While Spanish superstar Beatriz Ferrer Salat was feted by her fans for cleaning up at last weekend's 2016 CDI 3* Oliva Nova in Spain, British legend Richard Davison was on the receiving end of plenty of ‘Ole!'s too. Catching up with Richard in between the two weeks of competitions as Monday is a rest day, Richard had just taken his horses to the beach for a bit of fun and a change of scenery.
Having dominated the middle tour with Team Harmony’s elegant gelding Don Bettino, an 11-year old Oldenburg gelding by Don Primero x Painter's Row xx, Richard is clearly forming an harmonious partnership with this relatively new horse, and plans to introduce Don Bettino to his first Grand Prix "actually very soon."
"I ride through the test at home, but of course he’s still green," said Davison. "The advantage of doing these new FEI Intermediare A and B tests is that it gives me a chance to get to know him in the arena under less pressure. But they are quite 'busy' to ride with some movements my horses aren't used to, so perhaps the Grand Prix might even be easier for Tino". He then mused, "maybe I will move up to Grand Prix this weekend, we'll see."
In the big tour it is Gwendolyn Meyer’s striking, high-class gelding Bubblingh (by Lingh x Picandt) who is catching the attention of both spectators and judges alike. Having been very lightly competed, and still only 10-years old, Bubblingh has made astonishing progress from one show to another and is reflected by his upward trend in scores. On Sunday he finished behind Beatriz Ferrer Salat's Olympic medal hopeful Delgado in the Grand Prix Special. Delivering some seriously classy and correct work Bubblingh finished on 71+%, while some judges scored 72+% and one Olympic judge even awarded him in excess of 76%.
Richard puts this improvement down to "the shows have helped him mature. He is now fully relaxed in the atmosphere and this is why he shows the relaxation and confidence in his tests. The exercises are completely natural and easy for him, everyone can see that," he explained.
It's not only Richard who is claiming prizes for the Davison family. Richard's wife Gillian has been consistently highly placed in the big classes with Alfranco. The 11-year old Dutch warmblood is by Negro and comes from the same stable as Valegro. The power packed black gelding placed 6th and 5th in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special respectively.
Watch the Davison's and other stars in action on the Top Iberian livestream from the 2016 CDI Oliva Nova this weekend on http://www.topiberian.com/index.php/topiberiantv
by Felicity Norrie - Photos © Clicphoto
Related Links
Scores: 2016 CDI Oliva Nova
Richard Davison Excited About "Bubblingh" 2016 Show Season
