Whitney Rocks On!

Whitney on "Lusty"
Rock on Rose
Photo Credits Cindy Lawler

Here's our latest update from Whitney Weston, who bought our famous "Lusty" last year after a successful run with Boyd Martin.  Whitney trains with Buck and also maintains her own lively blogspot!  It's wonderful to keep up with the horses that Bruce produces out of Chesterland & their success is a true testament to our breeding program!


Photo Slideshow by Cindy Lawler


" Last year was fantastic. I had the best time truly bonding with Lusty and becoming a team. We took our time on the west coast, starting at training level and finishing the season at the Galway Downs CCI ** on our dressage score!  I just love her feisty attitude, but she's also just the cutest thing! She is an animal out on course, but then such a silly girl at the barn.

The more we have gotten to know each other, the better we work as a team. She's very much a mare like that, I had to get her trust (but also she knows I'm not a pushover!). 

I am so excited for this season. We are wintering in Ocala, FL with Buck ("uncle Buck") Davidson and Bruce ("papa Bruce") Davidson, as we refer to them in reference to Lusty's childhood :) We just finished Rocking Horse OI, and gearing up for Rocking Horse Advanced! Finally!!! ahh the anticipation….Our goal for this spring is to run Jersey Fresh CCI***.

Check out our progress on the blog (where I am guilty of posting daily pictures of lusty being cute) at www.whitneywestonwestwoodstables.blogspot.com

and find us on Facebook!!!

Many thanks go out to Cindy Lawler for her fabulous photographic contributions!

Update from Chesterland South!

Bruce & Keltic Lion, aka Charlie
Photo credit Cindy Lawler!

Chesterland South is in full swing this winter season with a barn full of talented horses and clients in training.  Bruce has been quite busy with clients coming in for lessons and with the continued training and conditioning of his competition string of horses.  As always, the success of Chesterland is due to the combined efforts of so many people, including clients, owners and the working students.


Bruce is extremely happy this year with the positive attitudes & motivated efforts of his working students - Hillary Popiel (who has been a familiar face over the past decade), Zachary Ryan Leamer and Lindsay Elwell.  Jan Smith also continues to be an indispensable part of Chesterland's daily operation and has also become 1/2 owner in one of the coming 4 year olds, Sugarfoot, which ensures that this talented young filly will remain part of Bruce's training program.  Bruce has brought 4 young horses down to Ocala this year to continue their winter training & they are all showing great promise on the flat & over fences.   More to come on our blog & website regarding the approaching foaling season & the progress of our current homebreds in training!


Firefly Farm, which is the winter home to Chesterland South, is owned by Kristina Watkins, who winters in Ocala, but hails from Harvard Mass.  Kristina is 1/2 owner in the talented young prospect, Here's Lola who is another homebred of Bruce's,  out of Our Staple (JJ Babu’s full sister) by the NZ stallion Heroisity, one of the few TB stallions that stood at Hilltop and was approved for warmblood stud book.  This is one talented young horse for the future who finished 2nd last weekend at her 2nd Prelim start at Rocking Horse (with Buck in the irons).

Buck on Here's Lola!
Photo credit Yvonne Zuther

Rocking Horse I proved to be a successful start to the winter circuit with Cruise showing his talent by taking 3rd in the Intermediate Division (with a glance off on XC) and Charlie finishing 8th in Prelim (1 rail in stadium).  The plan is to come back for Rocking Horse Winter II on the weekend of the 17th, running Lola and Charlie again at Prelim and stepping Cruise up to Advanced.


Many thanks go out to Cindy Lawler (who I met last year at Rolex) who was lucky enough to be at Rocking Horse this past weekend & generously has shared her photography talents with us!

Bruce on Cruise
Photo Credit Cindy Lawler
View Slideshow

Gerd and Yvonne Zuther have joined us again this year, bolstering the training program at Chesterland South with world class dressage instruction.  The combined efforts of Bruce and Gerd are an added perk to the clients who stay here during the winter months while Gerd is able to focus on the talented young rider Nina Ligon.  Nina has joined us again this year with her string of 5 horses before heading to Poplar Place.

