a lot of pressure to make everything go right, but it’s still an event. You still follow the same schedule and same plan,” she said.

This is an article in Groom Spotlight, a new series of groom profiles to be featured on www.coth.com. Make sure to follow www.coth.com and like the Chronicle’s Facebook page to see them posted. If you know a fantastic groom you’d like to see appear in this series, email molly@coth.com.