Latest from Horse & Hound in Alan-davies

‘It was an honour’: Alan Davies pays tribute to dressage superstars Valegro and Uthopia

Becky Murray — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:17:57 +0000

Top groom Alan Davies has paid tribute to Valegro and Uthopia, the superstar horses he lovingly cared for throughout their competition careers.

On Monday (1 December) Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin announced that Valegro (Blueberry) and Uthopia (Uti) had been put down, aged 23 and 24 respectively.

Alan was head groom to Carl and Charlotte from 2011 to 2023 and accompanied them to all of their international competitions and championships, forming close bonds with Blueberry and Uti.

“They were both phenomenal. It was an amazing journey no one could predict; the stories, and the competitions and the experiences that we had with them were unbelievable,” Alan told H&H following the news this week.

Alan said Blueberry and Uti were stabled next to each other on the yard and grew up together.

“As they started to do grand prix they would travel together. In 2011 they were both on the team at the Europeans in Rotterdam, then they were together at the London Olympics, then they went to the Europeans in Herning in 2013. They were great mates, it was lovely,” he said.

Alan Davies on Valegro: “The kindest horse”

Alan described Blueberry as “magnetic”.

“He was such a gorgeous character and everyone was drawn to him. He was so trusting, he trusted me to take him round the world on trains, planes and automobiles. We went to 10 different countries and travelled 75,000km together,” said Alan.

“He was such a showman, he knew when he went in the arena everyone was watching him. Then when he was out of the arena he would relax and switch off. He was a real lads’ lad, you could imagine him on the couch with a packet of crisps and pint of beer wanting to watch the football. There was no stress with him, he was so lovely to have at shows and at the stables.”

Blueberry amassed adoring fans worldwide.

“Whenever we did a meet and greet with him he would make sure he spoke to everyone, he’d put his head into the crowd and he never spooked or moved away,” said Alan.

“He was so gentle with kids. We would have people visit through Willberry Wonder Pony and I could open the stable door and he would talk to them so gently with his head in their hands. He had this amazing aura about him, it sounds cliché to say that, but he really did.”

Alan Davies on Uthopia: “A superstar in his own right”

Alan and Uthopia. (Image credit: Jon Stroud)

Alan described Uti as a “phenomenal performer”.

“Uti was a cheeky chappy, and occasionally at trot-ups he might stand on his back legs to make sure everyone was paying attention, but he was never any bother,” said Alan.

“He never demanded attention. He was very kind, and when Valegro started to become the celebrity that he was, Uti was never offended. When people came to meet Valegro he wouldn’t bang the door or demand attention, he would stand looking beautiful. He had the most beautiful face and disposition and he would wait with his ears pricked as if to say, ‘It’s ok, they’ll come and speak to me in a minute’.

“He never took offence about being the bridesmaid, but he was an absolute superstar in his own right. He was only tiny really, but he rose to the occasion every time in the arena. People were always astounded when they met him how small he was – when you saw him doing his test he had such incredibly big elastic movements.”

Swarovski crystals and the Rio Olympics

Alan has many happy memories of both horses.

“I remember we went to the Swarovski show in Austria running up to London 2012. It was still Blueberry’s first year in grand prix, but he and Charlotte won the grand prix and Carl and Uti were second,” said Alan.

“Carl came out the next day for the grand prix special determined that he wasn’t going to be beaten, and they did the most incredible test. They won, and Charlotte and Blueberry were second. Uti was literally floating on air. He won a beautiful rug covered in Swarovski crystals and I treasured that rug for many, many years. It was his pride and joy.”

Alan said “there were so many highlights” with Valegro.

“Going to the Rio Olympics there was so much pressure on everyone because Blueberry was going to try to regain his Olympic title. The eyes of the world were watching, and he didn’t mind at all,” said Alan.

“He went into the arena and said ‘Hold my beer, I’ve got this. Don’t panic, we’re on it.’ And he did the most beautiful test.”

Another favourite memory of Alan’s was being H&H guest editor and his front cover with Valegro in April 2020.

Alan Davies and Valegro H&H 30 April 2020. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“Being on the front cover with him was a major thing in my life,” said Alan. “My mother was my biggest supporter and she had H&H with me on the front cover by her bed at all times. She used to show all the nurses at her hospice and she kept it next to her bed until her dying day.

“She wasn’t horsey at all, but that horse crept into everyone’s heart. I don’t know how he did it. He just had this incredible magnetism, I can’t put it into words.”

Alan said “I don’t think we’ll see another horse like Valegro”.

“Not in my lifetime,” he said.

“He was unique, the performances he did. How he trusted me, he always had his ears pricked and a smile on his face. For an animal of that calibre to do that, it was an honour to have that journey with him.”

Do you have a special memory of Valegro or Uthopia that you’d like to share with other H&H readers? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com including your name, nearest town and county for the chance to have it published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine – plus don’t miss further tributes to Valegro and Uthopia in 11 December issue

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Heartbroken farewell to beloved superstars Valegro and Uthopia who created dressage’s golden era

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘You are still so loved’: Charlotte Dujardin pays farewell tribute to her world record-breaking partner Valegro

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘My treasured memories of Valegro’, according to his groom Alan Davies

Alan Davies shares some of his highlights and most treasured memories from his time as Valegro’s groom

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Alan Davies’ top plaiting tips and tricks – some of them may surprise you

Polly Bryan — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 08:30:37 +0000

The summer show season will be here before you know it, so now is the perfect time to brush up on your plaiting and Alan Davies is here to help. We hear from the top groom, who kept Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin’s horses in pristine condition for much of the past decade, to learn his top tips when it comes to perfect plaits.

From prepping the mane to why he prefers bands to stitching, discover Alan Davies’ plaiting secrets…

1. Don’t be afraid of using scissors

Alan explains that how you look after the mane will depend on the individual horse and their type of hair.

“For horses with thick, wiry manes, like Uthopia, I have to occasionally pull the mane,” he says. “But horses like Valegro or En Vogue, for example, have quite fine manes, so I tend to trim those with scissors.

“I let them grow as long as possible, then backcomb them a little and trim with scissors. I use the scissors on an angle so the cut doesn’t come out too straight, and it means you can slightly feather the end of the mane.

2. Keep your neck covers clean

“If your horse has neck covers on their rugs at night or during the day, make sure you keep the covers really clean so they don’t rub out too much hair, especially at the base of the neck,” says Alan, on episode 42 of The Horse & Hound Podcast.

“Manes often get thin there and then the plaits just fade out which doesn’t look so good.”

3. Look after the mane on a daily basis – and decide which side you want it to lie on

“Try to keep it clean, but without brushing it out too much,” advises Alan. “I use a comb on the manes day-to-day, just to get any shavings out in the mornings.

“Carl and Charlotte like horses’ manes to lie on the off side, so if we have horses arriving with manes on the other side, I’ll do half plaits to train it over onto that side.”

4. Don’t trim the mane too close to plaiting

“Let the hair grow for as long as possible to help it thicken, but don’t trim too close to a show otherwise the hair will be too thick at the end,” says Alan. “For plaiting, I want the mane to be nice and even, but slightly thinner at the ends.”

5. Don’t turn your nose up at elastic bands

It may surprise you that Alan’s perfect plaits, that have graced the cover of H&H on many occasions, are achieved using elastic plaiting bands, not through stitching.

“I find that it’s nicer for the mane and you don’t risk snipping hair with scissors when taking the thread out,” he explains.

“I use a plaiting spray to make the mane really sleek then plait down, making the plait looser at the top and tighter at the bottom. I turn over the end of the plait and put a band around it. Then I put another band round the end, keeping it looser, then roll the plait up through the band, turning the band round it as I roll the plait. Then I twist the band at the top of the plait and put it underneath so you can’t see it.”

6. If your plaits stick up, you might be plaiting from too much height

“I have adjustable steps I use; whatever you choose, make sure it’s safe so you’re not going to fall off and the horse won’t get its legs tangled,” says Alan.

“I like to be about eye level with the top of the neck. If I stand too high then plaits tend to come out sticking up a little, and if I’m too low they can be a bit droopy. I like nice perky plaits right at eye level.”

You may also be interested in…

(Image credit: Lucy Hall)

9 plaiting products to help you create the perfect look

(Image credit: Lucy Hall)

‘I taught Kate Middleton to ride’: 9 things you may not know about supergroom Alan Davies

How well do you know the dressage supergroom? Here are nine things about Alan that you might not have known….

(Image credit: Lucy Hall)

Alan Davies stepping back from role as ‘super-groom’ to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin

(Image credit: Lucy Hall)

‘I sobbed all the way up the centre line’: Alan Davies’ highlights from his time as Valegro’s super-groom

(Image credit: Lucy Hall)

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

‘He jumped for joy’: supergroom Alan Davies picks the horse he wishes he could have ridden

Becky Murray — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 13:00:01 +0000

Suppose your Christmas stocking contained a ride on the horse of your dreams… We find out which superstars of yesteryear this supergroom would love to try

Alan Davies has flown around the world taking care of some of Britain’s top dressage horses, working for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. It might be difficult to think you could ever top the great Valegro, but there is one horse of eventing royalty Alan would gladly welcome for Christmas.

“It would have to be my childhood heroine Lucinda Green’s Regal Realm. I remember seeing him in the 10-minute box at Badminton and he was just the most incredible horse. He was a wry little thoroughbred and was quite quirky – Lucinda had to really work around his quirks to get the best out of him. She had to do her dressage in a jumping saddle because he didn’t like a dressage saddle and things like that. But he was an absolute superstar and he jumped for joy for Lucinda,” remembers Alan.

Regal Realm and Lucinda at the 1984 LA Olympics (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lucinda met Regal Realm in Fontainebleau, where the former Australian stock horse was a reserve horse for event rider Merv Bennett at the alternate Olympics event in 1980. From here he returned home with Lucinda and just two years later, they were crowned world champions. In 1983, they won Badminton and won double silver at the European Championships, and the following year they were part of the silver medal-winning team at the LA Olympics.

“I remember at Badminton he tripped on his overreach boots and after that, Lucinda didn’t use overreach boots at the big competitions. I’ve got this thing about overreach boots now – Charlotte likes to use boots on her horses to protect them and I’ll always say, ‘Lucinda used overreach boots on Regal Realm and he tripped!’ and Charlotte will roll her eyes as if to say, ‘Here we go again!’” says Alan Davies with a laugh.

“Once, I was driving the lorry back from Aachen and Lucinda had been there commentating. There was a problem with her flight, so I ended up giving her a lift and we talked all the way home about Regal Realm and her other Badminton winners – we had the most amazing conversations.”

You might also be interested in:

3 AUG 1984: LUCINDA GREEN OF GREAT BRITAIN ON REGAL REALM DURING THE TEAM JUMPING COMPETITION AT THE 1984 LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS. GREAT BRITAIN WON THE SILVER. (Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Regal Realm: from Australian stock horse to Badminton winner and world champion

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘I taught Kate Middleton to ride’: 9 things you may not know about supergroom Alan Davies

How well do you know the dressage supergroom? Here are nine things about Alan that you might not have known….

Alan Davies - Oaklebrook Mill, Malswick, Newent, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom - 20 March 2020 (Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Alan Davies on hacking Valegro and Uthopia – and why he doesn’t like Carl and Charlotte riding them

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 104: Super-groom to Carl Hester & Charlotte Dujardin, Alan Davies | The smelly side of being a vet | News round-up

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Top groom Alan Davies’ expert tips on managing horses over winter

Oscar Williams — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 18:32:49 +0000

When it comes winter horsecare, there are few people more experienced than Alan Davies, who managed Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin’s top horses for over a decade.

“It’s something I get asked about quite a lot, and it can be tricky,” says Alan, on episode 15 of The Horse & Hound podcast. “You really have to think about changing their management completely.”

To help keep your horse in top condition over winter, we’ve rounded up his top tips below…

1. Winter horsecare: change their feed regime

Many of Carl and Charlotte’s horses live out all year round.

“Carl likes his horses to be as natural as possible get their heads down, stretch their legs, stretch their backs, and be horses,” explains Alan. “Obviously, that can start to be a bit limited as the weather turns. We’re right by a river so the turnout can also get very wet.

“If the amount of time they’re going out in the field changes, then you need to start thinking about changing their feed regime. They’re going to need more hay if they’re coming in and standing in their stable more. I like to give them a net when they’re in so they can trickle feed, and graze like they’re naturally supposed to do.

“We might also have to give them a little more bulk and forage in their feed, so they take longer to eat their hard feed, and don’t wolf it down.”

2. If they’re coming in – absolutely no wet legs

When managing horses over winter, prevention is always better than cure when it comes to mud fever and other related ailments, explains Alan.

“If your horse’s legs need to be washed – which generally ours do because when they’re being exercised they have boots and bandages on – I like them to be washed when they come in. But I’m a real stickler about drying their legs, I can’t bear wet legs on horses!

“I have a massive pile of old towels, anyone that’s throwing out old towels has to give them to me, and then we stockpile them in the tack room so that each horse can have its legs dried with a clean, dry towel.

“I dry their bellies too, I’ll even rub their tails and right down the back of the legs, so there’s absolutely no dripping, which one irritates the horse, and two can ferment and cause all sorts of problems.”

3. Get your rugging right

When we’re starting to feel the cold ourselves, it can be really tempting to chuck a load of rugs on our horse. However, if your horse isn’t clipped, they will naturally grow a thick, winter coat, so it’s important when managing horses over winter to not over-rug.

“Really keep an eye on their temperatures, and keep a thermometer handy,” says Alan.

