Alan Davies Steps Down as Head Groom for Hester and Dujardin

Dressage

Great Britain

Renowned dressage horse groom Alan Davies has announced he is stepping back from his full-time work as groom for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin.

Multi Discipline

Davies started riding at the age of 10 and began his career in hunt service, with the Puckeridge and Thurlow, aged 16.

He worked as a groom in various disciplines after leaving the hunting world and spend four years as a travelling groom in the USA working for various showjumpers and eventers.

Alan moved into the showing world to work with Tania Alexander, riding at Horse of the Year Show and the Royal International. He began working closely with Carl Hester, whom he first met at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, when he got dressage lessons from Carl on his show horses.

Oakelbrook Mill

As of 2011 Alan Davies has been the head groom at Hester's Oakelbrook Mill farm in Newent, Great Britain.

Davies became one of the world's best known groom through his immaculate turn-out of champions and medal winners Valagro and Uthopia.

"Alan has become a well-known personality, a legend even, in his own right," Carl Hester told Horse & Hound. "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."

In 2017 Davies was decorated with the FEI Best Groom award.

Miniature Shetlands

Davies has now decided to resign as head groom and take a different turn in life.

He has had much success showing miniature Shetlands in his spare time and will now focus more on that.

"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," Hester concluded.