PKTC3F Tryon, USA. 14th September 2018. Bronze medal. Charlotte Dujardin riding Mount St John Freestyle. GBR. Groom. Alan Davies. FEI Individual Championship. Grand Prix Special. Dressage. Day 4. World Equestrian Games. WEG 2018 Tryon. North Carolina. USA. 14/09/2018. Credit: Sport In Pictures/Alamy Live News
He’s one of the best in the business, so no surprise that H&H readers are keen to find out Alan Davies’ plaiting secrets – some of which might indeed surprise you. Alan has kept Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin’s horses in pristine condition over the past decade, and when it comes to plaiting his tips include… not being afraid to use scissors.
“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.”
The outstanding mare Vanir Kamira will retire from five-star competition, aged 18, following her Burghley Horse Trials win last autumn.
Piggy March and “Tilly”, owned by Trevor Dickens, also won Badminton Horse Trials in 2019 and the pair have a brilliant record of top placings at five-star level.
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Vanir Kamira wins Badminton 2019 with Piggy French (now March).
(Image credit: www.sarahfarnsworth.co.uk)
3. ‘You only get one head’
Rising British star Izzy Palmer is back in the saddle and looking forward to an exciting 2023 following a “freak” accident before the new year. The grade IV para rider, named as one of H&H’s stars of Christmas a few years ago, has had numerous international wins.
“It wasn’t the start of the year that I had planned or expected, it was a bit of a freak accident,” said Izzy, who hit a fence and was knocked out in a fall at home.
“You know the risks when you do a sport like riding, you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you. I banged my head and was unconscious for a fair amount of time, and had a seizure. I remember seeing the ambulance arrive and having a trip with the blue lights and sirens.
“I was very lucky. I did suffer with concussion after the fall, which took me a bit longer to recover from than I initially thought.”
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