If you’re unsure about how to take your horse’s temperature, we’ve put together an easy-to-follow guide.

4. Make sure they’re getting enough fluids

“It sounds weird talking about fluid intake going into winter, but it does change, and that’s when they can get ill,” emphasises Alan. “If they’re in, having more dry feed than normal, they need to top up their fluids.”

Some horses might also prefer to drink from the trough in the field, so if they’re in more, they might be drinking less.

“Freestyle (Charlotte’s former grand prix ride) loved to take a great big drink from the water trough when she went out in the field. So I used to give her a bucket, as well as her water drinker so that she could have a good old slurp from that as well.

“You need to know each individual horse, what they like and what they don’t like, and what their fluid intake is like on a normal day.”

5. Stable management is key over winter

If your horse is spending longer periods in the stable over winter, that environment needs to be enriching for them.

“I used to give Valegro three buckets in his stable when we were away at competitions because he’s such a dunker – he loves to dunk his hay and grass,” says Alan. “He had one bucket to dunk, one to drink, and then a fresh one ready for him if he’d ruined the other two buckets!

“So just keep an eye, and make sure you really know your horse.”

Alan Davies on speed-dial and perfect plaits: a day in the life of Charlotte Dujardin’s groom Francesca Gorni at the Europeans

Martha Terry — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 08:54:04 +0000

When Francesca Gorni got the call-up to be Charlotte Dujardin’s groom for the European Dressage Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany, she had mixed emotions. She had worked alongside Alan Davies, grooming Imhotep, at Charlotte’s previous trip to Germany, for Aachen in June, which was effectively “a handover”.

“Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore Alan, so it was bittersweet to come without him,” says Francesca. “I didn’t know how I felt about that; I was a bit emotional, but Alan said, ‘Come on, it’s your turn’.”

But the two grooms are in constant contact – “every hour!”, Francesca estimates.

“I keep him posted on his precious boy,” she says. “He’s actually in the middle of the sea, but he can’t get away completely. I’m constantly back and forth messaging him.”

Francesca now works freelance rather than being based at a yard. Although she is probably best known as Tom McEwen’s groom for five years, she honed her skills working at Carl Hester and Charlotte’s yard at the start of her career. While she was at Hartpury College, she worked for them part-time for nearly three years, which is where Alan became something of a mentor.

“I annoyed Alan, asking so many questions about everything,” she says. “I learnt so much – Alan is always cool and calm, that’s his priority, as well as enjoying it. In my experience, too, there’s no point getting stressed because you’re not going to be much help to anyone. I did my first championships with Tom, and I learnt a lot how to deal with my own emotions and keep a lid on them.”

Whether it’s nature or nurture, Francesca certainly seems to have the right temperament for the job. It’s rare to hear someone who has groomed for an event rider say they don’t get nervous on cross-country day.

“If you get nervous it means you’ve got a worry, but I have been lucky to work for talented riders and I know they’re capable. I’m laid-back, and I don’t hide away not watching – I’m like, ‘Let me see!’ I love cross-country day. I love all the TLC, when they’ve gone out and done their bit and worked really hard, and it’s your job to pamper them like the prince or princess they are.

“The dressage is a different intensity. Everything has to be so perfect, and then it’s the horse and rider’s job to take over and do their job, and you’re just there for minor details that need tweaking. People always ask me which is my first love, but I genuinely love both disciplines. Dressage probably pips eventing slightly, just because I love the glitz and glam, that you can make the horses so perfect and pretty. And there’s no mud – we didn’t have to be towed on here, there are concrete paths!”

‘I believe in letting horses rest’: Charlotte Dujardin’s groom Francesca Gorni

As for the pressure of working for a dressage superstar?

“I’m loving it,” Francesca says. “Lucy Scudamore, who works for Carl, did a lot of the legwork, and Carl and Charlotte are lovely as always. I’m lucky I used to work for them. Team GB is incredible to be a part of, every championships is astounding, all bases are covered. The stables are lovely too, with Tokyo vibes.”

Imhotep sounds like a paragon of virtue. As a freelance groom, the challenge is to get to know the horses and riders’ likes and dislikes really quickly. It didn’t take long to work out Imhotep – aka Pete – loves sugar lump treats.

“He’s really sweet, such a character,” she says. “He is hot to ride, but he saves that for Charlotte. With me he’s nice, though he drags me round the stables a bit. He has three white socks, but he’s very clean so he’s easy to look after.”

Pete usually spends a lot of time in the field at home, so Francesca takes him out for leg stretches and grazing in the mornings and evenings when it is cool.

“You have to have attention to detail, and I’m a firm believer in letting them rest at an away show as there is a lot of hustle and bustle,” she says. “The heat this week has sent us a slight curve ball to the usual grazing routine, so we are getting them out while the temperature is cool, early and late.”

And a grooming tip? “I do like plaiting. Eventers like lots of little ones whereas dressage is much more based on the horse and what the rider believes is right. It is much more about the presentation and how you can get the most marks for their conformation, so the plaits matter. Naturally I seem to end up with 14, whereas with the eventers it might be 16. My bugbear is dirty manes – you want the mane squeaky-clean, and I use NAF Plait It Up.”

You may also enjoy reading…

(Image credit: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud Media)

Carl Hester’s Euros groom Lucy Scudamore on self-belief, staying calm in a crisis and why she could ‘feed the entire showground’

(Image credit: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud Media)

‘If I never ride another test, that would be a nice note to finish on’: Carl Hester soars into the lead at the dressage Europeans

(Image credit: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud Media)

‘A real one for Paris’: Aachen grand prix result boosts Charlotte Dujardin’s Olympic hopes

(Image credit: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud Media)

Is this the dressage team flying under the radar on the eve of Paris Olympics?

(Image credit: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud Media)

Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the European dressage action. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.

‘They still know how to own the arena’: watch Valegro and Uthopia strutting their stuff in retirement

Polly Bryan — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 07:02:03 +0000

Valegro and Uthopia are without a doubt two of the most-loved dressage horses of all time. The Olympic and European gold medallists, now aged 21 and 22 respectively, are living the dream retirement with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin – but once in a while, they like to prove that they still have that star quality.

Charlotte has released a video from 2022 of her and Carl, riding Valegro and Uthopia at home in Gloucestershire, simultaneously performing a line of 18 one-time changes, and it’s pretty impressive.

Posted by on

“Just before I was pregnant, Carl and I [had] some fun on these two stars, who even now, know how to own the arena,” said Charlotte.

Indeed, both Valegro (Blueberry) and Uthopia (Uti) look to relish the opportunity to remind us all just why they have earned their status as legends of the dressage world.

Blueberry, of course, took the dressage world by storm, winning back-t0-back individual Olympic golds with Charlotte Dujardin in 2012 and 2016, smashing world records left, right and centre along the way.

Uti and Carl were also on the Olympic gold medal-winning British team in 2012, as well as winning team gold and double individual silver the year before, at the 2011 European Championships in Rotterdam.

Super-groom Alan Davies – who will take a step back from his full-time job with Carl and Charlotte this year – has ridden Blueberry and Uti on a regular basis throughout their retirement to date, keeping them fit and enjoying life with plenty of hacking.

“They’re amazing to hack, they really are. Valegro is like a police horse. I love riding him so much, and he loves it,” Alan told H&H. “He loves going out round the roads or the fields, chatting to the neighbours, chatting to the cows on the next farm and anyone can ride him.

“Uthopia is still quite bouncy, so you do have to have your wits about you. He can get quite excited and likes to do some piaffe and passage sometimes, but he’s not spooky and he is a joy to hack too. They’re both good in traffic and they both still feel amazing. They’re a great joy to look after.”

Alan Davies on top horses’ personalities and why it’s so important to know their quirks

Polly Bryan — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 16:32:37 +0000

How well do you know your horses’ personalities? When it comes to horse management advice, there’s few people more knowledgeable than Alan Davies, long-time groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, and he puts a lot of emphasis on learning about horses’ personalities, and getting to know their individual character traits.

“It’s been a really important part of my job, to get to know every individual horse inside out and learn their characteristics,” explains Alan, who recently announced his plans to step back from his full-time role.

“It is a huge part of horse management and it means you can tell if they’re on form, or not quite themselves, or if something is wrong.

“I have always made sure I am the one who mucks out the competition horses who I take away to shows, as I think it’s a really good opportunity to spend time with them. You can really watch them, and get to know their quirks and facial expressions,” adds Alan, on episode 41 of The Horse & Hound Podcast.

“I like to watch them in the field too, from a distance. It is fascinating, and endlessly entertaining too.”

So what are some of the individual characteristics of the top dressage horses Alan has cared for over the years working with Carl and Charlotte?

“Valegro, aka Blueberry, is a huge character but he always liked his own space. Every now and again he just wanted to go to his stable, dunk his hay in his water, make a mess and be a horse,” says Alan. “I used to have to make sure that he got that time on his own when we went away. He loved the crowds, the performing, the attention, but I had to let him have space to muck about in his stable and just do his own thing.”

Mount St John Freestyle, the mare who followed Valegro as Charlotte Dujardin’s next top grand prix horse, was very different, according to Alan.

“Freestyle is this feisty lady who is always busy and nosy and into everyone else’s business,” he laughs. “She loved attention and she’d put her own headcollar and tack on if she could.”

On his many years travelling with top horses around the world, Alan has had the chance to see how certain horses’ personalities and character traits are passed down through lines. He explained that Charlotte’s Tokyo Olympics double medallist Gio (Pumpkin), who was sold to the Pidgley family in 2021, shared a certain habit with his sire, the late stallion Apache.

“Pumpkin was always quiet in his stable, but in the cross ties he would paw at the ground and stamp his feet if he thought he wasn’t getting enough attention, and could be a bit bratty,” recalls Alan. “His dad Apache was on the plane with us to the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018, and I noticed that he pawed and banged his feet in exactly the same way his son does.”

Carl Hester’s top horse, his Olympic and European medallist En Vogue, has a very different personality again.

“Vogue is quite shy, and when he comes in from the field in the morning, he likes to go straight into his stable without any fuss or bother,” reveals Alan. “His stable is in the courtyard without a huge amount of traffic going past, which suits him. He likes to have his breakfast, then have some peace and quiet and a snooze. When you go in to get him ready to ride, you’ll always find him at the back of the stable, or at the side, not at the door,”

What are your horse’s unique characteristics and personality traits, and how do you recognise them? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com

‘Valegro used to love it’: Alan Davies on flying horses around the world – and exactly what happens

Polly Bryan — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 13:02:37 +0000

Among the many responsibilities Alan Davies has had as a groom, flying horses around the world has become one of his specialist areas of expertise. In fact Alan, who will this year step back from his role as full-time groom to Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester, estimates that he has been flying horses for about 30 years.

Things have changed somewhat in that time.

“My first flight was out to New York with some showjumpers and in those times we used to load them into the plane and build crates around them,” revealed Alan, on episode 18 of The Horse & Hound Podcast. “We could also have any number of people on the plane, sitting anywhere. I remember sleeping with the horses under a Witney blanket going to and from America.”

Now though, horse flights take a limited number of people, usually nine, with everyone being required to stay seated with a seatbelt on during takeoff and landing, and to carry oxygen masks in case of an emergency.

The restrictions on numbers mean that grooms often take responsibility for several horses on a flight, with Alan taking charge of all the British team horses when flying out to Tokyo for the Olympics in 2021, and before that the USA for the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

What does flying horses on planes involve?

So what does flying horses actually involve?

“The whole procedure starts from home, and I usually leave the day before to drive the horses to Liege in Belgium, where the flights leave from,” explains Alan. “They have really nice stabling there so we arrive the night before and I give the horses a walk when we get there.

“They bring the crates – which basically look like two-horse trailers – to the loading bay, which is a massive room that is padded and matted to make it safe for the horses. There’s a complex schedule for which horses go with which others in the crates, and the guys from the shipping agency go round talking to the grooms about it.

“The horses get loaded into the crates from the loading bay, then the ramps get put up, three crates are linked together and they get towed by a tractor out onto the tarmac,” continues Alan. “It can be quite noisy, with rattling crates and other planes coming in, so sometimes I plug their ears, or put ear covers on.

“Then they are pushed onto a hydraulic lift, which lifts them up the side of the plane, and pushed along some runners into the plane. The whole thing is quite a feat really, and can take four to five hours.”

Alan Davies: ‘Flying horses involves a lot of camaraderie’

Once on board the plane, Alan says that flying is actually quite a peaceful experience, explaining that all the grooms, vets and riders travelling work together to help keep all the horses on board happy and safe.

“There’s real camaraderie on flights,” he says.

“Up in the air, it’s quite peaceful, and usually there’s air con. There’s not much space in the crates, so I usually take a spare headcollar and rope, a bit of feed, a canister of water and lots of carrots and apples. The other equipment goes in trunks below.”

L-R: Valegro settling into a flight, Alan with Mount St John Freestyle en route to the 2018 World Equestrian Games, Valegro leaving for the World Cup Final in Las Vegas 2015 (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Alan has flown with many horses over his long career, and explains that they all react quite differently to the experience, while generally coping very well.

“It’s amazing how well horses cope with it all – they’re such amazing creatures, with the things we ask them to do.

“When we flew to Tryon in 2018, I was worried about Hawtins Delicato, but he put himself in the crate with his head in the corner and once I hung up a haynet he was fine. But Mount St John Freestyle was a nosy madam, a right curtain switcher and she was always trying to look out. She got a right shock when she saw the planes on the tarmac – her eyes were out on stalks.

