Local man going the distance

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Franklin County Times
ATWOOD – In nearly 20 years, one Franklin County resident has logged enough miles to get from his Atwood community home to Italy and back more than a few times.
James "Bud" Davidson has galloped more than 7,000 miles on horseback over the past 18 years as a an endurance horseback rider.
Davidson began endurance riding, following in the footsteps of his daughter who developed and interest in the hobby. He says the rest is history.
"It's just something that fit," Davidson said. "I liked it, so I kept doing it."
Davidson joked that when he first started, his daughter told him he was too old to handle such a rough sport.
"It wasn't too long before it was hard for her to keep up with me."
Davidson goes on rides of one, two, three, or sometimes seven days each.
"We ride about 100 miles per day on horseback, and we camp overnight when it's a long ride," Davidson said.
He has been named several times in Endurance Riding Magazine and has taken home several prizes over the years.
"In 2001, I was named the 50 mile champion," Davidson said.
In 2006, Davidson's horse, Micah, took the first place prize for Best Condition for the Southeast Region.
Davidson travels all over to participate in these rides, and said they keep him young.
While he gets a lot out of participating in the challenging rides, he says that hiss job is the easy one. The horse does all the work.
"It's easy for me," Davidson said. "I just hang on and let the horse do all the work."