In horse racing there is a lot you can’t control that has an impact on your success. A trip doesn’t go your way, equipment can malfunction, and a host of other factors. One thing you can control that has a direct impact on a horses success is its day-to-day care. In Chantal Mitchell’s barn, Tami Sepper is one of the caretakers charged with ensuring this piece of the puzzle is accomplished.

Wearing a Little Brown Jug tee shirt, black leggings and matching crocs, Sepper drapes a Bemer blanket around Control Heaven, who’s in cross ties in Mitchell’s barn at Classy Lane Training Centre in Puslinch, Ont. Bemer blankets are designed to improve a horse’s circulation, and Sepper wraps the four-year-old gelding’s body and legs in the blue and orange material.

“My favourite part of being a groom is looking after the horses,” said Sepper. “Horses will show you how well you are taking care of them and give it back to you in the end. That’s my favourite part, working on them and then seeing the results at the end of the week.”

Sepper has been a caretaker for over a decade, getting her start after her friend’s father, Paul Harrison introduced her to the game.

“They had some Standardbreds, and he said one day, why don’t you come out, so I went out jogged my first horse for him, Whos Legacy,” said Sepper. “He threw the reins at me and said drive on. So that was my start in the horse racing business.”

Sepper cut her teeth in racing in the Barrie area, mostly based out of Georgian Downs before moving to Acton in 2010, getting a job with Jeff Gillis, and then Corey Johnson. Over the years, she’s worked for many trainers including Dr. Ian Moore and Blake MacIntosh. She’s been in her current role with Mitchell’s barn for about 18 months. But no matter who the trainer is, the ins and outs of being a caretaker remain the same.

“First thing in the morning we feed them their breakfast, and sweep up leftover hay from the night before,” said Sepper. “Then we turn them out, do their stalls, and water buckets, set feeds, bring them in, get them harnessed to jog or train. Then after they’re done track work put them away.”

Taking care of animals, and people comes naturally to Sepper. In fact, she’s going back to school in the fall to become a Personal Support Worker. A natural progression from her time in the horse racing business.

“I just like helping people, or horses,” said Sepper. “Just taking care of them, that’s my route to go.”

(Ontario Racing)