Being nervous for your very first class, at your very first horse show, is normal. Winning that class is not.

But that’s exactly what happened to groom Miguel Barrera on Jan. 30 at the Winter Equestrian Festival, where he took top honors in the groom's class presented by Shapley’s Equine Grooming Products.

Barrera has been a groom for nine years, four with current barn Laura Stern Stables at Country Ridge, but this was his very first time entering a groom's class.