The name Davison has been synonymous with elite level equestrian sport in Great Britain for many years. Richard Davison is the current British Olympic Dressage team captain and World Class Performance Manager. He is a three time Olympian and has amassed multiple awards and successes. 

What would you do if you didn’t work with horses? Well I always said I wanted to be a lawyer, perhaps a barrister but I know I wouldn’t have had the brains for all that studying, so I guess I would be more into some aspect of business. 

Why did you decide to go into dressage? Because donkeys years ago when I was eventing and the standard of event dressage was pretty low (it is amazing now) everyone told me I was the dressage specialist – that was only on the basis that I could wriggle a few horses heads into position, nobody seemed too fussy about the back-end. Anyway they used to give me a fiver for schooling their horses (only because they hated dressage) and as I didn’t have any money I thought it was pretty cool. It wasn’t until years later that I went on a proper dressage course that it dawned on me that I didn’t actually know the first thing about dressage.

What’s the best thing about being British Olympic Dressage Team Captain? It is a fantastic time to be involved with the team – it's medals galore. But my role involves all the squads involved in World Class and it’s forward planning strategies.

How often do you have lessons yourself? All the time – Gillian and I always help each other and of course, because she is my wife, I have to do as I am told and not answer back. I’m sure she will confirm that I am the model pupil.

Who has the best yard you’ve visited? Well there are lots of luxurious yards around but it's how the horses are managed that interests me.  

Which was the last horse to leave an impression on you? The last one I rode today, I am still trying to figure out how I didn’t fall off it.

What is your funniest horse moment? As I get older my memory is constantly challenged to remember reasonably important things – like the names of my children etc. So, as I have loads of funny moments all day long, you really don’t expect me to remember each one and then decide which is the funniest, do you?

Who is the person who inspires you the most and why? Lots of people inspire me – all good dressage, jumping - in fact any top rider or top sportsman or achiever.

Whose horse would you like to own? I am happy with the ones I do own, but there are plenty of top horses I would like to ride on a one-off.

When did you last kick yourself? I kick myself if I don’t do well in a competition and then I give my head a good shake. But I try not to remember those occasions as it’s not good for my confidence!

How do you relax? On our farm with my family, we always seem to be doing things and there is never enough time to keep up with the farm or maintenance work. We don’t have time for holidays in the summer because of jumping and dressage shows but we have a few holidays planned for later in the year and of course we couldn’t miss skiing.

Who is the one to watch this year? Well, we have just seen him at the Dressage European Championships – Carl Hester.

What is your greatest achievement to date? The fact that my wife hasn’t left me it’s more of a miracle than an achievement.

What is your top tip for Horse and Country viewers? I love learning more about the science behind training and managing horses. I am talking about the practical side. So my top tip is to really get into how horses learn – horse learning theory. It’s not the same as how humans learn; horses are so much more simple and naive, thanks goodness! But when you get your head around it you get your horses trained so much quicker.

To find out more about Richard you can visit his website http://www.davisonequestrian.com/

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