Bruce Davidson (equestrian)

Bruce Davidson

Bruce Davidson and Cruise Lion at the 2009 Rolex Kentucky CCI**** awards ceremony
Personal information
Full name	Bruce Oram Davidson
Born	December 31, 1949 (1949-12-31) (age 67) Rome, New York, U.S.
Medal record Equestrian Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal Team eventing 1984 Los Angeles Team eventing 1972 Munich Team eventing 1996 Atlanta Team eventing World Championships 1974 Burghley Team eventing 1974 Burghley Individual eventing 1978 Lexington Individual eventing 1978 Lexington Team eventing 1990 Stockholm Individual eventing Pan American Games 1995 Mar del Plata Individual eventing 1995 Mar del Plata Team eventing 1975 Mexico City Individual eventing 1975 Mexico City Team eventing

Bruce Oram Davidson (born December 31, 1949, in Rome, New York) is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to riding. He began college at Iowa State University, but left in his third year to train full-time with the United States Equestrian Team. In 1974 he married, and his two children were born in 1976 and 1977. His son, Bruce Davidson, Jr., has followed in his footsteps to become a top eventing rider.

At 18, Davidson tried out for the United States eventing team and was accepted. He won his first medal as a member of the silver-medal-winning US team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. After that, Davidson went to win gold at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics and silver in 1996, participating unsuccessfully in 1988. He has also competed repeatedly at both the World Equestrian Games and the Pan American Games, winning medals at both, as well as winning repeatedly at the top-level Badminton Horse Trials and Rolex Kentucky Three Day events. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Davidson was a consistently top-level rider on both the American and international eventing scenes. He is also known for his horse breeding and training abilities.

In 1949, Davidson was born to Francis and Annette Davidson, the former a businessman and the latter a concert pianist. He was the third of four children, and had little opportunity to be around horses until his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts, when he was a child. A family friend introduced Davidson to horses, and he began attending Pony Club events. He bought, trained and sold horses until he found a championship horse in Irish Cap, the horse that took him to his first gold medal at the 1974 World Eventing Championship. Davidson went to college at Iowa State University with a veterinary major, but left in his third year to train with the United States Equestrian Team (USET).