“It was always something I loved about Valegro – he trusted me implicitly to take him around the world,” adds Alan. “We travelled around 75,000km together. I had to take him on different trucks and boats and trains and planes, and he just trusted me every time, following me into the crates at the airport and never questioning that he was going to be fine.

“Valegro actually used to love flying. It was just me and him and we’d be off on an adventure and he got to eat lots. Especially on the long flight to Rio for the Olympics in 2016, I’m sure he was thinking, ‘Daddy’s here, with a bag of carrots – this is the life’.”

‘I sobbed all the way up the centre line’: Alan Davies’ highlights from his time as Valegro’s super-groom

Polly Bryan — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 16:32:50 +0000

Alan Davies is one of the most well-known and widely recognised grooms in the world, thanks in part to his years spent looking after the legendary Valegro. Under Charlotte Dujardin, Valegro became the most successful dressage horse of all time, and Alan Davies was by his side throughout his meteoric rise.

With the news that Alan will be stepping back from his full-time role caring for Carl Hester and Charlotte’s top horses in 2023, we share some of his favourite highlights from his career and time spent as super-groom to Valegro, known at home as Blueberry.

Hagen CDI4* 2012

Just one year in to their international career, Charlotte and Valegro set a new world record of 88.02% for the grand prix special.

“We took Blueberry to Hagen mostly just for extra experience in the run-up to the Olympics – breaking the record that had been set by Totilas was totally unexpected,” reveals Alan. “He and Charlotte did the most incredible test, and Carl and I held our breath throughout. I can picture Blueberry’s one-time changes even now – they were huge, so forward, so beautiful, and he just had the biggest smile on face.”

London Olympics 2012

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Just a year after Alan first landed the job, he found himself the groom to the Olympic champions. Charlotte and Valegro led Britain to gold in London, as well as winning the individual gold medal.

“The medal ceremony was a bit of a blur really,” admits Alan. “Out in the collecting ring it was mayhem – we knew it was gold, but we weren’t really sure how the prize-giving was going to work. I remember Charlotte saying to me, ‘Please come in with me, I want you in there with me’. It wasn’t until we got Blueberry back to the stables afterwards that we properly realised what had just happened.”

World Equestrian Games (WEG) 2014

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Charlotte and Valegro became world champions, but this time the prize-giving it etched in detail on Alan’s mind – for reasons he never expected.

“I’ll never forget a moment during the individual prize-giving at WEG,” he says. “The podium faced the press down one long side, but as the girls were getting their medals on the podium, and we grooms were standing behind with the horses, I heard someone call my name from the other side of the stadium. I turned, and walked with Blueberry over to the stands on that side and the crowd went crazy: waving flags, clapping, cheering, shouting his name, shouting my name. It was amazing to see how many people really appreciated grooms and the importance of our role behind the scenes.”

Las Vegas World Cup Final 2015

Charlotte and Valegro claimed their second consecutive World Cup title with 94.19%, and Alan describes the experience of competing in Vegas as “completely surreal”.

“You could hear a pin drop at the start of their test, but as it went on you could hear the crowd start to buzz, then they were all clapping along at the end,” he recalls. “It was amazing to see how much they got behind Charlotte and of course Blueberry loved it – the bigger the crowd the better for him.”

Rio Olympics 2016

As well as securing team silver for Britain, Charlotte and Valegro retained their Olympic title on what was their final competitive outing, and it was an especially emotional occasion for Alan Davies.

“There was a lot of pressure on the pair of them in Rio. Just before she went into the arena for the freestyle was the first time I ever saw Charlotte slightly nervous,” he says. “I told her to take a deep breath, that she’d be fine.

Charlotte Dujardin GBR winner of the gold medal during the Grand Prix Freestyle for the individual Dressage competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro near Rio, Brazil on 15th August 2016 kisses kiss valegro (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“We had to walk down a ramp to get into the arena and as we did Blueberry heard the crowd clapping and I just saw him lift as he completely went into performance mode, as if to say ‘Come on Charlotte’. And they were foot perfect. He tried so hard, put his heart and soul into it, listened to her on every step, and was perfectly on the beat of the music – it was just a joy to watch. That horse has the biggest heart, and he really showed it that day.”

Valegro’s retirement ceremony at Olympia 2016

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro during Valegro carl hester and alan davies being interviewed retirement ceremony during the Olympia International Horse Show at Olympia, London, UK; on 14 December 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“It was Simon Brooks-Ward’s idea that I should lead Valegro into the last part of the retirement ceremony,” says Alan. “I had stay in the collecting ring on my own with him while they were doing interviews in the ring, and I was in pieces. I felt the tears coming and tried to pull myself together.

“But as the curtains opened, the noise from the crowd, the absolute love I felt from them for this horse, meant that I sobbed all the way up the centre line. It was tears of joy that he was going out at the top, that he was just the most phenomenal horse and everyone loved him – walking in there together, him and me, was the most incredible moment of my life.

“He and I had been all around the world together; he’s trusted me to take him to all these places, and I felt so honoured that he loved and trusted me enough to walk with me up the centre line at Olympia.”

You may also enjoy…

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro with Carl Hester and Alan Davies during Valegro retirement ceremony during the Olympia International Horse Show at Olympia, London, UK; on 14 December 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

‘Carl said we might be going to the Olympics – I thought that sounded fun!’ How Alan Davies landed the world’s best grooming gig

Team Hester’s blog: Shedding tears while in the main arena at Olympia with Valegro

Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin's travelling groom, Alan Davies, recalls the emotional moment Valegro retired from competition at Olympia

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Carl Hester: ‘Our legendary groom Alan Davies may be stepping back, but I’m not…’

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

‘One of the greatest creatures God ever created’: Watch Olympia’s emotional Valegro retirement video

Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin, Alan Davies, Natasha Baker and Claire Balding are among those to pay tribute to the dressage

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Carl Hester: ‘Our legendary groom Alan Davies may be stepping back, but I’m not…’

Carl Hester — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 10:32:50 +0000

Carl Hester on why Glamourdale’s progress means he looks set to stay on top of years to come, plus a significant change for Carl’s yard in 2023

You might think that 20 minutes is a very short time to deliver a presentation on what dressage is all about. But the Dressage Unwrapped masterclass at the London International Horse Show just before Christmas, which I was lucky enough to be a part of again, made me realise that in that time you can at least deliver a small portion of what’s happening when you ride, at whichever stage of training you’re at, and convey what is good enough for that stage.

With Dickie Waygood, Anne van Olst, Richard Davison and me each covering different stages, we were able to show what to expect at each level. The art of training horses is to know what is good for each stage. It was fantastic to see Richard’s simple instruction on flying changes, Dickie’s use of poles to improve suppleness and accuracy, and Anne training Lottie Fry on Valegro’s “nephew” Nalegro, by Painted Black out of his full sister Jalegrofleur. It seems to me that the Van Olsts have bred a never-ending supply of brilliant horses.

The scales of training

Lottie’s winning freestyle on Glamourdale in the FEI World Cup qualifier at London was certainly technically better than their gold medal-winning performance five months ago at the World Dressage Championships.

Progress at this level is about more strength and better collection, and their piaffe and pirouettes reflected better balance, with a generally more uphill impression shown throughout. Glamourdale looks set to be at the top of the world for many years to come, if all goes well.

Winter training for all of us is geared towards moving up towards the next level. As any rider will tell you, straightness for a dressage horse is a lifetime’s work, and it’s one of the basics to which we must pay attention.

The scales of training, if you need a reminder, are rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection. These are the building blocks of dressage. Always remember to be satisfied with what your horse can give you for its stage of training.

Thank you, Alan

The really big change for this year at our yard is that Alan Davies is stepping back from his full-time work as groom for us. As well as Charlotte Dujardin and I benefiting from his experience over all these years, Alan has become a well-known personality, a legend even, in his own right. This is not only for his superb turnout skills, and expertise when it comes to travelling our horses around the world, but for his own grooming range, talks and demos across the country, which have made him one of the most recognisable faces in the world of grooming. He and others have brought the profession to new levels of recognition and equality.

He went from hunt service to caring for international showjumpers, to joining our team in 2011, just as Valegro and Uthopia were launching onto the international stage. Then there is his success showing his miniature Shetlands and teaching the now Princess of Wales to ride; the experience Alan has accumulated over 30 years to become a “super-groom” can never be overlooked.

For the past three Olympics, we’ve had medal success, so missing a key member of that team is going to feel very odd in 2023 and beyond. We hope that Alan will still advise and travel with our horses to shows in a part-time capacity, but life on the yard is going to be very strange without his constant presence.

I know I said in my book Making it Happen that, as we’re of the same vintage, if Alan were to retire it would mean I would have to, but just to be clear, that isn’t about to happen.

● What would you like to see in masterclasses at big shows? Did you see Dressage Unwrapped? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com

This exclusive column will also be available in read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 12 January, 2023

Alan Davies stepping back from role as ‘super-groom’ to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin

Polly Bryan — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 19:59:48 +0000

Alan Davies has shared his plans to take a step back from his job as head groom for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin in 2023.

Alan joined Carl and Charlotte in 2011, and has been a constant and hugely popular figure within the team that has dominated British dressage in the years since. But from this year, Alan, 56, will no longer work full-time as a groom, explaining that there are a variety of reasons behind his decision.

“I’m getting older and I feel tired – I think I need a bit of a break,” he told H&H.

“The past three years have been quite tough, both on a personal level and with work. We have had major championships cancelled and postponed, and 2021 was a really tough year, with the Tokyo Olympics and then the European Championships just a few weeks later. It took more out of me than I realised at the time,” explained Alan, who has now seen Carl and/or Charlotte’s horses through a total of 12 major championships: six Europeans, three world championships and three Olympics.

“The dynamics in the yard are changing a bit this year, with Charlotte being pregnant, and so it seems like an appropriate time to start thinking sensibly about my own future,” he added.

“Of course it hasn’t been an easy decision – Valegro and Uthopia are my absolute sweethearts and it’ll be heartbreaking not to see them every day – but Carl and Charlotte have both been very supportive.”

Alan hopes that stepping back from the intensity of his full-time grooming role will give him more time to focus on other things, including educational projects around grooming and horse management, as well as showing his Shetland ponies.

“People keep talking about me writing books, both about my life and horse management; maybe I’ll have time to have a think about that,” he said.

“I also want to see the younger generation of grooms taking over the mantle and moving forward with passion and drive for the profession. As a founding member of the International Grooms Association and ambassador for the British Grooms Association, I’m very proud of what we have achieved in this country and how things are improving for those within the grooming industry, but it’s time for others to take the momentum forward and run with it,” said Alan, adding that he will always offer help and support to the industry, but with a less hands-on approach.

Alan Davies is not retiring from his role altogether, and will remain involved with Carl, Charlotte and the horses.

“I expect I will probably pop up at the odd championship here and there,” he laughed. “I plan to still pop into the yard and help where I can – and I expect I’ll still be hacking out on Wednesday afternoons.”

Organisers praised as grooms put to the forefront at World Championships

Becky Murray — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 16:12:36 +0000

Grooms were at the forefront of the FEI World Championships in Herning (6–14 August), as “important strides” were made.

The Herning organising committee has been praised for “setting a new standard” for grooms, with highlights including a dedicated lounge at the stable area, an exclusive restaurant with “grab-and-go” options, recognition of grooms on screens during the competition, and grooms taking part in prize-giving ceremonies for the first time.

Herning was Charlotte Dujardin’s groom Alan Davies’ 20th major championship and he said the organising committee “tried so hard”.

“They stabled all the teams together, which is always really good at a championship. A WhatsApp group was created and the stable manager put any information we needed and there were at least three or four messages a day keeping us updated,” he told H&H.

“The restaurant was one of the best I’ve ever seen, this is my 12th championship in a row and the food was tip-top. They did fantastic buffets and supplied eco-friendly boxes so you could take food away, and there was always fresh fruit and salad available.”

Alan added that the recognition on the televised screen – each groom was pictured along with each horse and rider – “meant a lot”, and said the event was a “massive improvement” on previous ones he had been to.

“It’s all going in the right direction. If we can really get the International Grooms Association [IGA] off the ground [news, 5 May] and get people to listen, and if there can be more communication between the organisers, the FEI and grooms, then we can keep [the standard] up to a level, which it is getting to,” he said.

“Herning did a really good job and the level of care for grooms is getting better, but it’s going to be keeping those standards up that’s difficult. The cost of living is creeping up, so it’s not going to be easy.”

The IGA, which launched at the end of April, met the Herning organising committee before the championships, and IGA executive director Lucy Katan told H&H she was “delighted” with their “forward-thinking approach”.

“Historically, many shows plan everything and then say, ‘and the grooms’, as kind of an afterthought, but that was not the case here. The organising committee really put the grooms at the forefront of their planning and it created such a different atmosphere of positivity,” she said.

The championships’ sport chief executive Jens Trabjerg confirmed to H&H the committee was “let down at the last minute” with the accommodation, but this was “solved” on 3 August. He added that the committee was “very pleased and proud of the many positive comments” they received.

Alan, who opted to stay in a horsebox with Gareth Hughes’ groom Steph Sharples, said the accommodation was a “bit of a problem” but the committee tried to resolve the issue.

“I feel for them that it went wrong on that level because everything else they were trying so hard to do right for us,” he said.

An FEI spokesman told H&H “important strides” were made at Herning.

“The organising committee was extremely proactive and dedicated to setting a new standard for grooms, which at many levels they achieved. While we fully acknowledge there were some challenges – such as the accommodation – these were resolved in the best possible way given the situation,” he said.

