When professional eventer Mary Bess Davis (née Sigman) became a mother over a decade ago, she decided to take a step back from equestrian pursuits to concentrate on raising her two sons. Besides, it seemed like a propitious time to shift priorities; despite successfully producing three horses from grassroots to the four-star level, ill-timed injuries—both human and equine—kept derailing her goals and deferring her dreams.

Davis decided to concentrate on having fun with her growing family, while continuing to teach several of her long-time adult amateur clients at the lower levels. But one day, after nearly eight years away from top-level sport, Davis realized that she felt something was missing from her life.

“I said to my husband, Mark [Davis], ‘I miss it, and I want to try again,’ ” said Mary Bess, 46. “He was so supportive. He said, ‘Let’s go get you a young horse. Let’s do it.’”

So in late 2019, she and Mark went horse shopping in England, where Mary Bess’ longtime coach and mentor, Canadian Mike Winter, is based. Winter helped them select two young prospects: one to keep, and one as an investment to later sell. But when an issue was identified in the investment horse’s pre-purchase exam, Winter suggested that a 5-year-old Anglo-European Warmblood (Cassander C—Khadija Des Hayettes, Banboula Du Thot) he had recently seen named Imperio Magic might be a suitable replacement.

“He called me and said, ‘This is your horse, I promise,’ ” said Mary Bess, who by then had returned to her home in Mansfield, Georgia. “He told me, ‘I think you’ll want to keep this one, and the other might be the investment horse.’ I bought him, and I had never even sat on him.”

As Mary Bess got to know “McColl,” she realized the green youngster didn’t seem to know much about dressage.

However, he jumped with confidence and charisma, in a good balance, and Mary Bess quickly determined “this little horse” was something quite special.

In 2021, at just 7 years old and with barely a year of competition experience, McColl won the National Young Horse Championship for the Jonathan R. Burton Trophy at the U.S. Equestrian Federation CCI3*-L Eventing National Championships held at Fair Hill, Maryland. In fall 2022, they finished fourth in their four-star debut together at Stable View (South Carolina) and placed second one month later in their second run at the level at The Event at Terranova (Florida).

“He has understood this sport like no other horse I’ve ever seen or ridden, from the get-go,” said Mary Bess. “He is going to do what I tell him to, as long as I present it in a way he understands. So it’s been a lot of pressure on me, because he wants to please, always.”

This year, Mary Bess hopes to fulfill a long-held dream with McColl: contesting the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L.

But she has been involved with horses long enough to know that nothing is for certain, and you simply have to embrace the journey, with all of its ups and downs.

“It is so hard to get a horse to the top level, and hard to keep them at the top level, but I’ve gotten more educated,” said Mary Bess. “I wanted to do the five-star, but I never set my sights on that, because I have been disappointed so many times. I was careful to not make that my goal and enjoy just trying to get back there. I didn’t even know if that would be possible, but I wanted to try.”

From Vaulting To Eventing

Although Mary Bess joined Pinewood Pony Club (Georgia) at around 4 years old and “tried all the disciplines,” it was actually vaulting, not eventing, that first captured her heart.

In fact, throughout her teen years, Mary Bess didn’t ride much at all, and she instead toured the U.S. and Canada as part of an elite team giving vaulting demos. She eventually earned her vaulting silver medal, an achievement she compares to receiving a U.S. Dressage Federation medal, and even made an appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

While Mary Bess vaulted, it was her older brother Michael Sigman who became the eventer in the family. But he stepped away from the sport when he went off to college, and their father, Dr. Mike Sigman, began riding his son’s horses. Soon, Mike was competing at lower-level events, and he asked Mary Bess, who was then a student at the University of Georgia, if she would like to come along.

“We have always done this kind of together,” said Mary Bess of her father, who died in 2024. “He was a veterinarian, and he got his FEI vet license. He was always at events; people knew him way more than they knew me.”

After competing her first event horse through training level, Mary Bess soon determined she wanted to find something that could go further. That horse, a Thoroughbred named Mojo Rising, had only competed at novice when Mary Bess met him; together, they eventually competed through the four-star level.

“He was really, really amazing, and then I was hooked,” said Mary Bess with a laugh. “I never thought this would be my job. But after that horse went advanced, I got a couple more Thoroughbreds. Both of them went to the advanced level, and both were really great as well. So I was in it.”

Mary Bess’ Triple Creek Eventing is based at the farm her parents purchased when she was a senior in high school.

Her father put up a covered arena so he could ride after work, an amenity Mary Bess appreciates today. Over the years, she and Mark, a non-equestrian who works in IT sales, have added onto the property in bits and pieces. Today, she operates a boutique training business there, keeping event horses tuned up for busy riders who commute from Atlanta several times each week for lessons.

