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c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m w i n t e r 2 014 71 cAn We hAve yOur AutOgr Aph? hester and dujardin are well known for not tak- ing their fame too seriously and always finding the humor in a situation, and davies fits right into that dynamic. he's got a bit of a cheeky, wry attitude toward life. one can imagine that the humor helps loosen the tightly wound thread of expectation that binds this team together now as the world looks for ever-impressive results. "to me, [valegro's] brilliant always. But to have all the expectation and everyone putting their hopes on him, there's quite a bit of pres- sure on those of us around him," davies admits. "e london olympics were a huge highlight for everybody, but it was quite stressful with the amount of pressure that was put on the riders and the horses. it all seems like a whirlwind now, thinking back. it was a huge relief coming out of london knowing that we'd done what everyone wanted us to do." A dAy IN ThE LIFE oF BLuEBERRy A lan Davies arrives at Carl Hester's Gloucestershire yard by 6:30 a.m. every day to feed and muck out his horses. By 7:30 a.m., he's swinging a leg over Valegro's back. "He and I'll go for a wander around the farm or through the fields or down the lane," he says. "Charlotte will come and get on at about 8. She'll work him, then I'll get back on and take him for another stroll. Carl is very into having a good warm-up and cool-down. It's good for their mind and their body. Then 'Blueberry' has some chill-out time." The horses at Hester's yard work four times a week—Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday and Saturday they hack out, and then they have Sunday off. "After I've cooled Blueberry down, I wash and groom him, and he goes out in his field for an hour," Davies explains. "He then comes in and has down- time while I look after some of the other horses. "In the afternoon, he goes for a stroll or he goes to a water treadmill two or three times a week," he continues. "We find it very good for keeping them in shape and doing the extra fitness work without any stress on the lower limbs. He gets that little bit of extra fitness work without stressing his legs too much. He's a bit of a chunky chap, so it's good for keeping his waistline down." A groom must know every hair and tendon on his charges to the minutest detail, and Davies takes this task to heart. "It's knowing them inside out at home, so when I take them away, I can do my best at trying to keep their routine as similar to home as possible and mak- ing sure they have everything they need while they're away," he says. "Then it's getting to know their little quirks, so I can tell immediately if something's off. That's always my biggest worry." When he's at home, Valegro spends plenty of time turned out in his pad- dock like any other horse. AlAn DAVies PHoto Alan Davies and Charlotte Dujardin celebrated after she rode Valegro to a record Grand Prix score at the 2014 Longines FEI World Cup Final, where they ended up as overall winner. Molly sorGe PHoto

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