Charlotte Dujardin Give the Gift of Longines to Famed British Groom Alan C. Davies

"When you win two beautiful LONGINES watches in two days; it was a pleasure to give one to Alan to share the success, given how much Alan and grooms like him do behind the scenes for all of us riders. As I’ve always said; team work makes all the dreams work."

Alan C. Davies beloved groom for Team Great Britain sends his charges into the arena in true designer style. Not only do they shine from the outside, but their glow comes from within and the care and love they get from Charlotte and Carl's main man. Charlotte won two medals, Team Bronze and Individual Silver with her magnificent mare Mount St John Freestyle, she also won two Longines Watches.

"When you win two beautiful LONGINES watches in two days; it was a pleasure to give one to Alan to share the success, given how much Alan and grooms like him do behind the scenes for all of us riders. As I’ve always said; team work makes all the dreams work."

Charlotte Dujardin and Mount St John Freestyle ©Mary Phelps 2018

After Dujardin's unprecedented success in the world Dressage stage with Valegro, she was back with the young mare (Fidermark/Donnerhall) owned by the brilliant breeders Emma and Jill Blundell of Mount St John. In just her third Grand Prix Special ever, the pair rose to the top of the field to finish third to yet another mare, Isabelle Werth and Bella Rose-Gold, and Laura Graves with her long time partner Verdades - Silver. 

And she was taking it easy! Not wanting to overwhelm the young 9-year-old mare on the biggest stage in the world, Charlotte respectfully showed Freestyle's talents without forcing her and warning Isabelle of the future during the press conference.

Quarter Marks are Rarely Seen in The Dressage Arena but we are willing to guess after the Equestrian Games the trend with be on the rise. 

Alan C. Davies work of art, quarter markes of Mt St John Freestyle for the Grand Prix Special ©Mary Phelps 2018

About Quarter Marks - Watch the Video Below
Quarter marks are normally the final thing that are applied before riders go into the ring.

Hunters are meant to be a free and easy forward going horse, that has scope and fluidity. So the quartermarks should be big and bold, like the horse itself, and follow the contours of the horse’s hind quarters.

Riding horses should be similar, but the strokes don’t need to be as broad and bold, so they require a bit more precision. As the riding horses sit between hunters and hacks, the design shouldn’t be too technical or fussy.

With hacks you can be more artistic. Some people use stencils, but we still use the traditional chopped up comb to make a chequerboard patten. We use a slightly larger comb for large hacks than small hacks, while tiny combs can be used to produce hundreds of little squares on show ponies. We tend to go with what fits on the individual horse’s backside without looking too busy.