Editor’s Letter

Bruce Davidson: World Champion, Olympian, Dad

While Bruce Davidson’s often considered the “King of Kentucky” for his six wins in the nation’s premier event, I’ll admit I spent years walking by his statue at the Kentucky Horse Park without fully appreciating his impact on the sport.

Sure, I knew he’d won the 1978 Eventing World Championships in Lexington, but I didn’t contemplate the extent of his contribution to the very existence of the Kentucky Horse Park and our continent’s only four-star until we started working on this issue’s cover story on the Davidson family (p. 34).

Without Bruce’s 1974 World Championships victory, which earned the United States its 1978 hosting rights, which was the impetus for making both the KHP and Rolex Kentucky what they are today, where would the sport in this country be today?

Of course there’s no way to know, but it’s safe to say those World Championship gold medals and their ripple effect on U.S. eventing were just the start of Bruce’s wideranging influence on equestrian sports. It continued with his other major victories—Olympic team gold medals and wins at Badminton (England), the Pan American Games (Argentina), Rolex Kentucky and prestigious three-days across the world. The list of everything he’s won is almost unbelievable.

But the story in this issue of Untacked reaches far past those wins—showing a side of Bruce many probably haven’t seen and demonstrating that his riding accomplishments, of which there are so, so many, are just one small piece of the legacy he’s still building today.

“I don’t get involved in a lot of things in the sport, but I am very glad that I have been able to have a positive influence for the benefit of the next generation,” he says in the story. “That’s what it’s all about. Whether you do it through whatever means, if you can make it better for the ones coming behind you, that’s what I want to do.”

It’s safe to say he’s doing it. Bruce is breeding future equine stars, including two horses for this year’s Rolex Kentucky four-star. (Make sure to check out the photo of him galloping one of his homebreds with a big grin on page 43.) He’s riding, competing and teaching.

But most importantly to him, he’s also a father of two. His son is four-star rider Buck Davidson, who’s just moved back home to the family’s Chesterland Farm—a property with its own extensive and important equestrian history. And as you can see on this issue’s cover, he’s a very proud grandfather as well. He marks the moments his children and grandchildren were born as his happiest and proudest.

It’s easy to get caught up in who wins what every week, and there’s no doubt that winning the biggest competitions in the world was Bruce’s focus for many years. Winning can inspire, and winning can be your legacy, especially if you have an entire horse park to show for it, but it can also be just the beginning. For Bruce, it’s been the latter.

ANDREW HOCK PHOTO

—Lisa Slade