Fanny Lee is here again with her advanced horse, Hadley Harbour, and Louis, her 5 year old bred by Bruce.  Fanny is a great supporter & always lots of fun.  Bruce is also looking forward to working with Beth Perkins who has joined Chesterland South with 4 horses in training, and the goal of aiming Sal Dali for Rolex this spring.  She will be joined by Kristi Nunnink and R-Star, who is also returning to work with Bruce, pre-Rolex.  Kristin also has 2 other younger horses who are showing great promise for the Prelim level this season.  Caroline Petty, from British Columbia is also joining our team in preparation for the 2* at Ocala this season.

Bruce Cattle Sorting!
Photo credit Yvonne Zuther

So as you can see, there's rarely a dull moment around the barn.  Bruce has even taken up a bit of cross training, finding time to learn the ropes of Cattle Sorting, a western sport that resembles team penning.  2 riders work together to herd and direct one calf through a gate.  The riders collaborate and take turns on herding and functioning the gate....and if a calf gets through the gate out of order, the team is eliminated!
Yeehaa cowboy!  Don't ever underestimate the talents of event riders.

Please enjoy our second slideshow of pictures provided by close friend & horse woman, Yvonne Zuther.

We will be sharing stories shortly on our crop of young homebreds & also the current successes of those who have gone on to top competitive homes with other riders such as Whitney Weston (Rock on Rose) and Caroline Martin (Petite Flower).  Stay tuned!

PRO Derbycross Returns to Wellington January 19th & 20th!!

It's that time of year again.........PRO Derbycross returns to Wellington 1/19th and 20th!!

Come join Team Farmvet/Cavalor consisting of Bruce, Buck, Will Faudree, Aaron Vale (SJ) and polo player Kris Kampsen for a fabulous event which blends elements of XC Eventing with GP Show Jumping.  Each team will consist of 3 event riders, 1 show jumper and 1 polo player......with all team members tackling an exciting jumping course under the lights in Wellington.

Needless to say the Thursday night Calcutta is quite the party to attend, and the 7 teams in competition are all star studded.  Check out the promo video below and see you there!!

For tickets call 772-633-6129 or email info@professionalriders.org

Boyd and Brewster!

Recent post on Boyd's website regarding several of the Walker's new horses, including Brewster, one of Bruce's own home bred talents!  An excerpt from the blog is below & you can click here for the full story!

Brewster, owned by Katie and Cuyler Walker. Photo Copyright Amy K. Dragoo 

The second horse the Walkers purchased is Brewster, a brilliant-looking 4-year-old bred by none other than Bruce Davidson. This horse is about 1/16th Irish Sport Horse and is closely related to one of Bruce’s most famous eventers, Eagle Lion. Dave Leinhauser also got this young horse started over the winter, where Brewster got his education in the hills of Unionville, PA. Brewster has had a couple of starts this year and the horse has looked very impressive at the novice horse trials. 

Catching Up with Bruce

I had a chance to chat with Bruce last night after his exciting win on Keltic Lion this past weekend at Fair Hill!  When I asked him about their weekend, he immediately went to how proud he was of David and his efforts on Looks Sweet and their 2nd place finish in the Open Intermediate!

Charlie (Keltic Lion) was just fantastic, and even with a small mistake in the dressage, and a XC round which he didn't press for time, he still came out on top.  He is such an impressive and well mannered stallion who is a total gentleman in the barn and a real contender for the future!  Bruce was also quite pleased with Here's Lola who was 4th,  with Bruce taking all the blame for the rail down & break in the dressage.  In addition, HRH Patricia, who was sold to Emily Beshear's barn, was 3rd on the weekend at FH & also at Loch Moy at the Training Level!   See Fair Hill Full Results

Up next they will go off to Richland with both Prelim horses (Charlie & Lola), and David will take his young horse Look at Me in the Prelim as well.  Looks Sweet will move up to Advanced after such a successful weekend at Fair Hill.  Plantation will be on the docket for mid September and then it's back to Fair Hill International in the beginning of the fall.

The Eventing Issue of the Chronicle also gave the Chesterland crew their fair shake of the media.  On page 24 there is a full 4 page spread titled "Bruce Davidson's Chesterland - BehindBarnDoors".   If you are a magazine subscriber, you will be able to access the online magazine here, with your login & password!  Many thanks to our friend Amy Dragoo for the amazing pictorial spread on the farm!!  

