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Bruce Davidson - Biography
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Bruce Davidson Biography
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| Name : | Bruce Davidson |
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Profession :
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Equestrian
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Birth Details :
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born December 31, 1949 in Rome, NY
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Bruce Davidson Detailed Biography
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Bruce Davidson (born December 31, 1949 in Rome, NY) is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He still competes today, well into his 50s, at the sport's highest level.
Advanced Horses:
Irish Cap
JJ Babu
Beacon Charm
Dr. Peaches
Happy Talk
Heyday
Needles Talk
Regent Lion
Squelch
Status Symbol
Eagle Lion
High Scope
Apparition
Pirate Lion
Little Tricky
Arrow
Bruce Davidson was not born into a "horsey" family, but was able to work his way into the horse world when he moved to Westport, Massachusetts. His businessman father, Francis, and ex-concert pianist mother, Annette, wanted him to learn to work for what he earned, and so each summer he would buy a pony at auction, train it, and then sell it before school started. He would then use that money to buy a slightly better horse the next year. He finally came upon his great partner Irish Cap in this manner, but decided the horse was too special to sell. Irish Cap provided Davidson with the means to compete at the sport's highest levels. The pair went on to win the gold medal at the 1974 World Championshipships.
Originally Davidson wished to go into veterinary medicine, but decided to drop out in his third year at Iowa State University where he was getting his undergraduate degree. Instead, he went to train with the USET.
Davidson began competing at the international level in 1971, and completed his first Olympic Games in 1972, winning the team silver medal.
He now lives at his Chesterland Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania, where he had a Thoroughbred breeding program and where he trains horses and riders alike. He also competes regularily, often against his son, Buck.
Davidson has had an outstanding career, boasting 2 team silver (1972, 1996) and 2 team gold (1976, 1984) medals at the Olympics, receiving his first at the age of 22. He is also a 2-time World Champion (the only equestrian to be a back-to-back winner), bronze medal winner at the 1990 World Equestrian Games, has won the Rolex Kentucky Three Day a record 6 times, and is one of only two Americans to have won the Badminton Horse Trials. Davidson has had top placings at the Burghley Horse Trials, has been the USCTA's leading rider a record 14 times (1980-1995), and was leading event rider in the world on the FEI rankings in 1993 and in 1995.
Bruce Davidson's win at the 1974 World Championships gave the United States the opportunity to host the 1978 World Championships. This lead to the creation of the Kentucky Horse Park, and the event later became the annual Rolex Kentucky Three Day, the only CCI**** held in the United States, and one of only five currently held in the world. Davidson has had a long-spanning career at the event, having ridden over the course 68 times on 30 different horses, with a record 6 wins (although none of these wins has been the CCI****).
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