“I have a bunch of adult amateur ladies who are super fun and wild and great,” said Mary Bess. “We have about 13 horses in training now, and I have wonderful working students, and we all switch off. I ride the horses twice a week, I teach their owners on them, and the working students do the trotting hills and stuff like that.”

One of those adult amateurs, Tiffany Stewart, is a former hunter rider turned eventer who first met Mary Bess over 15 years ago when she needed help with a difficult horse. Stewart admits that at the time, she thought eventing was what only the “clinically crazy people do,” but she was immediately impressed by Mary Bess’ skills.

“She was the softest, most beautiful rider,” remembered Stewart. “She rode like a hunter. Not that looks are everything, but as a hunter rider, equitation means a lot to us. And she equitates as good as any hunter rider I’ve ever seen.”

Several years later, Stewart adopted a rising 2-year-old with an unknown past; she thought the gelding might even be gaited, but she really liked him and wanted to give him a chance. She reached out to Mary Bess again, because she knew the trainer wouldn’t judge the horse.

“She loves the horses,” said Stewart. “She holds no grudges, and she sees the best in them. She’s truly gifted in that regard. She gets on them, and she is a hundred percent in her ride. It’s very admirable; sometimes you’re trying to talk to her, and she’s not even listening to you, because she is so invested in that ride, on that horse, in that moment.”

Today, Stewart is proud to call herself an eventer. Under Mary Bess’ direction, Stewart and her “hony” Crimson Clover eventually competed through novice, and in 2023 were reserve champions in the master beginner novice adult division at the USEA American Eventing Championships in Kentucky.

“She taught me that if you take a horse that has no baggage and hand it to her, she’ll make it a champion,” said Stewart. “She derives so much pleasure out of teaching them things. She knows immediately when they’re on the right track, and when to praise them. She is such a gifted horsewoman in that regard.”

Shifting Priorities

In 2008, Mary Bess took a fall from a young horse and broke her back. By the time she had recovered, both of her advanced horses had suffered injuries significant enough that they would never return to the upper levels. Not long after, she met Mark.

“I’d been hurt; my horses were hurt; I met my husband, and we got married and decided to have a family,” said Mary Bess. “I decided to put all of it on the back burner. I thought I was going to be a stay-at-home mom.”

Her children—Austin, now 11, and Grayson, 8—soon kept Mary Bess and Mark plenty busy. Both boys are avid soccer players, and when she isn’t at the barn, Mary Bess can probably be found at the soccer field. Although none of the Davis men are riders, they all enjoy being around the horses and cheering Mary Bess on at competitions. When she and McColl crossed through the finish flags at their first four-star, it is hard to say who among them was the happiest about their success.

“We were so, so excited, because it’s been such a long journey, not with McColl necessarily, but with my career,” said Mary Bess. “The kids were excited because they realized all this hard work—it does pay off. For my children to see it all come to fruition, it was wonderful.

“When they have a bad day, or don’t get picked for the premier team in soccer, I will often say, ‘If you love it enough, you’ve got to just keep pushing forward and try your best to keep working at it,’ ” she continued. “I really hope that’s what they’re getting from seeing me—a work ethic, and if they dream something, they will keep pushing toward that dream no matter what.”

Mary Bess is quick to credit her “amazing support system” for allowing her to teach, train and pursue top level sport while also raising her family. Her mother, Cathy Sigman, lives next door and can step in to help on short notice; her mother-in-law, Gail Davis, “Pulls in the driveway as soon as I leave to go out of town.”

“I’ve got a great support system, and I also have incredible people that work on my farm,” said Mary Bess. “Without that support system, none of it would work, or it would just be mediocrity. Having those people makes it where everybody’s thriving, and everybody’s happy. I know I would not be able to do it without all of them, because it just wouldn’t be possible.”

“I think a lot of people from the outside would think she has it all,” said Stewart. “She’s got wonderful children, a wonderful husband, a great farm; great horses, clients, and friends. But I don’t think everyone sees the sacrifices she makes. It takes so many people to help you achieve this kind of a dream. She sacrifices, and sacrifices, and sacrifices, and she is supported by everybody. And she deserves it—she is kind, and invested, and committed.”

In 2023, after finishing 10th in the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI4*-S (North Carolina) on McColl, her 6-year-old entry in the two-star, Monius, tripped a frangible pin going into the water; Mary Bess fell and broke her neck in several places.

“My first thought was, ‘Who do I like enough to sell [McColl] to, because he is so special and I don’t think I want to do this anymore,” said Mary Bess. “But my husband said, ‘Wait, and take some time.’ ”

She sent McColl to her longtime trainer Karen O’Connor, who kept him tuned up on the flat while she recovered. When she was cleared to ride, Mark encouraged his wife to try taking McColl out one more time before making any final decisions.

