Biography
David is entered with Ferro Point, a horse he has ridden for a decade, and new ride Midnight Rollercoaster.
The 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse Midnight Rollercoaster, a full brother to 2017 Blenheim winner Cooley Cross Border (ridden by Kim Severson), was previously brought up through the grades from unbroken to four-star by his owner, Alison Lidstone, who bought him as a two-year-old. Last year she handed over the ride to David due to her suffering multiple knee surgeries; the new partnership was second in the CCI4*-L at Strzegom, Poland, in 2025.
The partnership between David and the 16-year-old mare Ferro Point stretches back 10 years to the start of her international career, which has progressed to five-star completions at Luhmuhlen in 2023 (13th place) and Pau in 2022 and 2020.
David’s best five-star results have come on Galileo Nieuwmoed – they finished third at Kentucky recently. They were also sixth at Badminton in 2022, second at Burghley in 2023, winning the Avebury Trophy for an outstanding cross-country round, ninth at Luhmuhlen and third at Elkton/Maryland, USA, in 2024 and ninth at Pau last year.
David, who is currently ranked at number 16 in the world, represented Britain five times at under-25 European Championships, winning Junior team gold and individual bronze medals on Kings Cross in 2011 and Young Rider team silver and bronze medals in 2013 and 2014 on Ricoshea and Miss Caruso respectively.
He has spent this February on the Mata do Duque circuit in in Portugal, winning a CCI4*-S on Cobalt de Dugny.
David, whose mother, Maggie, evented to advanced level and rode grand prix dressage, is based in Lacock, Wiltshire and is married to Charlotte, a show jumper. In addition to riding, he owns an ice-cream company, Lacock Dairy.
He is trained by Adam Kemp and Nick Turner.
Entries
Galileo Nieuwmoed
KPWN,
Netherlands,
2011
16.3hh , dark bay , gelding
Sire Carambole
Dam Sjaloma (Harcos)
Breeder J.W.& A.P Jurrius
Owned
David Doel
Mary Fox
Gillian Jonas
- Galileo Nieuwmoed has been inside the time at CCI5* level on seven previous occasions, more than any other horse on this year's entry list.
- This is the only horse on record to have finished inside the top-10 at every one of the Northern Hemisphere CCI5* competitions (Kentucky, Badminton, Luhmuhlen, Burghley, Maryland & Pau).