“It was a big team effort with the organising committee, IGA and FEI working together in the build-up and throughout the championship to fulfil a shared vision whereby grooms got the recognition they fully deserved.”

The spokesman added there will be a “thorough debrief” with stakeholders, and the FEI will continue to liaise with the IGA on all matters regarding grooms.

‘Always my one in a million’: Charlotte Dujardin’s tribute to Valegro on his 20th birthday

Polly Bryan — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 14:37:32 +0000

Charlotte Dujardin has honoured Valegro on his 20th birthday with a video of her and the double Olympic champion in action together at home in Gloucestershire.

Charlotte shared the video of Valegro, who turned 20 years old on 5 July, performing a relaxed piaffe from earlier this year, and saying, “20 years old and always my one in a million.”

A photo posted by on

Together, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, who was bred in the Netherlands by Joop and Maartje Hanse, and bought from Gertjan Van Olst by Carl Hester in 2005, rewrote dressage history. They led Britain to the nation’s first dressage team gold medal at London 2012, also winning individual gold, before becoming European and world champions in the years following, setting several world records – that still stand – along the way. Their final competition together was the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they retained their Olympic title, winning gold once again.

The great horse was retired in December 2016 in an emotional ceremony at Olympia, but he has remained very much in the public eye, attending demonstrations and enjoying meeting fans at home.

Valegro – who is known as Blueberry at home – is still ridden regularly, mostly by Alan Davies who, as Carl and Charlotte’s groom, accompanied them around the world throughout the height of Valegro’s career.

“I try to keep them both fit and well and happy, and ticking over,” said Alan, referring to Valegro and Carl’s London 2012 gold medallist Uthopia, now 21. “I love them to bits and I do get told off sometimes for spending a bit too much time with them, brushing and generally pampering them. But they deserve it.

“They’re amazing to hack, they really are. Valegro is like a police horse. I love riding him so much, and he loves it – you have to kick to come home on him!

“He loves going out round the roads or the fields, chatting to the neighbours, chatting to the cows on the next farm and anyone can ride him,” Alan says.

Alan Davies on hacking Valegro and Uthopia – and why he doesn’t like Carl and Charlotte riding them

Polly Bryan — Sun, 29 May 2022 12:02:40 +0000

Can you believe it’s been six years since Valegro made us all cry (again) as he stood with groom Alan Davies, owner Carl Hester and rider Charlotte Dujardin and gazed around at the Olympia crowds during his retirement ceremony in 2016? The great horse, who won 14 championship medals, including three Olympic golds, is now 20 years old and still living out his blissful retirement at Carl’s Gloucestershire yard.

Valegro and his London 2012 teammate Uthopia, the now 21-year-old stallion ridden to huge success by Carl, are cared for on a daily basis by head groom Alan Davies, who still relishes every moment he spends with “the two favourites of all time”.

“I still feed them first in the morning and muck them out, keep them clipped in the winter and ride them every day,” he reveals on episode 104 of The Horse & Hound Podcast. “I try to keep them both fit and well and happy, and ticking over. I love them to bits and I do get told off sometimes for spending a bit too much time with them, brushing and generally pampering them. But they deserve it.”

They may be “happy hackers” nowadays, but the Negro gelding Valegro and Metall stallion Uthopia even excel at that job, according to Alan.

“They’re amazing to hack, they really are. Valegro is like a police horse. I love riding him so much, and he loves it – you have to kick to come home on him!

“He loves going out round the roads or the fields, chatting to the neighbours, chatting to the cows on the next farm and anyone can ride him,” Alan says.

“Uthopia is still quite bouncy even though he’s 21 now, so you do have to have your wits about you. He can get quite excited and likes to do some piaffe and passage sometimes, but he’s not spooky and he is a joy to hack too. They’re both good in traffic and they both still feel amazing. They’re a great joy to look after.”

And what about Carl and Charlotte – how often do they get back on board this pair of superstars?

“Occasionally Carl and Charlotte get on them, but I try to keep them to myself most of the time,” laughs Alan. “I don’t really like anyone else riding them and I like to do it myself. If they get on, they tend to want to start doing one-time changes and piaffe-passage and I don’t think the horses need to do too much of that anymore, so I try to keep them off them!”

The Horse & Hound Podcast 104: Super-groom to Carl Hester & Charlotte Dujardin, Alan Davies | The smelly side of being a vet | News round-up

Gemma Redrup — Thu, 26 May 2022 05:45:34 +0000

In our 104th weekly episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, supported by NAF, H&H’s Polly Bryan talks to super-groom Alan Davies, who works for dressage royalty Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. On this week’s episode he reminisces about Valero’s retirement ceremony and more. H&H’s Pippa Roome and the H&H team then discuss making decisions on vet treatment of horses, a boost of government money to improve participation in horse sport and a new British Dressage system for training judges. Finally, we’ll hear from two vets; Rick Farr from Farr & Pursey Equine and the Royal Veterinary College’s Andy Fiske-Jackson. They give us a light-hearted look into the smelly side of a vet’s life. We hope you’ll enjoy listening.

Episode 104 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, supported by NAF, our popular audio service available every Thursday morning for our H&H digital subscribers, is now live.

Each episode is available for all H&H fans to listen to via your favourite podcast app 24hrs after its early release to our H&H digital subscribers. Search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your preferred podcast app and click subscribe to be notified about each new episode. This will allow more listeners to make The Horse & Hound Podcast an essential part of their week on Friday morning.

View all episodes of The Horse & Hound Podcast

“That was some emotional rollercoaster – they didn’t tell me until the last minute that they wanted me to lead him in on my own – the thought of doing that with him was just unbelievable” – Alan Davies on the moment Valegro was retired

H&H’s Pippa Roome and the H&H team then discuss making decisions on vet treatment of horses, a boost of government money to improve participation in horse sport and a new British Dressage system for training judges.

“One of the topics at the conference asked the question ‘where is the line in the sand when it comes to treating horses?’” – H&H’s senior news writer Lucy Elder on making decisions on vet treatment of horses

Finally, we’ll hear from two vets; Rick Farr from Farr & Pursey Equine and the Royal Veterinary College’s Andy Fiske-Jackson. They give us a light-hearted look into the smelly side of a vet’s life.

“That smell lingers in the back of your nose and you can wash off but still everyone is looking at you wondering what it is” – Rick Farr

We would love to hear your feedback on all our podcasts, so please do send your thoughts to pippa.roome@futurenet.com

Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 104

Listen now to other recent episodes of The Horse & Hound Podcast…

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 103: Laura Collett on winning Badminton | Royal Windsor review | Life as a vet | News round-up

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 102: Scott Brash | Badminton review | News round-up | Bitting

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 101: Showing’s Sharn Linney | Kentucky | Badminton | Latest news | Bit advice

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 100: Dressage rider Becky Moody | Bit materials | News round-up

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast 99: Top showjumper Holly Smith | Winter Dressage Championships | Bridle design | News round-up

‘Carl said we might be going to the Olympics – I thought that sounded fun!’ How Alan Davies landed the world’s best grooming gig

Polly Bryan — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 13:32:53 +0000

Alan Davies is well known for being the third member of the dressage dream team that have propelled much of Britain’s extraordinary success in the sport over the past decade. As head groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, he was the man in charge of caring for Olympic gold medallists Valegro and Uthopia, as well Carl and Charlotte’s more recent superstars, from Nip Tuck to Mount John Freestyle, to their 2021 medallists En Vogue and Gio.

But how did Alan Davies come to work for Carl in the first place, and was being an international dressage groom always his aim in life?

In a word, the answer is no – he didn’t actually start riding until he was about 10, and his first venture into horses was through the world of hunting.

“My parents were desperate to get me out of the house as a child and do some outdoor activities. My brother was very sporty and I wasn’t – I just had no interest in sports,” says Alan. “My parents owned a Post Office and general stores near Cambridge and they got friendly with the girls from the local hunt yard, who used to come in to get their lunch. The girls at the Puckeridge and Thurlow said to send me over and they’d get me mucking out, so they took me under their wing.

“I found it all fascinating – I loved it! For months I wasn’t allowed to touch a horse; I would sweep up, grind the oats, fill haynets, make up the banks on the straw beds while the horses were out on exercise and fold the jute rugs and Witney blankets. I still use Witney blankets to this day actually.

“At that time, around 40 years ago, hunt service was a serious profession and big business. I had head girls who were real sticklers for cleanliness and fitness and looking after horses’ legs, and I was totally encapsulated by the whole thing. I’d stay late at night, after the horses came back covered with mud, and spend hours cleaning all the tack. It gave me such a good grounding.”

From hunt service, Alan moved into the showjumping world, landing a job grooming out in Florida, which he says gave him more invaluable education.

“I thought, ‘Wow, the chance to look after horses and travel’ – it was a no brainer,” explains Alan.

“I did four winters in Florida and had a blast. I had no clue what I was doing, really, but I worked with some of the best trainers and vets and farriers, and learned so much – how to bandage properly, and icing legs. The science of really taking care of horses’ legs was developing in the US at that time and I was there for it, flying showjumpers back and forth across the Atlantic,” says Alan.

“Luckily I always wanted to learn so I was always questioning things, and that would hold me in good stead for later in life when I would be looking after the most famous dressage horses in the world. I still hark back to those years now – if I’m having a problem with something now, I think, ‘What would I have done back then?’.”

Alan Davies: ‘I just love beautiful animals’

From showjumping, Alan Davies moved to showing, competing successfully himself as well as grooming, and he says he still has a soft spot for the sport

“I love beautiful animals, it doesn’t matter what type. I love seeing them turned out beautifully, and going beautifully,” he says.

Alan first met Carl at the World Equestrian Games in 1990 – Carl’s first championship – had later had dressage lessons with him on various show horses.

“He asked me a couple of times over the years whether I’d come and work for him, and for various reasons it never happened. But then he called me at the end of 2010 and said he had two upcoming grand prix horses who were going to be very good, that they were going to some shows in the south of France and did I fancy getting away from the winter and coming with them.

“I just thought, ‘Yeah, alright, why not?’” laughs Alan.

Those two horses were, of course, Valegro and Uthopia, and after accompanying them to shows at Vidauban while still working freelance, Alan ended up joining Carl and Charlotte as they competed at Saumur and Hagen in 2011, during the build up to the European Championships in Rotterdam, where Britain would win a euphoric team gold.

“People were starting to take notice of Carl on Uthopia and Charlotte on Valegro, and so one day Carl sat me down and said, ‘We’d like you to stay on full-time. We might be going to the Olympics!’ I thought that sounded like fun, to spend a year with them in the run-up to London 2012. Little did I know that 10 years later I’d still be here, and what would happen in that time…”

Hovis’ Friday Diary: bringing out the big guns to curtail my diva tendencies

Hovis — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 06:45:26 +0000

Dear Diary

So last week I took you up to the evening of the Saturday of Your Horse Is Alive where I made a triumphant return to the place I was born to be – in the main arena, in front of hundreds of adoring fans – unfortunately with the mothership both in attendance and on the microphone. Honestly the sooner I get rid of the untalented one of our duo, the better…

Sunday morning dawned bright and early as my mate Vinnie the security guard came round at zero dark thirty for cuddles and a chat, but it was another hour before my minions turned up with my breakfast – something which to be honest displeased me immensely. I thus decided that I wasn’t feeling the most co-operative for the remainder of the morning and that a star like myself is entitled to behave like a diva when I wish. Look if it’s good enough for Mariah then it’s good enough for me, right?

Note to self; Mariah clearly doesn’t have a mother like mine…

After I had summarily dragged my Aunty Mary from one side of the stage to the other during my morning grooming demo, refused to stand still for Aunty Em to demonstrate various products, tried to take a chunk out of mother’s very ample derriere whilst she was talking poop (only Aunty Mary’s lightening reactions saved the day on that one as mother was totally distracted regaling my adoring

fans with some codswallop about my daily routine) and then steamed through a barrier to share a young girl’s Fanta with her, it’s fair to say I was so far into the dog house that I now answer to fido and roll over on command.

Aunty Mary was bright red from the exertion of trying to hold ¾ tonne of muscled magnificence with only a headcollar, Aunty Em was covered in the chalk I was supposed to be wearing on my legs to the extent that Head and Shoulders offered her a job as a “before” picture, and mother had literal steam pouring from her ears.

I was walked down to the grass at the bottom of the road for a talking to the likes of which my young fans should never have to hear and some suggestion was given to the fact if I didn’t start behaving my life expectancy was going to be measured in minutes. I know at times mother is so thick she makes breeze block look intelligent, but you cannot fault her vocabulary. Admittedly none of it is repeatable, but the sheer volume of words she knows for suggesting that she’s not my number one fan is incredible.

After she had finished venting her spleen, Aunty Mary had got her breath back and Aunty Em had been wiped down such that she didn’t resemble Casper, we headed back to the stables where I meekly met with my fans and tried not to annoy mother any more than I had done thus far.

Lunchtime dawned and I was still alive, which was something to be taken for the win given the mood only hours earlier, and more over a new envoy from Mr Hester arrived. Clearly not happy with the holding statement I had given him the day before on his offer for me to go and coach the British Stressage squad, then he had deployed a big gun – none other than Viagra’s groom himself, Alan

Davies.

Hovis enjoying his NAF Blueberry treats, supplied by Alan Davies. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Alan came to see me (we have met before when Viagra shoved his tongue down my throat several Your Horse is Alives ago – without so much as buying me dinner I hasten to add) and brought gifts. It appears that the tongue fest of 2019 must have been a career high for Viagra as he sent me some of his own new treats – blueberry ones. They were delicious and nearly made up for his rather forward behaviour, but I was still on the fence if this was enough to sway me to the dark side of stressage.

