Australian show jumper Mattea Davidson is having a super season; not only did she win her first World Cup qualifier at the Australian league opener in Shepparton, but she’s also taken out the Waratah World Cup qualifier in Sydney. And she’s done it on two different horses.
Mattea’s breakthrough World Cup win in March was aboard Checkamour D – and at that event, she was also second with Jaybee Vigilante. In Sydney, it was the latter who Mattea rode to victory after they were the only combination to go clear in both rounds.
When not competing, Mattea is busy running Davidson Equestrian with husband Shane. Based near Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, their boutique breeding, training and coaching business focuses on breeding quality before quantity. If that’s not enough, Mattea is also an equine veterinarian, and the couple have two young children!
Mattea says her veterinary career was as borne from passion – but also necessity. “I always wanted to ride nice horses,” explains Mattea. “However, my family isn’t horsey and were not in a financial position to support my hobby, so I needed a way to actually get these horses – that was where breeding came into play. I wanted to be able to do it to the best of my ability; being an equine vet helps that.”
Mattea says that it wasn’t just the pursuit of breeding knowledge that led her to veterinary school, but also the performance horse management side of the equation. “I had a lot of horses early on that had little injuries and I wanted to know more about it… so it was just trying to be able to do it as all-round as I possibly could.”
Breeding, coaching, training, competing, veterinary work, and family – how does Mattea fit it all in? “I think going to vet school is good training because you don’t get a lot of sleep!” she laughs.
“It is a hard job. We work long days. It’s seven days a week and it’s not for everyone. There are lots of sacrifices along the way… it’s not glamorous and but I love it and it gives me meaning and purpose.
“I think breeding and producing horses marries up quite well with being a vet. I didn’t really have any other option; I had to be good at both if I wanted to do it, so that was it. A very good friend of ours who passed away a few years ago, Amanda Shoobridge, did a similar thing in the dressage world and she was a really good role model for.”
Mattea is proud of what she and Shane have been able to achieve with their business. “Social media only shows a snapshot of your life; it can give the impression that you get to rock up to shows and jump around the big classes, it doesn’t show you up at 2am inseminating mares or dealing with sick foals on Christmas Day. I like to believe that you can create your own success by hard work and consistency – it is something I have held onto my entire career – both veterinary and riding. My grandmother had a saying: ‘If it is to be, it is up to me’.”
“IF YOU ARE FOND OF A HORSE… TRAIN HIM WELL”
As well-known Australian horse trainer Tom Roberts once said, “If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a real favour, train him well. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.”
Davidson Equestrian follows this ethos. Shane, who spent seven years training in Germany and is also a World Cup level competitor, says that from an animal welfare point of view, producing an horse that’s really saleable is important.
“If you train a horse that people like having around, they’ll have a home forever,” says Shane. “That’s what we’ve tried to do and what we try to say to our students: ‘If something was to happen to you tomorrow and this horse had to find a home, can you make that horse as saleable or as likeable as possible?’
“That’s our motto behind everything,” chimes in Mattea. “Yes, we like competitions, but the main thing is that we’re producing horses that are good to ride, nice to have around and are easy to handle. That is really important to us.”
PEAKS & TROUGHS
Coaching is a big part of the Davidsons’ life, and mentoring young riders is something they enjoy. “There’s an equestrian component to it, as in what you need to do with your horse… but I think if you can help young riders, especially through those teenage years and early adulthood, you can be such an important part of their life,” muses Mattea.
“There are peaks and troughs with horses and with riders,” adds Shane. “We have to work with both of them. To get those two to line up at the same time it’s tricky.”
While there have been many highs this season for Mattea, a fall in the World Cup at Tamworth in August highlighted the fact that when working with horses, things can go awry despite the best laid plans.
Mattea says that much of what they deal with working with horses is simply representative of life. “You’ll have parts that are difficult, and I think horses are good for that because it teaches you to keep going through it, the ups and downs, so I think it’s a great sport for that. It’s a great family sport that teaches a lot.”
Mattea’s number one piece of advice to up-and-coming young riders is to run your own race. “I always tell my students that other people’s opinions of you are none of your business. That’s really important in life because not everyone has the same personality, and everyone is different… that’s what makes the world interesting, I don’t see that as a negative thing.
“There are going to be people along the way that don’t particularly like your personality. I know as I was growing up, I definitely had the label of being assertive. That comes from being the youngest of five kids, so there was plenty of scrapping that went along to… get a biscuit out of the jar!” she laughs.
