VOLTAIRE DESIGN SPONSORS BRUCE DAVIDSON!

Bruce is very excited to announce his new sponsorship with Voltaire Design, the newest of the French saddlers, who  manufactures custom saddles for all disciplines....from eventing to dressage, show jumping to the hunter ring.

Voltaire works with the very best people in the industry to deliver an outstanding product, helping each rider achieve their best performance. From saddle fitters to factory workers and customer service experts, each member of the Voltaire Team is working hard to take the stress out of saddle shopping and make it a pleasant experience!

The eventing line of saddles includes the Lexington monoflap cross country saddle and the Elkton, a stripped down aggressive monoflap for cross country. The Adelaide is the Voltaire Design answer for dressage. It is a monoflap model that is extremely stable and comfortable, combining freedom of movement with a secure comfortable ride. The double flap jumping saddles, the popular Palm Beach and Calgary models are available in the Second skin version, which provides the comfort of a traditional jumping saddle with an unparalleled close-contact feeling.

Bruce is excited about this new partnership, not only because they produce a beautiful saddle, but because of their attention to detail, craftsmanship and service.  "The saddles are hand made from the finest of french leather and fit like a perfect pair of fine shoes, which are immediately broken in and are so comfortable to wear.  From the moment these saddles were fitted, the close contact of the ride has been so impressive, and the level of attention to customer service from the company has been incomparable.  Not only are these gorgeous saddles, but the technical design and fit of the saddle to the horse is perfect!"

Check out Voltaire Design's website and Facebook page, and don't hesitate to give them a call to schedule a free test ride by calling Amandine Colson at (813)428-2131!

ANOTHER PROUD GRADUATE OF BRUCE DAVIDSON EVENTING!

Anna Kjellstrom and KER Marvin aka Everest!

Last year, Bruce took on an interesting project horse owned by Anna Kjellstrom and Kentucky Equine Research.  KER Marvin came to Bruce after being a research horse at KER, a nutritional science company owned by Anna's husband Joe Pagan.  

Kentucky Equine Research is an international equine nutrition, research and consulting company serving both the horse producer and the feed industry.  It's goal is to advance the industry's knowledge of equine nutrition and exercise physiology and apply this knowledge to produce healthier, more athletic horses.  KER Marvin (given the barn name Everest, due to his enormous stature), was raised in the perfect environment, being studied while he developed as a youngster.

You can see more about his KER history on this prior blog post.

XC at Rocking Horse 1

Anna did a lovely job starting Marvin, and competed him at the lower levels before sending him up to Bruce for boot camp.  Due to his size, Anna wanted to place him in training to determine if they would have a suitable partnership.  He came to Chesterland a year ago, showing great raw talent, and Bruce was able to put the finishing touches on this talented young horse for his Amateur owner rider!  

Everest went home to Anna in the fall, then came down to Ocala for winter training at Chesterland South, and Anna has successfully taken over the reins. They have formed a solid partnership and we're thrilled to watch her rise up through the levels on this athletic and talented horse.

When asked about her transition back into the saddle with Everest, Anna sent a humorous note stating "He went to Bruce Camp a boy and came back a lady's hunter!"

Obviously from the looks of these fabulous pictures and XC video, they are well on their way to become one of the best a/o pairs on the eventing circuit!

Everyone at Chesterland and Bruce Davidson Eventing wishes Anna and Everest the best of luck in their upcoming adventures!!  We look forward to reporting on their careers as they jump through the ranks.

Many thanks to the Horse Pesterer for this great XC footage from last weekend at Rocking Horse!

The Chronicle's Salute to Eagle Lion!

Many thanks to The Chronicle for this lovely tribute to Eagle Lion in the January 14th edition.  He will be truly missed.

Photo Credit Corbis Images

Compliments of The Chronicle of The Horse, January 14th, page 35.

Eagle Lion, the horse Bruce Davidson rode to the first US win at the Badminton CCI****, was euthanized on Dec. 18.  He was 27.

Davidson began training Eagle Lion (Gipfel - Stream Lion, Ideal Water) when the Irish-bred gelding was 3.  In 1992, Eagle Lion won the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) at the age of 7, and in 1995, he and Davidson won England's most famous four-star: Badminton.  They also placed in the top five at Badminton in 1994 and 1998, as well as placing fourth at the Burghley CCI **** (England) in 1993.  He was named the Chronicle's Eventing Horse of the YEar in 1997 after finishing 8th at Badminton and 11th at teh Open European Eventing Championships (England).  He was also chosen as one the The Chronicle's 50 Most Influential Horses of the 20th Century.

" He wrote the book on how to jump", said Davidson in a Feb. 2, 1996 article in the Chronicle. "All you have to do is stay on.  He has jumped me off three times in competition.  One was Kentucky in 1992 - I clucked, and he jumped me right over his head.  I'll never do that again."

Davidson often mentioned that he wished there was a five-star three day to really test "Eagle's" jumping.

In 2007, Eagle was immortalized in a statue by artist Jean Clagett at the Kentucky Horse Park.  The sculpture epicts Eagle and Davidson jumping into the Head of the Lake at the Rolex Ky Three-Day Event.