Admittedly Alan was nearly as persuasive as Mr Hester had been the day before and I am very tempted – so anyone reading this from British showjumping or indeed British Eventing had better get a wriggle on with their offer as they might be about to miss the horse lorry here.

I welcome your thoughts on which camp I should gravitate towards in my new coaching role – which one has more mares?

Laters,Hovis

‘Charlotte tricked me!’: British groom Alan Davies on keeping horses cool in Tokyo and an Olympic birthday surprise

Polly Bryan — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 06:32:24 +0000

Wrapping up our mini series chatting to the British dressage grooms out at the Tokyo Olympics, we speak to none other than Alan Davies, groom to Charlotte Dujardin and Gio

Three of the four dressage Tokyo Olympics grooms are Games first-timers, but the fourth, Alan Davies, is far from a rookie. Alan was groom for the wonderful Valegro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as grooming for Emile Faurie at Sydney 2000, and now he is here caring for Charlotte Dujardin’s new Olympic ride, Gio – otherwise known as Pumpkin.

“I still can’t believe we’re actually here at the Olympics,” Alan admitted. “After everything that’s gone on in the last year it’s incredible to be here. The Japanese are so welcoming and they’re trying so hard to make it happen and happen well. The stabling here is amazing, and they’re looking after us really well.

“It’s my fourth Games but for the other British Tokyo Olympics grooms around me [Lucy Scudamore, Steph Sharples and Steven Caley] it’s their first time at an Olympics. So I’m trying to keep them calm, and give them a bit of advice.”

Alan’s responsibilities have gone further than just looking after his sole charge on the ground in Tokyo. Having spent seven days in quarantine with Carl Hester’s En Vogue, Gareth Hughes’ Sintano Van Hof Olympia, and of course Pumpkin, in Leicestershire, he then drove with the horses out to Liège in Belgium, where they joined up with Lottie Fry’s Netherlands-based ride Everdale. Alan travelled on the plane with all four horses to Japan, while the other grooms flew separately, and he admitted that the journey was exhausting.

“I was really tired when we arrived – we drove out to Liège and then it was an 18-hour flight. And when you don’t know the horse, and it’s someone’s Olympic horse, there is pressure [to care for them well]. Up there it’s tough; there’s not much space, you have to keep an eye on each horse, making sure they’re eating and drinking and doing what they normally do as much as possible. It’s not easy but they were amazing.

“Pumpkin is loving it here, and he loved the flight,” added Alan. “Because he’s quite small he had plenty of room in the crate. He’s so chipper, so jolly, he came off the plane really fresh. We were out hand-grazing this morning watching the eventers jumping and galloping nearby, and he thought that was hysterical – his eyes were out on stalks.

“The first couple of days here in the heat his temperature went up quite high, so we did quite a lot of rapid ice cooling. Gradually as the days have gone on, the horses’ bodies are adjusting; their temperatures aren’t going up so high and we’re getting them down quicker too.”

The competition may not have quite got underway when we chatted, but Alan had already had something big to celebrate – even if he was slightly reluctant to do so. Friday, 23 July was not just the date of the Tokyo Olympics dressage trot-up, and opening ceremony; it was also Alan’s birthday.

“I said to everyone I didn’t want any fuss,” he said. “We were busy in the morning with the trot-up, so everyone just crept in and said happy birthday quietly, and I thought I’d got away with it. Then at lunchtime Charlotte told me she wanted to go for ice cream. She said, ‘Can you come with me? Nobody else wants to come.’ I thought it was a bit weird, but I got taken off for ice cream, then we got back to the stables and it all kicked off – there were banners and balloons and cheering. Charlotte tricked me!

“The girls from British Equestrian were so amazing and had a Japanese birthday cake made for me. It was a light sponge with strawberries and cream. It was divine. So it was a very different birthday, but it was very nice, and amazing to think I’m surrounded by all these lovely horses and people for my birthday.”

‘The Olympics is something I’ve always dreamed of’: Carl Hester’s groom Lucy Scudamore on her Tokyo Olympics experience so far

Polly Bryan — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:24:20 +0000

This may be Carl Hester’s sixth Olympics, but for his groom Lucy Scudamore, the Tokyo Olympics is her first Games experience. She is caring for Carl’s ride, the 12-year-old Jazz gelding En Vogue, whose journey through the levels she has witnessed from the very early days.

“I’ve been looking after Vogue at home since he was five, and I’ve always dreamed of the day I would see him at the Olympics,” Lucy said. “Of course these things are never certain, so to actually be here with him is unbelievable. Coming to the Olympics is something I’ve always dreamed of for myself, too – everyone wants to put it on their CV but not many get to write it down. So many grooms get split up from horses as they progress along their journey to the top, so to be with here with Vogue is so special.

En Vogue looks to be enjoying the luxury equine facilities at the Tokyo Olympics (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I’ve seen him on his journey with Charlotte Dujardin [who competed him up to grand prix level before passing the ride to Carl], and now I’ve watched his relationship with Carl reach a pinnacle.

“I love watching Vogue and Carl work together. Vogue is extremely hot and highly strung, whereas Carl is so laid-back and I think that is why they work so well. Vogue is the kindest horse in the world, but he is nervous and needy. He has this massive personality that is starting to really come out now.

“I think I’ll be an emotional wreck by the time he has halted at the end of his test,” added Lucy, admitting she was nearly in tears just talking about it. “There’s so much stress about anything going wrong beforehand that just getting here is a massive achievement, then getting through the trot-up to the competition is another. The actual competition is the cherry on top – once we get there, I’ll have done my job.”

Lucy Scudamore with En Vogue (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Lucy explained that all the British horses travelled well to Tokyo, and are enjoying the super equine facilities, with air-conditioned stables and plenty of access to hand-grazing opportunities. Meanwhile, the four British Tokyo Olympics grooms – who also include Lottie Fry’s groom Steven Caley, Gareth Hughes’ groom Steph Sharples and Charlotte Dujardin’s groom Alan Davies – have accommodation on site.

“We are keeping as tight a circle as possible,” Lucy said. “We are trying to social distance all the time, keeping masks on all the time, and only going into other people’s space if and when we have to.

Dream team: Steph, Alan, Steven and Lucy – the grooms for the British Olympic dressage horses (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I was pleasantly surprised by the onsite accommodation that’s been built for the grooms and other support staff, like the vets. I’m sharing with Steph and Alan is sharing with Steven. Our rooms are decorated with British flags, the showers are powerful and warm, and there’s a ping-pong table in the lobby. What more could we want?”

Over the years, Lucy has learned the ropes of being a top international groom from none other than the brilliant Alan Davies, and says that she couldn’t have asked for a better person to shadow in the job, both at home and at competitions.

“All Alan’s values and tips are instilled in me now. In particular he has taught me how to plait, using his special technique, which is all about how he holds the rubber bands and rolls up the plait. I watch him every time and I’m finally getting it – it looks simple but it’s not!”

‘I’m putting my brave pants on!’ – super groom Alan Davies checks in from pre-Olympic quarantine

Polly Bryan — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 11:24:22 +0000

There is just two weeks to go before the Olympic dressage kicks off at the Tokyo Games, and Britain’s dressage horses have been enjoying a spell in quarantine in Leicestershire before setting off on their journey to Japan early next week.

We catch up with Alan Davies, groom to British Olympic team members Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester, to find out what life has been like in quarantine…

“We’re having a lovely, peaceful time – the facilities are amazing here at the British Showjumping National Training Centre at Melton Mowbray, with beautiful double stables for each horse, lovely arenas and a canter track,” says Alan, explaining that he is looking after both Charlotte’s ride Gio (Pumpkin), and Carl’s ride, En Vogue, as Lucy Scudamore – Carl’s groom for Tokyo – is helping prepare horses at home to compete at the Hartpury Festival of Dressage this weekend.

“The third British team member, Lottie Fry, is based in the Netherlands so her horse, Everdale, is quarantining in Germany, but Gareth Hughes’ groom Steph Sharples is here too, looking after Gareth’s travelling reserve horse Sintano Van Hof Olympia. Steph and I have been to a few championships together over the years, and we’re having a lovely time.

“It has been crazy busy at home recently, with lockdown and all the shows then starting up, so it is nice to come here, take a deep breath and just concentrate on the Olympic horses – and the packing lists! They have already been sent forward to the airlines – we have to list everything in the horses’ trunks, and make sure we don’t add anything else at the last minute,” says Alan.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

The team and reserve riders can come in and out to ride the horses during the eight-day quarantine – while abiding by strict quarantine measures – but in between, Alan has been hacking Pumpkin and Vogue, and enjoying the canter track.

“I’m putting my brave pants on!” laughs Alan. “I like someone to hold the horses for me while I get on, but then I get into the “Lucinda Green” safety position with my legs forward, and off I go!

“The horses are both being really good, and they love all the extra attention. It’s funny how they blossom when they’re no longer at home among many others, but instead getting masses of attention. I can see them really enjoying themselves, and Pumpkin definitely knows he’s special.

“We leave here at the beginning of next week and Lucy will join me then to help load the horses. I will be picked up by a commercial ‘sealed’ truck, that has been disinfected, and that will take me and horses to Liège in Belgium, with one of the vets following behind us in a car. The journey should take 10 to 11 hours, and from there we fly to Tokyo!”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

‘I have half the British team on my lorry – get out the way!’: Groom Alan Davies on prepping for an Olympics

Polly Bryan — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 15:24:39 +0000

Games fever has set in, with the start of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics now less than a month away. While riders are focusing on fine-tuning their horses’ schooling and fitness, as well as their own, the all-important grooms are embarking on the daunting prospect that is packing and planning for the trip.

We caught up with Alan Davies, groom to Olympic dressage hopefuls Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester, to get an idea of what goes into this mammoth task.

“I started creating packing lists last week – they run to between 150 and 200 items per horse,” Alan revealed.

“The team have trunks supplied for them, which all stack nicely on the plane and can be easily loaded and unloaded. We get roughly a 200kg allowance per horse.

“Within that I have to include all the tack, numnahs, bandages, competition gear, feed, supplements, shampoo, sprays – everything they’ll need. Some of the riders’ things are included in the weight allowance too, so I have to take their boots and tailcoats for example. Heaven forbid I don’t fold them properly and get told off!”

One of the toughest aspects of packing, is that once the lists are complete, they cannot be changed – there’s no chucking in a spare girth at the last-minute.

“It’s hard as I’m a bit of a hoarder, and like to have hundreds of everything with me,” chuckles Alan.

He says that packing for Tokyo is so far proving more straightforward than for the Rio Olympics in 2016, however.

“There were so major regulations we had to abide by, for example we couldn’t take anything wooden with us – like grooming brushes with wooden backs,” he says.

“I had to list literally every item in my grooming kit for Rio and it was horrendous. Normally I have hoof picks and mane combs coming out of my ears because I just never know if I’m going to lose one, or if I will want something different. But this time, I can just put “grooming kit” on the list, thank goodness.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Nine named as Britain’s nominated dressage entries for Tokyo Olympics

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘She comes up to my knee’: meet Alan Davies’ adorable home-bred Shetland foal

Alan Davies, super-groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, has ‘become a proud new Dad’

Alan Davies - Oaklebrook Mill, Malswick, Newent, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom - 20 March 2020 (Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘I taught Kate Middleton to ride’: 9 things you may not know about supergroom Alan Davies

How well do you know the dressage supergroom? Here are nine things about Alan that you might not have known….

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

“Planning for an Olympics starts months in advance,” he continues, pointing out that even the best laid logistical plans can go awry – or threaten to!

“Before the flight to Rio I had to drive Nip Tuck and Valegro out to Liège in Belgium on my own. I got stuck in traffic on the way there, and I was panicking thinking, ‘If I miss this flight, I’ve got 50% of the British team on my lorry’. I was shouting, ‘Get out of my way’.”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Valegro – ‘A name that will, quite simply, last for eternity,’ says Carl Hester

Polly Bryan — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 08:00:37 +0000

Despite an inauspicious start, Valegro became a household name thanks to his record-breaking performances with Charlotte Dujardin, earning himself a place in history. Polly Bryan charts the story behind the gold medals

There can be no other horse who has done more for his sport than Valegro. Ridden by Charlotte Dujardin, this remarkable gelding – known at home as Blueberry – made history time and time again. From Olympic gold medals to breaking world records for fun, he has done it all – and inspired an enormous, adoring fan base across the world.

Dressage enthusiasts in their thousands have followed the trio of Valegro, Charlotte and Carl Hester, and their glittering career trajectory. But far fewer will know how close the greatest team that British dressage has ever had came to ending, before it had even got off the ground.

Carl’s first glimpse of Valegro was as a rising three-year-old at the KWPN stallion show and grading in Ermelo in 2005.

“I was staying with Anne and Gertjan van Olst in the Netherlands, and Anne suggested we go to watch the grading – I’d never experienced one before,” remembers Carl.

“Gertjan had five or six young horses going through, one of which was Valegro, a son of Negro. The whole process seemed very fast, and all I can remember was this huge canter in a very small space – I just couldn’t take my eyes off Valegro and his canter. He was quite small and cobby; he always had that chunkiness and strength about him, with the head of a duchess and the bottom of a cook.

“He wasn’t accepted, so went out the back with the other horses who were going to be sold. When it was over, Anne and I went out to see him and he had such a charming look about him – he was so grown up, even then.”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Valegro wasn’t expensive, and after he had been gelded he arrived at Carl’s yard in Gloucestershire. But he didn’t prove a superstar right away – and certainly didn’t seem as though he’d grow big enough for Carl.

