1. Alan Davies’ plaiting tips
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.”
Read more from Alan
2. Vanir Kamira steps down from top level
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.
Read more from Piggy on this…
