58 SIDELINES JULY 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Lauren R. Giannini
Barbara (Bebe) Davis, who belongs to
a small but very dedicated group of FEI
Pony Dressage riders, 12-16, enjoyed a
very successful winter season in Florida.
FEI Pony Test movements, ranging in
diffculty from Second Level to Prix St.
Georges, include half pass at trot, walk half-
pirouettes, collected and extended trot and
canter, counter canter and 8-meter voltes
(circles). Bebe rides with Dr. Cesar Parra
at his Piaffe Performance Farms (NJ & FL)
where trainer Katie Riley “really helps me;
but keeps me laughing at the same time.”
Bebe is a member of Somerset Hills Pony
Club (NJ).
What triggered your interest in
dressage?
Horses are not really in my family. My
grandfather used to ride when he was
my age and my mom took a few lessons
when she was in her 20s; but my parents
never thought I’d be into horses. I loved
the pony rides at the farmer’s market, so
my mom thought it would be fun for me to
take lessons. I was four when I started at
a barn down the street from my house on a
pony who was probably 30 years old. I got
hooked on dressage about the age of six.
I started dressage to improve my jumping
and the trainer put me on a lunge line so
that I could learn to have a good seat and
balance. My second pony was a German
Riding Pony: he did everything and was so
much fun. We did one tempis, half pass,
pirouette, a little piaffe and passage – a lot of it was by accident! I
didn’t know what I was doing; but he was always changing leads
all over the place. He did all this funny stuff I didn’t know, but it
was so cool. I was six or seven.
What are the biggest lessons you have learned so far about
riding and horses?
The most important thing about riding is to have fun. Also, I
have learned it’s important to have confdence in yourself and
your trainer as well as your horse. If you believe you can do it,
odds are you can.
Besides being able to spend more time with your ponies and
on the circuit, what are the advantages of home schooling?
Like many equestrians, I home school. I like it because you
get one on one attention and the teachers try to cater to the way
you learn. I take classes well above my grade level and it’s really
interesting and mentally challenging which is important. It also
keeps my schedule very fexible which is nice.
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National Pony Dressage Champion
Bebe Davis
Bebe Davis and Poldy 10 - her pony that knows he is “super cute”
Photo by www.BarbarasVisions.com
What are your ponies like?
Bohdjan (Bobo) is super sweet. He loves to snuggle. When
I bend down to wrap him, he rests his head on my back. He’s
super funny and loves the dogs at our barn. Poldy 10 is really
spunky. He’s super cute and totally knows it. He gives me this
look sometimes like “please, just admire me and give me sugar.”
They both make me laugh on a daily basis. No matter how bad
my day is they make it so much better.
What are your plans?
I hope to travel to Europe this summer with the ponies. I don’t
know if I will be able to pull it off with the timing of the Festival of
Champions (Bebe and Bobo earned reserve honors in the frst-
ever National Pony Rider Championship at the 2011 Collecting
Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions). I am really just trying
to keep a consistent schedule and keep my mind in riding. I will
keep training, keep improving and bonding with the ponies. I want
to show as much as I can before the championships. Every time I
show, I learn something new about the ponies and myself.