“He didn’t grow until he was nearly five, but he was hellishly strong for a little chap, and was also a mild headshaker,” explains Carl. “So I said to Anne, ‘I’m going to bring him back and we’ll find him another home.’”

Carl dropped Valegro back at the van Olsts’ yard en route to a five-day show in the Netherlands, but as he started the journey back to the UK, Anne advised him to reconsider keeping Valegro.

“So I stopped there again on the way back and Valegro got back on the lorry. He ended up just having a five-day holiday in the Netherlands,” Carl laughs.

Reinstated in Gloucestershire once more, Valegro swiftly began to make his mark. Under Carl he was four-year-old national champion in 2006, and in the same year won the Badminton Young Dressage Horse of the Future ridden by Lucy Cartwright – with Carl and Uthopia second. And it was around the same time that Carl took on a new pupil he was quietly excited about, who appeared a good match for Valegro. That pupil was, of course, Charlotte Dujardin.

The partnership gelled immediately, clocking up copious national titles in their early years together – the novice title in 2007, elementary and medium the following year, and the coveted prix st georges title in 2010. Every new challenge thrown at Valegro, he took on with relish and talent to burn – earning himself the nickname of “The Professor”.

Lucy Cartwright riding a young Valegro (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The road to the London Olympics began in 2011, as Charlotte and Valegro exploded onto the international grand prix scene in Vidauban, France, winning two grands prix and two grand prix specials in quick succession.

“After Blueberry’s first win, Carl’s phone started buzzing constantly and suddenly people were asking, ‘Who is this rider? Who is this horse?’ It wasn’t the quiet trip we had expected!” recalls Alan Davies, super-groom to Carl and Charlotte.

Even more astonishing was their team debut at the Rotterdam European Championships later that same year, where they helped Britain clinch team gold, with Carl famously hiding behind a pillar with tears in his eyes as he watched his protégé perform a stunning grand prix.

London 2012 will likely never fall from its pedestal, the glorious culmination of a decades-long effort to raise the profile of British dressage, much of it spearheaded by Carl. And the final ingredient that helped work the magic: Valegro.

Carl Hester riding a young Valegro, showing off his enormous canter (Image credit: Kevin Sparrow - 00447197336694)

He had burst onto the international scene just the year before, and was now the subject of a strange mixture of mystery and expectation. Could this “wonder horse” really live up to the task on the biggest stage of them all, especially when the usually nerve-free Charlotte admitted her legs were like jelly as she began her grand prix? Of course he could.

“Boom! Her first extended trot banged in the nines. If Charlotte finally felt the magnitude of what she had to do, Valegro didn’t,” wrote H&H reporter Catherine Austen at the time.

Two plus-83% scores for Valegro in the grand prix and the special meant that Britain topped the podium, but it was his individual gold medal in the freestyle that completed the fairy tale.

As Valegro danced to the patriotic strains of Land of Hope and Glory, the picture of willingness and harmony, tears flowed in every corner of the Greenwich stadium. The now infamous hiccup in the piaffe-pirouette as Charlotte and Valegro began their final centre line was not enough to dampen the magic of their performance, and the moment their 90.089% score flashed up on the giant boards was one nobody lucky enough to be present is ever likely to forget.

Valegro at the British Young Horse and Breeding Championships in September 2008 (Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)

The two years following the London Olympics brought yet more gold medals for Valegro, and records too. He and Charlotte toppled the world record previously set by Edward Gal and Totilas for the grand prix freestyle, scoring 93.97% at Olympia 2013, and a year later breaking their own record with a still-standing 94.3%. But beneath the shining surface was the ongoing, very real possibility of Valegro being sold, and it was a period that Charlotte later revealed left her battling depression.

It was seeing Valegro secure yet another individual gold for Britain at the 2013 European Championships, followed by his record-breaking Olympia performance, that convinced Carl and co-owner Roly Luard that they had to do whatever it took to keep this incredible horse.

Charlotte and Valegro at Olympia in 2013 (Image credit: creditUnknown)

When the news broke in H&H that they were looking to form a syndicate to keep him, Anne Barrott contacted Carl, and in 2014 she became the third owner of Valegro. Her investment was duly rewarded, with Charlotte and Valegro becoming world champions later that same year at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

One last hurrah for Valegro

As the rest of the dressage world looked ahead to the Rio Olympics with bated breath, hoping Valegro could defend his title, Carl and Charlotte shared a secret. The 2016 Olympics was likely to be Valegro’s final competition.

“When we went out to Rio, Charlotte and I were the only two people who knew this was probably his last performance,” says Carl. “We were loath to say anything to anyone about his retirement; what if he didn’t then win?”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

If the London Olympics had demonstrated Valegro’s immense talent, it was the Rio Games that proved the embodiment of his character. Never before, and perhaps never again, will the dressage world see a horse whose physical ability is matched with such a desire to please his rider, to strive for her and with such pleasure in doing so.

The knowledge that her Rio freestyle was likely her last time in the ring with Valegro, plus the enormous pressure Charlotte found herself under to win yet another gold medal, was enough to produce nerves unlike anything the usually steely rider had felt before.

“Just before she went into the arena for the freestyle was the first time I ever saw Charlotte slightly nervous,” remembers Alan, who routinely accompanied Charlotte and Valegro during the final moments before their test.

“I told her to take a deep breath, that she’d be fine. We had to walk down a ramp to get into the arena and as we did, Blueberry heard the crowd clapping and I just saw him lift as he completely went into performance mode, as if to say: ‘Come on Charlotte.’”

And what a performance it was – you’d be forgiven for truly believing that Valegro genuinely knew this was the time to bust out the test of his life.

“Blueberry knew I was nervous,” said Charlotte at the time. “He looked after me and helped me out. Trotting round the edge, he picked up and I knew we were ready to go.

“Then on the last centre line, he felt truly magical. It was effortless and easy and nothing was going to break that bond we have. I can’t tell you what it’s like to ride him; he has a heart of gold.”

British rider Charlotte Dujardin on horse Valegro reacts during the dressage competition of the CHIO international horse show in Aachen, Germany, 20 July 2014. UWE ANSPACH | (Image credit: DPA/PA Images)

Their final score of 93.857% – which included 37 10s from the seven judges – was just shy of their own world record, but was nonetheless a new Olympic record.

“It was the most sublime test I have ever seen,” says Carl. “He truly showed his trust in Charlotte, and that his enthusiasm for the job had never changed. The rest of his career was hugely fun, but that moment was the most emotional, and most special of all.”

For a horse to bring so much joy and evoke so much emotion, not to just his own connections, but to swathes of people across the world – including many who had never even seen dressage prior to 2012 – is truly remarkable.

This was perfectly illustrated by his emotional retirement ceremony at Olympia in 2016 – from which very few emerged dry-faced. But one of the most special things about this horse is the way in which he has continued to make an impact even after his competition days came to an end. Now aged 19, he maintains his zest for life and lovable nature, enjoying days in the field, long hacks, the odd public appearance and, ever The Professor, teaching some of Carl’s lucky pupils the ropes.

Valegro is a horse whose achievements and influence will stretch far beyond his own career, which will forever remain a shining highlight in the history of dressage.

As Carl puts it, “Valegro is a name that will, quite simply, last for eternity.”

Roly Luard on co-owning Valegro with Carl Hester and Anne Barrott

Valegro’s joint owner Roly Luard (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I was thrilled when Carl asked me if I’d like to join in the ownership of Valegro with him. We’d shared a couple of horses before and so I knew how much fun it was to own a horse with him.

“I was overjoyed to be asked; by that point, Valegro was seven and Charlotte was well established as his rider. I remember watching them compete in the early days, and thinking ‘wow’, and of course they went from strength to strength.

“I’ve been lucky enough to go to three World Cup Finals, and I will never forget arriving in Las Vegas for the 2015 final, and seeing these massive billboards everywhere with pictures of Charlotte and Valegro. It was completely surreal, as was the return flight from Vegas when the pilot congratulated me – I had to pinch myself.

“The timing of Valegro’s career was unbelievable – we had never beaten the Germans or the Dutch before, and it’s been amazing to see how far the Brits have come.

“I owe the formidable combination of Carl, Charlotte and Valegro a massive amount, and thank them for all the sheer excitement, and the great feeling of patriotism and being loyal to Britain. And we have had such fun.

“Now I have shares in two more horses with Carl and it’s thanks to Valegro; my time in the sport isn’t just a memory now, but is something that I’ve been able to carry forward. Valegro is not just a household name, he really has changed so many people’s lives.”

Alan Davies on Valegro bowing out at the top

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“It was Simon Brooks-Ward’s idea that I should lead Valegro into the last part of the retirement ceremony at Olympia [pictured]. I had to stay in the collecting ring on my own with him while they were doing interviews in the ring, and I was in pieces.

“I felt the tears coming and tried to pull myself together. But as the curtains opened, the noise from the crowd, the absolute love I felt from them for this horse, meant that I sobbed all the way up the centre line. It was tears of joy that he was going out at the top, that he was just the most phenomenal horse and everyone loved him – walking in there together, him and me, was the most incredible moment of my life.

“He and I have been all around the world together. Valegro’s trusted me to take him to all these places, to go off on the lorry together on all these adventures, and I felt so honoured that he loved and trusted me enough to walk with me up the centre line at Olympia.”

Valegro fact file

Born: 5 July 2002

Breeding: Negro x Gershwin

Studbook: KWPN

Height: 16.2hh

Breeders: Joop and Maartje Hanse

Owners: Carl Hester, Roly Luard and Anne Barrott

Rider: Charlotte Dujardin

The bloodlines behind Valegro

Negro and Valegro (Image credit: Robert Lickley - FREE TO USE)

Valegro’s illustrious sire, Negro (above, left, meeting Valegro), competed successfully to big tour himself, and now boasts more than 1,650 offspring, among them 38 licensed sons and more than 20 grand prix horses. He himself is a son of the great Olympic dressage horse Ferro, sire of more than 50 international grand prix horses.

Maifleur, Valegro’s dam, was by the Voltaire stallion Gershwin, out of the Heidelberg mare Weidyfleur. Credited with “keur” status by the KWPN in 1997, Maifleur was herself a prolific winner in breed classes, just as her own mother had been – both Weidyfleur and Maifleur were crowned champion of the Zeeland breed show.

Valegro’s breeders, Joop and Maartje Hanse, based at Burgh Hamstede in the Netherlands, selected the then-upcoming Negro to complement Maifleur’s jumping bloodlines. Her sire, Gershwin, jumped to 1.50m and was a successful sire of eventers, and his Furioso line is known for producing top jumpers.

Maifleur produced six foals, including three others by Negro, making them full siblings to Valegro. These are Weidyfleur II, now 18; Jalegrofleur, seven; and her final offspring, Lelegro, five – sold to Britain as a foal for €50,000 (£45,000).

– This feature was first published in H&H magazine, 15 April, 2021 –

Valegro statue takes centre stage in his home town

Becky Murray — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 13:03:11 +0000

Valegro has taken centre stage in his home town Newent, as his bronze statue is placed in its permanent home.

The statue, sculpted by Georgie Welch, was erected in the Gloucestershire town’s Market Square in a low-key ceremony, owing to Covid restrictions.

A spokesman for the Newent Initiative Trust, which was behind the project with involvement from Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and groom Alan Davies, said lockdown meant the unveiling plans were not as the not-for-profit organisation had hoped.

“Originally, we had planned a very special and public unveiling of the bronze statue of Valegro, the dancing horse, but unfortunately it all happened very differently,” he said.

“The statue was finished in September last year, and found itself being placed in the International Centre for Birds of Prey just outside Newent for safekeeping until it could be installed.”

A private unveiling of the statue took place in October 2020 attended by special guest Valegro, alongside Carl, Charlotte and Alan.

“Due to the restrictions prevailing we were forced to limit the number of attendees but at the same time wanted to let people know the statue was finished,” said the spokesman, who added that the plan to put the statue in place in the Market Square had taken longer due to council paperwork.

The statue was put in its “rightful place” on Thursday (18 February).

“We purposefully did not advertise that the statue was being erected due to the ongoing Covid restrictions,” said the spokesman.

“The bronze statue, after nearly three years of work, now stands proudly next to the old market house in Newent, where he can be safely viewed and admired by all for his amazing successes. We hope that when the pandemic is over, we can bring Valegro and his team down to see his statue.”

Continued below…

(Image credit: Newent Initiative Trust)

Valegro gives his bronze statue the seal of approval at unveiling

“He’s captured in a piaffe which is the most difficult thing you can do in dressage. This is probably what

(Image credit: Newent Initiative Trust)

Valegro to be immortalised in life-size bronze statue

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to create a life-size statue of Valegro

(Image credit: Newent Initiative Trust)

Carl Hester said he and Charlotte are “delighted”.

“He changed so many of our lives and elevated our sport so this is a really proud moment for myself, Charlotte and everyone who has been involved with this very special horse,” he said.

“Thank you to the sculptor Georgie Welch and all involved who made this happen.”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

‘I hate it! Until it’s over’: real life for grooms of superstar horses

Kate Johnson — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:00:39 +0000

It’s a privilege with huge responsibility to be in charge of a top-class horse. Kate Johnson finds out what it’s like tending to a superstar

Bob Grace, groom to champion sprinter Battaash, for Charlie Hills

“I hate it! Until it’s over, I really hate it!” says Bob Grace, when asked if he enjoys watching Battaash race. At least it’s quick; Battaash has been rated as the fastest horse in the world (he’s clocked 48.63mph).