Mattea also believes it’s important not to be too judgemental. “It’s easy to see someone at one point in time and make an assumption about their personality… but you’ve got to see them along the way. It’s about trying not to be too judgmental of others, but also saying, ‘This is what I want to do, I want be a decent person and I’m going to stick to my guns and not get too waylaid by what other people say’.”
Mattea firmly believes that we create our own luck; for young riders with dreams of success, her advice is to work hard and surround yourself with the right people. “It’s important that you have positive people around you. I think that’s really important because it is easy to get waylaid, especially in your teenage years.”
In terms of their own coach, Mattea and Shane have been working with Rod Brown on and off for the better part of a decade.
“We trained with him years ago, when Shane had jumper Fairbanks Lulu, who was on the recognition squad for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and I had eventer Fairbanks Cargo, who was on the Eventing Talent Identification squad and went on to compete at the Asian Games,” explains Mattea. “I really like Rod’s way of teaching. He’s very calm; it’s about training the horses and just following a process. It gels well with both of us.”
COMPETITION GOALS
Despite the hiccup at Tamworth, Mattea is having a cracking World Cup season and is currently fourth in the Australian league standings – even though in Shepparton, her World Cup nomination was Jaybee Vigilante, meaning she only picked up points there for second place rather than the win!
With three legs still to come – Willinga Park (14 September), Sale (24 November) and Sydney Summer Classic (7 December) – there is still plenty of water to go under the bridge in terms of who will finish atop the rankings and earn the opportunity to compete at the World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland in April 2025.
Mattea is certainly in with a red-hot chance, but she’s philosophical about the next few months. “It would be amazing [to win the Australian league], but there are parts of that which are beyond my control. There are very good competitors on the Australian World Cup circuit and if they’re better than you on the day, then that is what it is. I am not getting too stuck on what other people are doing; if they’re better on the day then they deserve to win. All I can do is go out and keep doing it as well as I can. If I make mistakes I will try and learn from them and that will help me in the future, in five or ten years’ time. I only have control over how I train and ride; that’s what I am focused on.”
For Mattea, it’s about continuing to learn and improve. “There are still things I want to get better at. I’d love to have a bigger team of horses, so if you have some nice horses out there, we’re here!” she laughs.
BRISBANE 2032
Mattea’s journey with Jaybee Vigilante and Checkamour D have both been many years in the making.
She’s had 13-year-old gelding Jaybee Vigilante (bred by Bev Chugg, by Vivant out of Jaybee Jubilee, by Jetset-D), aka Vigi, since he was a breaker. Initially an eventer, he transitioned to show jumping after a minor injury – a move that has paid off for Mattea. The gelding debuted at World Cup level in 2022 and has since gone from strength to strength. “When he came back from injury, I decided just to focus on show jumping with him… and it’s just gone from there,” says Mattea. “He’s a real dag of a horse, Vigi. He’s just a nice horse to have around.”
Eleven-year-old mare Checkamour D, aka Cindy, is a homebred (by Check In out of Champion D’Amour, by Champion FP), so she’s been with the Davidsons from day dot. “She’s hopefully a representation of what we’re trying to achieve with our breeding and training. Her eldest embryo transfer foal, we’re just breaking in at the moment. So that’s all very exciting,” says Mattea.
With some exciting young horses in the paddock, a distant Olympic dream is now starting to come into focus. “Brisbane 2032 is coming up… that would be an amazing dream. I suppose it’s just about keeping going and getting better. I think that’s all you can do, because you can only focus on that. And then the rest is up to the gods.”
Shane says it’s always hard to know where young horses will end up, but at the moment that ones they have are promising. “I always think it’s a good indication when you first break a horse in, if they happily turn left, right, stop, and go it shows they have a good character and work ethic – which are important qualities in a competition horse.”
“Brisbane is still a long way off,” says Mattea. “It’s eight years away, so those horses that maybe two to four years old are the ones in the right age bracket… I think we have a couple there. One of the hardest things about the sport is financially it’s difficult. You’re always trying to bring people on board so that they can share that experience with you.
“We’ve got part owners with Vigi, Brooke Pugh and Chris Neville, I think they’ve really enjoyed the journey. At the end of the day, surely that’s what life is about… it’s about enjoying these moments and enjoying them with people that have a shared passion. That’s one of the things that gives me the greatest joy.” EQ
