[1] Davison is a four-time Olympian having represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in London in 2012, Athens in 2004, Sydney in 2000 and Atlanta in 1996.

[6] His knowledge and experience has helped steer dressage from being barely known among the general public to becoming the sport of the 'dancing horses' that Britain celebrated during London.

[12] Davison has been described as an eloquent and skilled moderator who is practised at combining firm control with humour when needed, and who keeps meetings on message and delegates engaged.

In 2008 when the FEI President HRH Princess Haya Bint Hussein demanded that the entire committee should resign, on the grounds it did not fully represent the interests of the dressage community, Davison was appointed by the FEI Executive Board to the Ad Hoc Task Force which was established to replace the committee and to inject a new focus in the sport.

[6] Davison has competed horses for high profile owners including Lord and Lady Bamford, HRH Princess Haya bint Hussein, Gwendolyn Sontheim and the Countess of Derby.

In 2015, together with his younger son Joe, he was asked to present a dressage masterclass demonstrating his training methods to HM Queen Elizabeth II using Hiscox Artemis, the horse Davison rode for Lady Derby at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

[22] The Countess of Derby arranged for Sir Elton John and Robbie Williams to give permission for Davison to ride to their music in his dressage freestyle programmes.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the compositions and the project was supported in part by The Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

[29][30][31][32][33][34] Over the years Davison has contributed regularly to a number of equestrian publications,[6] and acted as a guest editor of Horse and Hound magazine with whom he was a long-time columnist.

[37] The duo used the weekend-long event to attempt to dispel the mysteries surrounding dressage training and make it fun and inclusive.

But he also needs a fantastic rider, and I think it is the alchemy between those three (Valegro, Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester), that has given us the privilege of watching the greatest combination together'.

In 2017 the university awarded him an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science in recognition of his significant contribution to the world of equestrian sport.