PrintAs the grandson of foxhunting Grande Dame Nancy Penn Smith Hannum and son of eventing legend Bruce Davidson Sr., “Buck” Davidson has been in the saddle since infancy. Now a Rolex Kentucky regular, he can still easily recall how his first ride there, aboard The Wolf when he was just 17, didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped.
“It rained like I hadn’t seen rain before in my life,” he said. “I remember on roads and tracks, I looked over to the highway and the cars were pulled over on the side of the road. And in the show jumping, that was the first time that I thought, ‘Holy cow, there’s a lot of people in this stadium.’ I looked up and sort of panicked. I think I set the record for the most rails down ever.”
But Buck redeemed himself two years later when he returned with the talented Trans Am A Flirt. “I remember as I was walking down the chute to the ring, Mom said, ‘Just relax, Buck. It can’t be worse than last time!’ ” he said. The pair finished with a double-clear round, a fifth-placed ribbon and the USET Markham Trophy for top young rider.
Buck’s two entries this year, Ballynoe Castle RM and My Boy Bobby, have been nearly unbeatable at their spring warm-up events.
“Now every time I go into the show jumping in Kentucky, while everybody else is getting nervous, I think, ‘Been there, done that,’ ” he said, laughing. “I’ve had the worst round ever. It can only get better.“
Name: Bruce “Buck” Davidson Jr.
Home Base: Riegelsville, Pa. and Ocala, Fla.
Age: 33
What is your earliest memory of Rolex Kentucky?
I was there when my dad won the World Championship in ’78. I guess I was underneath the stands playing with my tractors when he won the gold medal. Mom grabbed me up to go for the awards, and when we went back to look for the tractor it was gone. There were major tears. But I don’t remember that—I was 2.
Given the chance, what horse other than your own would you like to take a turn on?
When I was a kid, I used to ride in the [steeplechase] races, and there was a horse called Cancottage who won the Maryland Hunt Cup three times that I just thought was beautiful. That would have been a cool one. Then there was a horse who [won the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and] ran in the Kentucky Derby called Fly So Free. He was a beautiful horse to look at. I’d love to have a ride on him.
If you had to boil down your training philosophy into one word, what would it be?
Perseverance.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Probably my nervous cough.
What is the most frequently listed item on your credit card statement?
Entries or feed.
Jack Russells: yes or no?
Yes, one. Not multiple. One Jack Russell.
How many miles are on your truck and trailer?
A lot. Close to 100,000 on one truck and about 62,000 on the other. They’re only three years old, and they only go to events.