The pressure is intense. So Bob is happy(ish) when he’s “reached the end of the walkway and the jockey’s gone to the start” and he’s much happier when Battaash is safely back and has hopefully won. But he’s happiest of all returning home and having a beer in the bath.

Bob doesn’t ride and has worked for Charlie Hills, and his father before that, for more than 30 years, and has looked after Battaash since he arrived as a headstrong two-year-old.

He says: “Before he was gelded, he wasn’t the nicest thing on God’s earth sadly. He’d literally climb the walls to try to get into the next-door box. When he ran at Royal Ascot, he nearly went through the stalls and that was the final straw.

He was channelling his energies in the wrong direction.

“Now he’s a lovely horse, he’s like the stable pet, bless him.”

Battaash likes carrots, he courteously matches Bob’s slower pace in the parade ring, and Charlie’s kids bring school friends who pamper him.

“He thinks it’s great, he loves attention,” says Bob, who is planning to get a tattoo of his charge. “When I took him off the box at Newmarket where he goes for the winter – he has his own paddock of course – there was a sign saying, ‘Welcome home champ!’ They love him more than I do.”

The horse has a small team and his own routine.

“Whether he’s made us do it or we’ve made the routine for him is a matter of debate,” smiles Bob.

At the races he’s saddled at the stables, at home he’s out first lot and ridden by people who know him. Even his jockey, Jim Crowley, is allowed on him rarely – three races and once at home throughout 2020.

Alan Davies, head groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“She’s quite a princess!” says Alan Davies of Charlotte’s current top horse, Mount St John Freestyle. “She’s nosey, keen to work and please – and loves parties.”

Alan keeps her calm and interested at shows with “lots of one-on-one attention, hand walking and seeing the sights”.

Freestyle had never flown before Alan took her to the World Equestrian Games in 2018 and was understandably fractious when she noticed that she was somehow becoming airborne. But Alan recalls: “Bringing her home after she’d won two medals, she coped so well, trusting me implicitly to put her on different trucks and crates, and following me on to planes.”

It’s an intimate relationship.

“Getting to know the horses’ characters when you go to big shows, you build such a rapport,” Alan says. “We worked out I’d travelled 75,000 miles with Blueberry [Valegro]; that’s three times around the world.

“The joy of seeing these horses try their heart out on the world stage is so emotional. That’s why I wear sunglasses at big championships, I’ve usually got tears rolling down my cheeks!”

Shades were definitely needed for the World Cup qualifiers in Amsterdam last January, where Freestyle “grew in stature and confidence”, he says.

“This horse, whom I’d seen do medium and advanced medium at the national championships, was out there holding her own against other superstars – I was so proud of her, she blossomed,” he says.

And she bloomed, too, with a 90.2% score with Charlotte at the LeMieux National Grand Prix Championships in December, becoming national champions of 2020.

Alan handles the pressure because, “it’s my job, it’s what I’ve done all my life, it’s the name of the game – it’s why you do it”.

“People often ask about the highlights with Blueberry,” he says. “I don’t really remember London 2012 – there was so much pressure – but the biggest thing was a feeling of relief leaving Greenwich Park. We’d done what everyone wanted us to do, and the horses were coming home happy, safe and sound.”

Talking of which, how is Valegro?

“Fabulous. I went for a hack today and showed him his recent Horse & Hound cover. He’s still got it and I still love him to bits.”

Amy Phillips, Piggy March’s travelling groom

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I’m OK with the pressure most of the time,” says Amy Phillips. “At Pig’s level, everyone expects you to do well and she bears the brunt of that. I try not to overthink expectations and responsibilities; if you wrap horses in cotton wool, that’s when things go wrong.”

Amy’s career began with riding schools, summer camps in America, a racing stable, then Oliver Townend – “I was chucked in at the deep end; my first event was Burnham Market where we had 14 horses running over the weekend” – and now Piggy.

Amy “sort of” controls her competition nerves, which peak at the showjumping phase of a three-day event, by being organised.

“I love writing lists,” she says. “You know what your riders like and you try to keep the routine the same. I take a backpack and try to be one step ahead. For cross-country, I take spare reins, stirrup leathers and always black tape.”

She’s superstitious, too. At home she turns new saddle pads inside out and stamps on them – in common with many riders who don’t like wearing new kit at competition. And she forces herself to watch the horses live, against her will, because it’s brought the team luck.

“I’m quite twitchy, but when I haven’t watched live is when we haven’t done as well, so I grin and bear it,” she says.

There’s plenty to beam about watching Brookfield Inocent. Crowned British Eventing’s (BE) top horse of 2020, with Piggy as BE’s top rider, he’s “definitely grown up”. But he’s still suspicious (articulated lorries OK, white lines on the road not OK) and very cuddly at home – “he really likes people”.

“When we went to Somerford in 2018, we realised he was something special,” Amy says. “Pig finished 20 seconds inside the time and said, ‘I didn’t even kick; the faster I go, the less spooky he is.’ And coming second at Pau in 2020 was a highlight; he was always well within himself. At that level, you don’t want them to have to graft, and he was brilliant in every phase. It makes you really proud.”

Rodrigo Zanchi, groom to Cyrname for Paul Nicholls

“You have to pay attention to everything you do; you have a Ferrari in your hands,” says Rodrigo Zanchi, who looks after A-listers including Politologue and Topofthegame for National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls. However, it’s Cyrname, who overcame unbeaten Altior at Ascot in November 2019, who has his heart. But at Ascot in February 2020, for the Betfair Chase, Cyrname fell at the last and spent 18 long minutes behind the dreaded green screens.

“It was the saddest day of my life,” Rodrigo remembers. “I was thinking, ‘He’s never going home with me.’ It was painful to see one of the greatest horses racing in the UK lying down waiting for help.”

Thanks to the vets, Cyrname finally rose to his feet and a tearful Rodrigo – now the “happiest man in the entire universe” – walked him back with Paul Nicholls.

“Paul said, ‘Look at the crowd, here for you and Cyrname. It’s going to be all right, you love him and I know he loves you.’”

Rodrigo doesn’t ride, following an accident, and has worked for Paul for five years (“it’s the best yard in the country”), having cut his teeth with Jonjo O’Neill, stints in Australia and the United States, and with his grandfather in Brazil.

Cyrname was initially a hard horse to train: “He was very keen, sweating all the time, nervous and he didn’t like traffic. But he was special from the moment he came off the lorry,” says Rodrigo. “I said, ‘Oh what a beautiful horse,’ and I fell in love.”

The secret to settling Cyrname was patience. Now he’s “the sweetest horse, he’s so kind to me. He’s changed my life, made me happy and he knows I love him.”

As for landing a job like Rodrigo’s?

“You need to love it,” he says. “If you don’t, you’ll never do it – it’s a very hard job, seven days a week. You need to love racing, travelling and your horses.”

Jo Powell, travelling groom to Twinshock Warrior for Jayne Ross

“He likes his sleep!” says Jo Powell of champion heavyweight Twinshock Warrior. “He does a lot of sleeping and a lot of snoring. He’ll come in from the field and lie down and go to sleep, sometimes before you can get his rugs off.”

Clearly any pressure that Jo feels is lost on Twinshock Warrior. He’s an easy, relaxed horse, and that’s important for a 17.2hh heavyweight.

“He has to be amenable,” Jo says. “Jayne is 5ft 5in and 8½ stone. He has to be able to be ridden by anybody.”

Jo’s key to handling pressure is planning. With a team of 22 horses, five full-time staff and some part-time, it’s not just organising the show schedules, but the day itself – when and how the horses are going to be worked in. If Jayne is in consecutive classes, the horses have to be ready for her to leave the ring and get straight on to the next one.

“At Windsor, it takes 20 minutes to get to the rings from the horsebox park. If Jayne is in the ring and can’t see the next horse in the collecting ring, she’s going to sweat,” says Jo.

All that planning paid off in 2019 when Bernard was just seven.

Jo says: “Because he’s a heavyweight, we weren’t quite sure that he’d be ready; they take longer to come to than a lightweight horse.”

Twinshock Warrior had other ideas and was most definitely ready. Unusually nimble and light on his feet, he was crowned hunter champion at the Royal International and supreme at Horse of the Year Show – a dream that Jo “never dared hope for”.

“Every win means as much as the first one,” she says. “The whole team was in floods of tears.”

Apart from Twinshock Warrior himself, who was probably napping.

Ref: 28 January 2021

You might also be interested in…

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

It shouldn’t happen to a groom (but it has…)

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘I taught Kate Middleton to ride’: 9 things you may not know about supergroom Alan Davies

How well do you know the dressage supergroom? Here are nine things about Alan that you might not have known….

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

Alan Davies‘ guest edit: An invaluable cog – grooming through the decades H&H Plus

The role and techniques of a groom have changed over the decades, but it’s still the case that the more

(Image credit: Jon Stroud Media)

‘I love my food, but my horses always eat before I do’ — international groom Sean Lynch shares his top tips

Read some of the top tips this in-demand showjumping groom has learnt from years on the job

Vote now: Charlotte Dujardin, Nick Skelton and Ebony Horse Club up for global awards

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 13:16:12 +0000

Some of Britain’s top equestrians are in the running for the 2020 FEI Awards, which aim to celebrate the best of the last decade.

Nick Skelton, Charlotte Dujardin and the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton feature on the shortlists for the awards, which will be decided entirely by public vote.

As there has been so little sport this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the nominees in each category are those who have won that award in the past.

There are 55 nominees, from 19 nations, in five awards categories: Longines FEI rising star; Peden Bloodstock FEI best athlete; Cavalor FEI best groom; FEI against all odds; and FEI solidarity.

Vote on the FEI website

Both Nick and Charlotte feature in the best athlete category, against the likes of Michael Jung, Isabell Werth and Ingris Klimke. The British riders’ grooms, Mark Beever and Alan Davies respectively, appear in the grooms’ shortlist, along with William Fox-Pitt’s head girl Jackie Potts and freelancer Michelle Tipper.

Showjumper Jessica Mendoza is Britain’s representative in the rising star category, in which Irish showjumper Harry Allen also features.

South London’s Ebony Horse Club, which aims to transform the lives of young people in disadvantaged communities, is shortlisted for the solidarity award.

“These awards are a way to honour the heroes of our sport through their amazing stories of resilience, horsemanship, determination and passion,” said FEI president Ingmar De Vos.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

‘A big part of my life has been proving people wrong’: history-making teenager in TV documentary this weekend

The documentary will air on ITV after the Rugby World Cup final on 2 November

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Legends of the sport: Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper Nick Skelton H&H Plus

The great showjumper gilded an already exceptional career with gold in Rio in 2016. Jennifer Donald traces the steps that

(Image credit: Getty Images)

“Equestrian is not just a sport, but a way of life for many people and this has been a desperately difficult year for the equestrian community, just as it has been for everyone, in every sector. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on the positives that our sport has to offer and celebrate the fantastic ambassadors that we have, both on the field of play and behind the scenes making a difference.”

Voting is open, via the FEI website, from today (10 November) until 22 November. The winners will be announced the second week of December.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Valegro gives his bronze statue the seal of approval at unveiling

Becky Murray — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 11:17:26 +0000

Valegro was the guest of honour as a bronze statue of him in piaffe was unveiled in his home town Newent, Gloucestershire.

The Newent Initiative Trust was behind the project – with involvement from Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and groom Alan Davies – and Georgie Welch was the sculptor. The statue was unveiled yesterday (27 October), and will complement the existing gold post box in honour of Charlotte’s London 2012 achievements.

A spokesman for the not-for-profit Newent Initiative Trust said it is hoped the statute will attract visitors to the town.

(Image credit: Daydream Equine Art)

“Originally it had been planned to be a full-sized statue but it was decided by the committee and Carl that a half-life, similar to those at Cheltenham racecourse, would be a better fit and not be as costly,” said the spokesman.

“Georgie won the chance to make the statue in 2018 and has been working with Carl, Alan and Valegro (with, I am told, a lot of packets of Polos) to produce this wonderful statue, which will be going up by Market House in Newent soon after this unveiling.”

The statute was funded by selling 12 bronze maquettes, smaller models of the sculpture.

“Eleven were sold and the final one was kindly donated by Georgie and raffled. We would like to thank all the people who bought maquettes, particularly Anne Barrott (one of Valegro’s co-owners) who without hesitating, and having not even seen one, bought the first and most expensive maquette, which started the whole process,” said the spokesman.

“This statute was in effect funded by equestrian people for an equestrian purpose, to celebrate a wonderful horse.”

Carl, who attended the unveiling with Charlotte, Alan and Valegro, thanked the Newent Initiative Team, and said to follow the gold post box with a statue is “so exciting”.

“Valegro has taken to retirement very well,” said Carl. “Under his rug is a big tummy; anyone that knows horses will know that actually the most important thing isn’t gold medals, it’s eating food and he does that very well! He may have retired from competitions but we still have a lot of people who come to the yard to see him so he is a celebrity in his own right. He’s still a star.

“Many might imagine a gold medallist to be a fiery, wild beast that needed taming but as you can see with Valegro he’s far from it. We have sick and terminally ill children come to the yard and they can ride him, he brings so much pleasure to them. He’s regularly ridden by another Olympian who lives in Newent, Trish Gardner, who’s in her 80s and he takes her round the country lanes, eating the hedges as he goes and they have a fabulous time together twice a week.”

Carl thanked Georgie for “capturing Valegro brilliantly”.

