Mighty Nice on his way to winning the Adequan USEA Gold Cup PRO Tour Series CIC***
The Dutton Eventing Team has started the 2013 season on a high note, and is hoping to carry that momentum through to the Spring Three Days at Rolex Kentucky, Jersey Fresh and Bromont (Quebec). Phillip has already competed 24 times in five events with some solid placings and consistently good form from the upper level horses at Intermediate and Advanced, including of course most recently a win in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup & PRO Tour Red Hills CIC*** on Bruce Duchossois' Mighty Nice, 6th place in the same division on Tom Tierney's Atlas, and a 4th in the National Advanced class on Tom Tierney's and Annie Jones' Fernhill Fugitive. Jennie Brannigan made sure that it was a True Prospect Farm bonanza by bringing home the CIC** spoils on Nina Gardner's Indie and placing 4th in the CIC*** on the same owner's Cambalda.
The annual re-location to Bridle Creek in Aiken, SC in January went smoothly, although as Phillip noted, the weather wasn't as mild as expected.
"It's always exciting to come south, the horses have spent the better part of two months in an indoor arena so we're always ready to be in Aiken and to ride outside, to start cross country schooling and generally start the year off in an outdoors way rather than be in the cold and the frozen ground. Aiken is a very unique area with the soil type, even if it's a very cold night and there's a frost, the ground is still ideal for the horses, and even if it's really wet it holds up incredibly well. But, it's been the worst February on record as far as the weather is concerned which makes our daily routine a little bit tougher. We've got a relatively new and inexperienced crew this year and they've really worked hard and done a great job with the horses which is the most important thing."
Carol Anne with Mighty Nice and Fernhill Eagle
Carol Anne Parker, an experienced groom formerly with international rider Stephen Bradley, joined the team at short notice and as well as taking excellent care of the horses has become something of a den mother as well, "It's a great job - Phillip is very easy to work for and it's fun to be around horsemen, and such wonderful horses".
In between showing at the local events - Sporting Days, Paradise Farm and Pine Top - Phillip has attended the USEF High Performance Training Sessions with Team Coach David O'Connor, "The Training Sessions have been really productive - David has got a lot of knowledge to give and has a great way of teaching. It's been very beneficial and I hope we'll be able to keep building on it each week and each month."
Phillip took five horses to Wellington in January to spend a couple of weeks working on the flat with Michael Barisone and on the jumping with Lauren Hough; Michael has since travelled to Aiken once to teach Phillip and Boyd Martin, and there are plans in place to bring him back twice more before Kentucky. Of course, being able to renew the lease on the Mercedes by dint of winning the CIC*** at Red Hills recently was a lovely bonus but Phillip commented that he was perhaps even more thrilled with the continuity in the dressage training being reflected in their results
"The biggest thing for me this weekend was not necessarily winning, but the dressage scores I got on Happy and Atlas because there's certainly still room for improvement. I was just trying to do a nice relaxed test on Happy so it's comforting to know that we are improving and we are going in the right direction. To a degree it doesn't matter how good your work is at home, it's what the scoreboard says that really counts. Atlas' mark was encouraging too - it was not a mistake-free test and he was still competitive. I was also really pleased for Jennie and Caitlin (Spurlock) who rode really well all weekend."
Looking ahead to Kentucky, Mighty Nice will have a quiet run at The Fork next, "As far as Rolex goes, the run at Red Hills was good for fitness. Before then, knowing Mighty Nice and the way he is, I need to have a slower round so that I make sure when I leave the start box in Kentucky he doesn't think he has to go flat out; it's obviously another step up in the size and difficulty of the jumps there, and it's a much more forward, flowing course than Red Hills so it's a different type of approach to the cross country that we need so I'll be working on that at the next competition."
Meanwhile, Team Rebecca's Fernhill Eagle will run at both Southern Pines and The Fork as part of his preparation, "It will be an important month for him. I'm pleased with the way he's going at home but we'll just see where the dressage goes. He needs to be able to do that four star test in a comfortable and relaxed way, that's what I'm aiming for. If it all goes to plan he's got a good shot at being pretty competitive in Kentucky - he's got plenty of experience now, he's a great cross country horse and has the ability to get the time easily enough without luck being on our side or without it being too hard for him, and he's a good careful jumper."
After The Fork the Dutton Eventing Team pack everything up once again and head back to True Prospect Farm in Pennsylvania, but for now it looks like the weather has finally turned just in time, "We're looking forward to Spring Break; the Dutton family is going to be here but we've also got lots of other families and kids coming from different parts of the country including Millbrook, and then a couple of the owners are coming to Aiken for a mini version of our Summer Camp, so we're looking forward to that too."
Of course none of this would be possible without the fantastic backing of Dutton Eventing's loyal owners, sponsors, staff and supporters. We are, as always, tremendously grateful.
