THOMPSON, Ga.--Phillip Dutton on Carlchen, owned by Caroline Moran, set a new United States Eventing Association Advanced dressage record on Friday, Feb. 26, with a score of 15.0 in the Advanced Test B Division at the Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials in Thomson.
Phillip Dutton on Carlchen (Photo by Liz Crawley Photography)Dutton and Carlchen’s early lead following the dressage phase would ultimately help them clinch the win in the Advanced Test B Division on Saturday, Feb. 27, with a final score of 34.2.
“I’m very proud of Carlchen. In dressage, you always feel that you can do things better; I know there’s still some throughness and softness that I can continue to improve, but he is obviously a huge talent,” said Dutton of the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding.
Dutton, who is based out of West Grove, PA, spent much of the winter in Wellington, Fla., and he in part credits Carlchen’s success to the horse’s winter training there.
“THIS WINTER in Wellington served him well, as I had Scott Hassler and Erik Duvander training me in dressage every week to 10 days,” said Dutton, referencing the well-respected dressage trainer and rider and U.S. Eventing High Performance Director, respectively.
“Being in the Wellington environment where you are exposed to great horsemanship and top dressage riders on a daily basis also makes you aim that much higher and expect that much more,” saidd Dutton, a six-time Olympian, two-time Olympic team gold medalist and the individual bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Carlchen was purchased by Moran in the fall of 2019, but a minor injury shortly thereafter kept him out of competition through the end of that year.
With cancelled events and continually changing competition and travel circumstances throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlchen did not return to competition until October 2020.
“It’s certainly exciting to have Carlchen back out competing,” said Dutton of the gelding that competed successfully through the CCI3* level with riders Stuart Tinney of Australia, Francis Whittington of Great B ritain and Michelle Kenny of Ireland before being imported to the U.S. in 2019.
“Caroline Moran has been, and continues to be, an extremely supportive and a wonderful owner,” said Dutton. “She approached me about purchasing a new horse a few years back, and Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horses found Carlchen for us. He’s not hot, but he’s certainly a forward-thinking horse, which suits me. He’s had some good education before me, and we’re continuing to build on that education and to get to know each other at the higher performance level.”
In addition to his success with Carlchen, Dutton finished second in the Advanced Test B Division at the Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials with Sea of Clouds, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Anita Motion, Sue Haldeman, Annie Jones, Evie Dutton, Dave and Patricia Vos and Sheikh Fahah Al-Thani.
Dutton also earned the win in the Open Intermediate B division riding Quasi Cool, also owned by Moran.
Dutton will head next to the $50,000 LiftMaster Grand Prix Eventing Festival, to be held March 5-6 in Aiken, S.C.
