Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice in the 1.30-meter class at Swan Lake. Photo by Emily Riden/Phelps Media Group.
Phillip Dutton and Doug Payne both won $1,000 1.30-meter Open Jumper classes yesterday at different shows along the East Coast, and Tamie Smith also flexed her show jumping muscles in a 1.30-meter class in California earlier this week.
Phillip’s appearance at Swan Lake’s Fall Festival in Littlestown, Pennsylvania, especially had the crowd doing a double take as they realized a two-time Olympic gold medalist had infiltrated hunter/jumper land.
“It was so great to pop around the corner and see you in the ring!” hunter rider and Swan Lake competitor Deloise Noble-Strong wrote on Phillip’s Facebook page last night. “I was talking to everyone going, ‘Did you see we have eventing royalty here?'”
Phillip said Swan Lake’s Fall Festival proved to be an ideal first outing for Mighty Nice after the horse’s successful recovery from a bone chip on his stifle sustained at this year’s Rolex Kentucky CCI4*. “Happy,” an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, was the only horse in the $1,000 1.30-meter Open Jumper class to go clear in the jump off, giving him the win.
“(Mighty Nice) is pretty pleased to be out,” Phillip said after the class. “He’s such a cool horse. Hopefully he’ll have a bit of luck on his side. At the big events little things have gone wrong, so he hasn’t had his chance to show how good he is, so hopefully he’s on the right track now for the rest of the year.”
Happy, owned by Caroline Moran, Annie Jones, Michael Bombar, Kevin Keane and Evie Dutton, will compete in the Plantation Field International CIC3* next month before going on to the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3*, which Phillip won in 2007 aboard The Foreman.
Doug Payne won the $1,000 1.30-meter Open Jumper class at Tryon IV in Mill Spring, North Carolina, yesterday thanks to going clear in the jump off with a speedy time of 32.715 seconds with Laura Regan’s Rocket. (Click here for a quick video from the jump off.)
The Dutch gelding, by Corland out of Jashine-Rona, is one of a number of very talented pure show jumpers in Doug’s barn right now. Doug also won the $1,000 1.20-meter class yesterday aboard Barbara Calabro’s Confire La Pomme (video above), as well as ribboned in a number of other classes.
Mai Baum & Tamie clean in the 1.30 today!!! The partnership is finally coming together!!! Beyond thrilled!!! Hutch your the bomb!!!
Posted by Tamie Smith on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
On the West Coast, Tamie Smith, Heather Morris and Mackenna Shea were all out jumping at the Showpark All Seasons Summer Classic in Del Mar, California, on Wednesday with good results.
Tamie has been diligently working to cement the partnership with Ellen and Alex Ahearn’s Mai Baum, who was named as an alternate to this year’s U.S. Pan American Games team. “Lexus,” a 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding, jumped a beautiful clear round in the 1.30-meter class (video above).
Heather Morris jumped Team Express Group’s Charlie Tango in the 1.20-meter class (video here) in preparation for next month’s American Eventing Championships in Tyler, Texas, where they’ll be competing in the Merial Open Intermediate division. They’ll then head east for the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2*.
Mackenna Shea also jumped in the 1.20-meter class aboard a very cute mare named Ghypsy (video here), and it’s great to see her staying busy as her upper-level partner Landioso recovers from last week’s colic surgery. “Landi” came home from San Luis Rey Equine Hospital on Sunday and is continuing to heal well.
Results Links: Swan Lake Fall Festival, Tryon August IV, Showpark All Seasons Summer Classic
[Penny Brennan and Phillip Dutton Lead Open Jumpers at Swan Lake Fall Festival]