“He was totally right,” Mary Bess said with a laugh. “I started cross-country schooling McColl, and I felt great.”

But getting back up to speed in competition, literally and figuratively, took a bit longer.

“When I started competing him again, I had my foot on the brake a bit, and it took a bit of time to get my confidence back with going at speed, and trusting him,” said Mary Bess. “He had never done anything, but since I’d fallen, I didn’t particularly trust him anymore, which was silly.

“Finally, after cross-country at Stable View that fall when we were coming back, Karen said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to trust him. You’ve got to let him hunt,’ ” she continued. “It just resonated with me so much because that’s exactly what the horse is doing. He loves it; he doesn’t want me hindering him. He wants me to believe in him and let him go and do his job. That helped a lot, and that’s when things turned around.”

Kentucky Dreaming

In the spring of 2024, Mary Bess made her first career appearance at the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S, held during the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L weekend, where she and McColl added just 7.2 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score to finish 12th. The experience was made even more impactful due to the fact that her terminally ill father, Mike, was able to witness it. He died three weeks later, and Mary Bess felt his loss acutely.

“Eventing was a fun thing for us to do together, and we’ve always been close,” said Mary Bess. “He was such a goofy person and funny, and he was my best friend. He got it. He always got it.

“When I got back into it, he was so proud and so supportive—and also was always like, ‘If you don’t want to do this level, you don’t have to,’ which was great to hear,” she continued. “He was my biggest cheerleader. He wanted it as much as I did, but he never put pressure on me to do anything.”

Mary Bess raced home from the Yanmar America Tryon CCI4*-L (North Carolina) to be at his side when he passed.

“He watched Kentucky, and he was so proud when I came home, he was crying he was so happy,” said Mary Bess, her own voice catching. “He held on through all that, and then he went downhill pretty quickly. I think that was all he needed to see.”

Mary Bess admits that moving forward after her father’s death felt insurmountable at times. But in September, when she and McColl were named to the Defender U.S. Eventing Team for the FEI Nations Cup CCIO4*-L, held at Military Boekelo, the Netherlands, she felt his hand on the wheel.

“I felt like he was watching over me,” said Mary Bess. “All the pieces fell into place because, somehow, he was helping me through all this. I think going to Boekelo gave me something to focus on and move toward.

“He would have been so proud,” she continued. “And he would have been so mad at me if I’d let grief or anything like that not let me do all those things. We just kept trudging forward.”

Mary Bess admits that at Boekelo, she felt the pressure of riding on a team for the first time, but ultimately learned a lot from the experience. Even McColl seemed to know the competition was a special one; he unloaded from the plane and “never put a foot wrong.”

“I don’t think I got excited until I jogged, because I kept thinking something was going to go wrong,” said Mary Bess with a laugh. “Finally I decided, I can only do the best I can do—and I got really excited.

“Getting to be there with the other girls on the team, and Phillip [Dutton] was really fun,” she continued. “Just having that experience with your horse in a different country is really, really special. Then when you go out and you do the best you think you could have done, on that weekend—that just makes it even more special.”

Boekelo was drenched by rains in the days leading up to the competition, leaving the cross-country boggy and deep.

But McColl again added just a handful of time faults to their dressage score and wrapped up the event with a double-clear show jumping round to finish 19th and help the U.S. squad to second. As soon as they finished their final phase there, Mary Bess began to allow herself to think about the Kentucky five-star this spring.

“I don’t know that I’d ever jumped him in mud, and that was real mud,” said Mary Bess. “It was a great feeling to come away from that event and know he’s got that in him. He dug deep. I was really proud of him.”

This spring, Mary Bess’ focus has been improving McColl’s fitness. She has been trailering to a local cross-country course with more hills than her own farm and using a heart rate monitor to track his activity and recovery. Their final prep event was at Stable View in early April, where they finished seventh in the CCI4*-S.

And when they get to Kentucky, she and McColl will certainly have solid support behind them.

“Mary Bess is somebody you can really relate to,” said Stewart. “She hasn’t been handed anything on a silver platter; she has worked her tail off. It’s her dedication and persistence, and she is a good, honest, kind person that we can all look up to. But she’s not forgetting about anybody.”

Looking back on the ups and downs her career, Mary Bess is sanguine.

“It sounds unreal, but I guess when you talk to eventers, they all have these stories of comebacks,” says Mary Bess.

“You’ve got to believe in it, and love it, and love the partnership, and just keep kicking on.”

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This article originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.