“He’s captured in a piaffe which is the most difficult thing you can do in dressage. This is probably what Valegro is most famous for and regularly scored perfect 10s for. It’s a classic picture – it’s a 10 statue of a 10 horse,” he said.

“The equestrian community has contributed to this so thank you. Not only through buying replica statues but £1 raffle tickets and we were overwhelmed so many contributed to it as they wanted to see the statue in place. I hope everyone can visit once it’s placed in Newent.”

Article continued below…

(Image credit: Daydream Equine Art)

‘I just want to do him justice’: sculptor reveals how she is creating a replica of Valegro

Ever wondered what goes into producing a replica of a living legend, such as Valegro?

(Image credit: Daydream Equine Art)

Valegro to be immortalised in life-size bronze statue

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to create a life-size statue of Valegro

(Image credit: Daydream Equine Art)

Gloucestershire-based Georgie, who formerly worked with horses and specialises in animal sculptures, told H&H it had been “ a dream come true” meeting Valegro.

“I competed in dressage when I was younger and loved it so to meet such an amazing horse like Valegro was a lifetime ambition, and to sculpt him was just the icing on the cake,” she said.

“Carl, Charlotte and Alan have been fantastic and been involved all the way along. They know him better than anybody, not just his character but his shape and manner of movement which I wanted to capture in the piaffe he’s performing in the bronze,” she said.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 13 – Simon Reynolds | Care at hot horse shows | News round-up

Carol Phillips — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 05:30:47 +0000

Welcome to the 13th weekly episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, in which our showing editor chats to show horse producer and H&H columnist Simon Reynolds about why he started riding as a child, what led to his interest in showing, some of his most special horses so far and how to spot a potential show cob in the raw; our news editor talks about the latest thoughts from those involved on the equine welfare crisis and H&H sport editors Pippa Roome and Polly Bryan shares notes about their recent outings reporting from major events. We also welcome to the podcast for the first time British supergroom Alan Davies, who is responsible for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin’s top horses. Alan explains how he cares for his charges at competitions in warm weather and what techniques he employs with the horses at home to help them prepare.

Episode 13 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, our exciting new audio service available exclusively every Thursday morning for our H&H Plus subscribers, is now live.

In an exciting development, we have decided to make each episode available for all H&H fans to listen to 24hrs after its early release to our H&H Plus members. Search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your prefered podcast app and click subscribe to be notified about each new episode. This will allow more listeners to make The Horse & Hound Podcast an essential part of their week on Friday morning.

We would love to hear your feedback on this week’s episode, so please do send your thoughts to pippa.roome@futurenet.com.

In episode 13, show horse producer and H&H columnist Simon Reynolds chats to our showing editor Alex Robinson about why he started riding as a child, how he switched from showjumping to showing, some of the most special horses he’s enjoyed working with during his career so far and how to spot a potential show cob in the raw.

“The beautiful thing about cobs is they can have quite quirky personalities, that’s where a lot of people go wrong – you’ve got to make a friend of them” – Simon Reynolds

Podcast host and magazine editor Pippa Roome is joined by news editor Eleanor Jones to discuss this week’s top stories, including the RSPCA’s recent “lead the debate” panel discussion on the equine welfare crisis, which has been ongoing since the 2008 recession and what needs to happen to instigate real change. Pippa also compares notes with dressage editor Polly Bryan after they were both busy out reporting at major shows last week.

“It was so lovely to be out. It was the first time I have worked anywhere other than my living room table since the start of March. It felt sort of normal – a new normal” – Polly Bryan

We also welcome to the podcast for the first time British supergroom Alan Davies, who cares for the horses ridden by dressage stars Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. Alan offers his top tips on caring for competition horses that are out at shows in warm or hot weather.

“I try to train ours at home in the summer to take a drink as soon as I’ve taken the tack off. If you can train them at home to do that, then when you’re at the competition, they will take a good drink from a bucket as soon as you’ve got the tack off” – Alan Davies

We hope you will enjoy our latest episode.

H&H Plus podcast: episode 13

.

What did you think of this week’s podcast? Let us know by emailing pippa.roome@futurenet.com

Listen now to more popular episodes of the H&H podcast…

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 12 – Louise Bell | Arthritis/DJD | News round up

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode one – Lucinda Green | Vet advice: overweight horses | News round-up

An interview with eventing royalty Lucinda Green, plus a discussion about the return of equestrian sport at all levels...

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 11 – Laura Collett | Equine euthanasia | News round-up

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode two – H&H’s royal exclusive | Cuddy-winning hobby breeder | Vet advice: worming

How H&H pulled off a media-first with The Queen, plus a hobby owner/breeder on her HOYS Cuddy champion...

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode five – Anna Ross interview | Vet advice: gastric ulcers | News round-up

Grand prix dressage rider and trainer Anna Ross explains how she got into the sport from a non-horsey background

‘She comes up to my knee’: meet Alan Davies’ adorable home-bred Shetland foal

Polly Bryan — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 15:24:55 +0000

We all know that foals are super cute, but a newborn miniature Shetland foal might just take cuteness to a new level.

Alan Davies, super-groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, has “become a proud new Dad” recently, with the birth of miniature Shetland foal Honeybee, out of one of his home-bred champion Shetland mares, Bubbles.

“She appeared on Father’s Day for me, which was lovely,” Alan tells H&H.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I bred her mother, Bubbles, who has been a winner in the show ring for me and is my absolute darling. We thought I’d be too busy this year to do much showing, so Bubbles was covered last year by a champion miniature Shetland stallion and went to Meadow Stud, where Uthopia stands.

“I had a phone call from the stud about 11pm on 21 June and I drove straight there. Honeybee was only about half an hour old when I arrived, but she tottered straight over to me – it really was the most incredibly emotional moment.

“Life as a new Dad has been great fun — Honeybee has had a lot of visitors. She is about six weeks old now, and comes up to my knee.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

(Image credit: Annie Pearson-Brown)

‘I taught Kate Middleton to ride’: 9 things you may not know about supergroom Alan Davies

How well do you know the dressage supergroom? Here are nine things about Alan that you might not have known….

(Image credit: Annie Pearson-Brown)

Alan Davies’ guest edit: It shouldn’t happen to a groom H&H Plus

Behind every rider’s success is a groom’s trials and tribulations. Sarah Jenkins finds out what comical goings-on have attributed to

(Image credit: Annie Pearson-Brown)

Alan also owns Cassie, Bubbles’ dam, as well as three other Shetlands, and fits in showing them between his grooming commitments on the international scene for Carl and Charlotte.

“I started showing Shetlands for an owner many years ago, and when I started working for Carl I bought one of my own to have a bit of a hobby,” he says. “I don’t have time for a ridden horse of my own, or a dog as I’m away so much. But the Shetlands come cantering over to me in the evenings, all their hair flying; everyone thinks I’m completely bonkers but I absolutely adore them.”

We are continuing to produce Horse & Hound as a weekly magazine during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as to keep our website at horseandhound.co.uk up to date with breaking news, features and more. Click here for info about magazine subscriptions and access to our premium H&H Plus content online

‘My treasured memories of Valegro’, according to his groom Alan Davies

Polly Bryan — Mon, 04 May 2020 11:00:23 +0000

For a guest-edit of a 2020 edition of Horse & Hound, Alan Davies, groom to Valegro during his record-breaking career, shared some of his highlights and most treasured memories from their time together.

Vidauban CDI, 2011

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro won two grands prix and two grand prix specials across the two-week show…

“This was the first international show at grand prix level for Charlotte and “Blueberry’, so we didn’t know how either of them would react,” says Alan Davies, using the stable name for his charge, Valegro. “We took three horses to compete over two weeks, and it was supposed to be a relaxed, educational trip. But after Blueberry’s first win, Carl’s phone started buzzing constantly and suddenly people were asking, ‘Who is this rider? Who is this horse?’ It wasn’t the quiet trip we had expected!”

Rotterdam Europeans, 2011

At their first championship, Charlotte and Valegro helped the team win Britain’s first dressage gold medal…

On the path to greatness: the Rotterdam Europeans in 2011. (Image credit: Alamy)

“The Rotterdam Europeans were unbelievable, because no one expected Britain to win gold. At that time the Brits were nearly always the underdogs, and we were certainly not expected to beat the Dutch on home ground. Uthopia led the way for the Brits, and although Blueberry had a few green mistakes, he did amazing work and neither he nor Charlotte were bothered by the pressure. This was an amazingly proud moment, not just for the team and the country, but for these two horses, whom Carl and Charlotte had trained from youngsters, to be on top like that. It was gobsmacking actually.”

Hagen CDI4*, 2012

Just one year in to their international career, Charlotte and Valegro set a new world record of 88.02% for the grand prix special…

“We took Blueberry to Hagen mostly just for extra experience in the run-up to the Olympics – breaking the record that had been set by Totilas was totally unexpected. He and Charlotte did the most incredible test; Carl and I held our breath throughout. I can picture Blueberry’s one-time changes that day even now – they were huge, so forward, so beautiful, and he just had the biggest smile on his face.”

London Olympics, 2012

Charlotte and Valegro led Britain to gold, as well as becoming the individual Olympic champions…

Valegro en route to team and individual gold at London 2012. (Image credit: Alamy)

“My clearest memory of the London Olympics is driving the lorry out of the gates of Greenwich Park on our way home, and a huge cheer went up from all the people sitting outside the pub. I felt this huge sense of relief that we had managed to pull this off. Blueberry was only 10 and Charlotte was still inexperienced; I couldn’t believe we’d done it. The medal ceremony was a bit of a blur. In the collecting ring it was mayhem – we knew it was gold, but we weren’t sure how the prize-giving was going to work. I remember Charlotte saying to me, ‘Please come in with me, I want you in there with me.’ It wasn’t until we got back to the stables afterwards that we properly realised what had just happened.”

Olympia, 2013

Charlotte and Valegro broke the world record previously set by Edward Gal and Totilas for the grand prix freestyle, scoring 93.97%…

Record breakers! Valegro scores 93.97% at Olympia in 2013. (Image credit: Alamy)

“Olympia 2013 was the first time he broke the record in the music – the last one he hadn’t yet broken. Charlotte had to do an interview after her test, so I took Blueberry back to the stables and washed him off. I didn’t know what mark they had, or what was going on. Then Charlotte came running down to the stables screaming and shouting. It so happened that we were stabled near Edward Gal, and as Charlotte flung her arms around me she saw him and his groom Vanessa Ruiter, and said, ‘Oh my God I’m really sorry – I’ve just broken your record.’ But Vanessa told me that if it had to happen, she was glad it was us – the Dutch adored Blueberry.”

World Equestrian Games, 2014

Charlotte and Valegro became world champions…

“I’ll never forget a particular moment during the individual prize-giving at the World Equestrian Games in France. The podium faced the press down one long side, but as the girls were getting their medals on the podium, and we grooms were standing behind with the horses, I heard someone call my name from the other side of the stadium. I turned, and walked with Blueberry over to the stands on that side and the crowd went crazy: waving flags, clapping, cheering, shouting his name, shouting my name. It was amazing to see how many people really appreciated grooms and the importance of our role behind the scenes.”

Las Vegas World Cup Final, 2015

Charlotte and Valegro claimed their second consecutive World Cup title with 94.19%…

World Cup winners in Vegas. (Image credit: Alamy)

“Competing in Vegas was a completely surreal experience, and the crowds were unbelievable. You could hear a pin drop at the start of their test, but as it went on you could hear the crowd start to buzz, then they were all clapping along at the end. It was amazing to see how much they got behind Charlotte and of course Blueberry loved it – the bigger the crowd the better for him.”

Rio Olympics, 2016

As well as securing team silver for Britain, Charlotte and Valegro retained their Olympic title on what was their final competitive outing…

Valegro heads for more Olympic gold medals at the Rio Olympics. (Image credit: Alamy)

“There was a lot of pressure on the pair of them in Rio – Charlotte was the reigning Olympic champion after all. Just before she went into the arena for the freestyle was the first time I ever saw Charlotte slightly nervous. I told her to take a deep breath, that she’d be fine. We had to walk down a ramp to get into the arena and as we did Blueberry heard the crowd clapping and I just saw him lift as he completely went into performance mode, as if to say, ‘Come on Charlotte.’ And they were foot perfect. He tried so hard, put his heart and soul into it, listened to her on every step, and was perfectly on the beat of the music – it was just a joy to watch. That horse has the biggest heart, and he really showed it that day.”

Valegro’s retirement ceremony at Olympia, 2016

After cementing his place in history as the most successful dressage horse of all time, Valegro was officially retired with an emotional ceremony at Olympia 2016…

Valegro performs to the crowds one last time, in his retirement ceremony at Olympia in 2016. (Image credit: Alamy)

“It was Simon Brooks-Ward’s idea that I should lead Valegro into the last part of the ceremony. I had to stay in the collecting ring on my own with him while they were doing interviews in the ring, and I was in pieces. I felt the tears coming and tried to pull myself together. But as the curtains opened, the noise from the crowd, the absolute love I felt from them for this horse, meant that I sobbed all the way up the centre line. It was tears of joy that he was going out at the top, that he was just the most phenomenal horse and everyone loved him – walking in there together was the most incredible moment of my life. The two of us have been all around the world together; he’s trusted me to take him to all these places, and I felt so honoured that he loved and trusted me enough to walk with me up the centre line at Olympia.”

– This article was first published in Horse & Hound magazine; 30 April 2020 –

Do you have a special memory of Valegro that you’d like to share with other H&H readers? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com including your name, nearest town and county for the chance to have it published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine – plus don’t miss further tributes to Valegro and Uthopia in 11 December issue

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like to read…

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)