JJ Babu was a horse that excelled in the sport of eventing

Eventing

Eventing is an equestrian event comprising dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding...

, under American rider Bruce Davidson

Bruce Davidson (equestrian)

Bruce Oram Davidson is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to horses...

.

• Lived: 1974-April 1989
• Sex: Gelding
  Gelding
  A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
  
  
• Color: Bay
  Bay (color)
  Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds....
  
  
• Markings: Small star
• Breeding: by Babu Dancer, by My Babu
  My Babu
  My Babu was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most influential sires in American breeding of show jumpers, eventers and hunters. His descendants include Bruce Davidson's former eventing mount JJ Babu, Anky van Grunsven's dressage horse Bonfire, and puissance and grand prix...
  
  , out of Polymelia by Tudorka
• Breeder: Charles B Eiler
• Place of Birth: Germantown, Maryland
  Maryland
  Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
  
  
• Rider: Bruce Davidson

JJ Babu was purchased by Davidson as a yearling. He was not only a good-looking horse, but was well-tempered. The gelding excelled in all three phases, which explains his incredible success.

Partnered for 15 years with Davidson, the horse not only won the team gold at the 1984 LA Olympics, but also the Rolex Kentucky Three Day

Rolex Kentucky Three Day

The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Rolex Kentucky is a CCI**** eventing competition, and the only four-star show in the Western Hemisphere. Four stars is the highest level of competition, the same level of...

 in 1983. He competed at the advanced level for nine seasons, and started in 12 CCIs.

JJ Babu was destroyed at the age of 15, after he fractured a pastern bone at the Fair Hill Horse Trials.

Competition Record

1988

• 2nd Rolex Kentucky Three Day
  Rolex Kentucky Three Day
  The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Rolex Kentucky is a CCI**** eventing competition, and the only four-star show in the Western Hemisphere. Four stars is the highest level of competition, the same level of...
  
   CCI*** (Lexington, KY)

1987

• 1st Stockholm
  Stockholm
  Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
  
   CCI *** (Sweden)
• 1st Somborne

1986

• 2nd Burghley Horse Trials
  Burghley Horse Trials
  The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September...
  
   CCI *** (England)
• 1st Gatcombe Park
• 6th Dauntsey Horse Trials
• 6th Badminton Horse Trials
  Badminton Horse Trials
  The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International Four Star **** events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale , which takes place in April or May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort in...
  
   CCIO *** (England)

1985

• 11th Badminton CCIO ***
• 2nd Brigstock

1984

• Team gold and individually 13th the Los Angeles Olympics

1983

• 11th Burghley Horse Trials
  Burghley Horse Trials
  The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September...
  
   CCI***
• 1st Rolex Kentucky Three Day
  Rolex Kentucky Three Day
  The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Rolex Kentucky is a CCI**** eventing competition, and the only four-star show in the Western Hemisphere. Four stars is the highest level of competition, the same level of...
  
   CCI *** (Lexington, KY)

1982

• 5th Dauntsey
• 2nd Badminton Horse Trials
  Badminton Horse Trials
  The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International Four Star **** events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale , which takes place in April or May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort in...
  
  CCI **** (England)
• 1st Brigstock

1981

• 1st Chesterland Three Day Event (Advanced)

1980

• 1st Essex Three Day Event (Preliminary)