Eagle, who was purchased by George Strawbridge in 1994, retired to Davidson's Chesterland Farm in Unionville, Pa., where he lived until he died.  "I appreciate George as an owner.  He came through at a time that was helpful for me to be able to keep the horse," said Davidson.  "If we had horse like him now, we'd be winning medals.  He had character, he was an athlete, he was a competitor, he was intelligent, and he was tough.  We were a wonderful team, and he'll be sorely missed."

International appreciation of this legendary horse was also apparent in this article written by Horse Talk NZ

FALL 2012 UPDATE!

It's been another busy season at Chesterland North, with a full competition schedule for Bruce Sr., the placement of several young sales horses into new homes and a new string of young talented home breds in work!

Here's Lola Winning the Open Prelim at Plantation Field!

Bruce made good work of this season with his young competition horses, as well as showing off the talents of Keltic Lion and Here's Lola.  Lola had a phenomenal season, finishing always in the top ribbons at every event....culminating with a solid win in the Open Prelim at Plantation, finishing on her dressage score of 26.1!   Bruce also capped off the Plantation weekend with a 26.8 win on Copernicus (owned by Anna Kjellstrom) in the Open Intermediate division!

Zack, Bruce and Copernicus at Plantation

Slideshow link to photos at Plantation

We said good bye to a few of our younger home breds: Congratulations go out to Gillian Clissold on the purchase of Kiss Me Good, to Christine Pitcairn on the purchase of Please Sir Oliver and to Lauren Wylde on the purchase of Fiona, half sister to Petite Flower (by Keltic Lion).   Buck decided to that he wasn't going to let Bojangles get away, so he will continue to take the ride on Bojangles, who is out of Memorial Cap and a full brother to Chesterland's Image!  We're always happy to see our home breds move on to their new homes, but we also enjoy watching Buck take our young and talented horses up the levels as well!!  There is nothing more rewarding than producing your next upper level horse, as Buck has proven with Reggie over and over again.

Since so many of our young competition horses have moved onto new homes, Bruce has shifted his focus to several of Charlie's 3 year olds, who are under tack and showing early signs of great talent.  Charlie's babies are imprinted with his amazing mind and a willingness to learn.  Keep your eyes peeled  for his string of 3 year olds in the competition field next season!!

Bruce and Susie are off to France to support Buck, as he and Reggie take on the Pau 4*!
Good luck to Buck, Carl and Cassandra Segal's BallyNoe Castle RM (Reggie) who are competing at the Pau CCI4* in France this week. Follow the event at http://www.event-pau.fr/en/homepage

USEA ARTICLE

I recently received the PDF of Bruce's interview for the pre-Rolex edition of the USEA magazine.  I realize this is "old news" but well worth the read!!

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE PDF

FROM CALIFORNIA TO BURGHLEY

From the Burghley Website!!

FROM CALIFORNIA TO BURGHLEY

American Kristi Nunnink will be making her debut at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials this afternoon with her mare R-Star - just one of five mares competing here this year. The pair has made their first trip across the Atlantic specifically to compete at Burghley. 

Kristi (50) grew up and still lives in California. In her earlier years she ran a busy livery and training yard and was a regular competitor up to three-star level. 

In 2004 having lost her top horse Kirsti never imagined that in less then ten years she would be back at top level. But that was before ‘Rosie’ arrived in the yard. The 11-year-old grey mare has taken Kristi back to the top of her game – although the journey has not been without it’s setbacks. 

At the beginning of 2011 whilst competing at Lexington the pair suffered a rotational fall. Kristi broke her ribs and elbow and three days later, was in hospital for a planned hip replacement meaning the pair was out of competition for the summer. 

During this time Kristi met up with former Burghley winner Bruce Davidson (1974 –Irish Cap) who offered to help the pair get back on their feet. Kristi drove Rosie the 3,000 miles to Bruce’s East coast yard where they stayed for two months before competing at Lexington in April where after a glance-off they were 23rd. They then won their next event the CIC3* at Kalispell and has been based back with Bruce for the four months prior to travelling over to the UK. 

“Everything has come together for us both,” says Kristi. “I am super excited to be here and a little nervous but we really felt this was the right course for Rosie as she is super bold and this is a super bold course.”

Rosie who is now described as a ‘horse of a lifetime’ is an American-bred mare of Holstein descent. Her sire is the German-bred Riverman who was exported to the US as was her dam Marisol who is by Corofino. “Rosie is a lovely mover and loves to jump and to me is very special,” said Kristi. 

CAROLINE & PETITE FLOWER INTERVIEWED ON EN!

Let’s get to know Caroline Martin

By Samantha L Clark on August 27, 2012 12:00 PM

Caroline Martin may be US Eventing’s answer to Reed Kessler, the seventeen year old darling of the show-jumping world; she’s  young, talented and absolutely charming to boot. I met her at Richland and found out a little bit more about her horses, her plans for the future, and yes, she has been practicing hard for the bareback puissance at Plantation!

Many thanks to Caroline for her time, and congratulations on a successful weekend – Go Eventing!