Mark Davidson is a proficient occasion rider price following in 2024

At the start of the 2023 season, occasion rider Mark Davidson hoped that this may be the 12 months that might carry his first worldwide victory. By mid-August, he’d notched up three of them, all on The Spherical Desk Syndicate’s Fonbherna Lancer.

“This has positively been one of the best 12 months of my profession,” says Mark, 30. “In case you’d stated in the beginning of the 12 months that Fonbherna Lancer and I might obtain what we did collectively, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Mark relies at Piggy March’s Northamptonshire yard, the place he works for Piggy and likewise has a small staff of his personal horses to compete. Piggy and Izzy Taylor each rode Fonbherna Lancer at superior degree, and when the horse got here on to the market, Piggy inspired Mark to place a syndicate collectively to purchase him.

“Fortunately, I discovered some good folks to get pleasure from him, and I like driving him,” stated Mark. “He’s such a beautiful horse – a complete gentleman.”

The pair gained the CCI3*-S at Alnwick Ford in June, and adopted that up with a second triumph within the CCI3*-S class at Burgham in July. That double meant they picked up a £7,000 bonus for profitable two legs of the Northumberland Problem – and in August Mark gained the CCI3*-L at Hartpury on the Tangelo Van De Zuuthoeve 13-year-old.

They completed the season with a primary CCI4*-S run at Little Downham, which resulted in fifth place.

“I needed to hold saying to the syndicate who personal him, ‘It doesn’t at all times go in addition to this!’” stated Mark. “I’ve been very fortunate to be in the best place on the proper time. Piggy has been good in wanting to assist and assist me – I’m in a really fortunate place to have that assist at any time when I would like it.”

Mark additionally picked up good placings on Kate Partitions’ eight-year-old Bloomfield Manuscript.

“He’s a stunning stamp of a horse – an actual oil portray – however he’s very massive and Kate finds him too massive to maintain collectively within the showjumping, so requested me to have a go,” stated Mark.

Subsequent season he can even have Susie and Roger Wooden’s Cooley Goodwood – one other former Piggy March journey – to marketing campaign. The pair have been 14th within the eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S at Blenheim in 2022, however the OBOS High quality nine-year-old picked up a small damage in Might and due to this fact spent a while on the sidelines this 12 months.

“I hope to get each Fonbherna Lancer and Cooley Goodwood to a CCI4*-L subsequent season – maybe Bramham for Fonbherna Lancer and possibly Millstreet for Cooley Goodwood. It’s very thrilling to have the 2 of them to take to some cool locations, and each are able to doing very properly, which is a pleasant feeling. I’ve 5 horses to compete subsequent 12 months, and I’m at all times on the look-out for others and open to concepts.”

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