There is also a wonderful 5 page article (page 38) on David's Mom, Vicky Koss, and her "Horse of a Lifetime: Goldmill" with a full page picture of the pair riding at Badminton, plus a great galloping shot of Goldmill and David during their partnership which helped teach David the ropes of eventing at the age of 17.   David's quoted as saying, "I don't know that I would have started riding if it wasn't for Barney.  But he was so great to ride cross-country, and we had so much fun".  David rode Barney at his first 3 day event & even was able to experience the long format back in 2004.  Barney really gave the Koss family his heart until he was euthanized at the age of 19 back in 2006.

It does seem that David has become a solid fixture at Chesterland, and the plans are for David to stay on to spend the winter down in Ocala, and to help bring along the now 7 headcount of coming 4 year olds, 2 of which belong to Vicky Koss.  Looks like Bruce and David are going to have a busy winter!!

Five Minutes With Bruce “The Bird Man” Davidson

By: Kat Netzler

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Peacocks have free range at Bruce Davidson's Chesterland farm.

 

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When Amy Dragoo, one of our most reliable freelance photographers, sent in her selections for our Behind Barn Doors at Bruce Davidson’s Chesterland (see Aug. 8 Eventing Issue, p. 24), we weren’t surprised by most of what we saw.
There were the rolling, green hills of Chester County, Pa. There were the classic red-and-white Dutch doors on his barn, the old black-and-white photos of famous mounts from decades gone by hanging in his office. There were all the horses and dogs and chickens and peacocks and parrots we’d expected...
Wait, what? Bruce Davidson has… birds in his barn?
“Oh yes, I’ve always loved birds,” he said matter-of-factly when I called him to make sure that neither my eyes nor Amy’s Photoshopping skills were deceiving me. “I’ve always had them around the farm.”
In fact, chickens and roosters have been commonplace in Davidson’s life since childhood. He grew up in Westport, Mass., right down the road from Adamsville, R.I., where the Rhode Island Red chicken breed was established, so they’ve always had a place at his farm.
“I love brown eggs, and they’re pets,” he said. “The horses like them and like having them around. It’s amazing to see how many of the little roosters and bantams attach to a horse and really become that horse’s friend. They’ll even learn to rest on that horse’s back. JJ Babu [who carried Davidson to the 1983 Rolex Kentucky CCI*** title and a team gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games] had a little rooster forever that went everywhere with him, and he loved it.”
But chickens are far from being Chesterland’s only feathered residents. Davidson also has two peacocks that run free on the farm and a yellow nape Amazon parrot named Lolita who lives in his tack room. At one time he had 27 different varieties of fowl, including golden pheasants.
But bird ownership isn’t all fun and games. With Chester County’s fox population plenty healthy, bird snatching is a common problem. Davidson said the intruders are bold enough to come right into the stable and steal a snack if he’s not careful. And what of the winter months?
“We have chickens in Florida, so each year a couple of them come down with us, and each year a few come back with us,” said Davidson, who spends the coldest months in Ocala. “They just go in the horse trailer with the horses, and everyone’s happy.”

If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more like it, consider subscribing. "Five Minutes With Bruce 'The Bird Man' Davidson" ran in the Aug. 8, 2011 issue. Check out thetable of contents to see what great stories are in the magazine this week.

Rock on Rose!

We've been in contact with Lusty's new owner, Whitney Weston, to get an update on Lusty and their new partnership.  They had a great run at Rebecca Farm and I've made a slideshow of some of her photos, as well as attached a great interview by our friends at Eventing Nation.  This pair clearly has a great future together!

Rock on Rock on Rose!

By Samantha L Clark on July 24, 2011 11:05 AM, Filed Under SamanthaLClark.com

I think taking on a four star ride from a top level rider must be one of the hardest things to do in eventing, so I was interested to see Rock on Rose go this afternoon when I saw her name in the programme in the intermediate division.  When I spoke to Bruce Davidson about a month ago, he'd mentioned how well Lusty was doing, but hadn't gone into any further detail. Happily, it seems Lusty has certainly landed on her feet with a new owner, Whitney, who couldn't possibly love her any more. They posted a lovely clear around the intermediate track this afternoon here at Rebecca Farm to add just six time penalties to their dressage score, and Whitney kindly talked to me after her ride. 

FULL ARTICLE & VIDEO

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