Rutledge Farm is thrilled to welcome back two-time Olympic gold medalist Phillip Dutton to host his second eventing clinic as a part of the Rutledge Farm Sessions clinic series. Since 2017, Rutledge Farm has been dedicated to bringing premier educational opportunities to Middleburg, Virginia to support the development of the sport at all levels and for multiple disciplines, including eventing, show jumping, dressage, and equitation.
Dutton earned back-to-back Olympic gold medals for Australia's eventing team in 1996 during the Games in Atlanta, Georgia and again in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. After changing his competitive nationality to the United States in 2006, he was a member of the gold medal eventing team at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro and rode to the individual silver medal. In 2016, he was awarded the individual bronze medal for U.S. Eventing Team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics riding Mighty Nice.
His clinic will take place Saturday, October 26, offering rider spots for five different sections, from the six different levels, including Advanced/Intermediate, Preliminary, Training, Novice, Beginner Novice, and Beginner. Each session will start with 15-20 minutes of flatwork, followed by over fences work adjusted to the appropriate height for each level. The sessions will culminate in cross-country, competition-style lines and coursework set in the grass field.
Autumn Rae, a participant from the 2018 clinic, commented, "I thought Phillip Dutton was super positive and had some really good exercises to get the horses either shortening or lengthening, so it was really useful. He was very systematic in what he was doing. Sometimes it can be hard to take a clinic with someone who doesn't know you and your horse, but he seemed to size it up really well and really quickly and do very appropriate exercises."
Rider spots are available at a first-come, first-served basis and will sell out soon! Reserve your spot to ride with Dutton today. Auditors are welcomed and encouraged to attend, and day passes are available for just $20. An exclusive discount offer is also available to USEA members using the code DUTTONRF20 at this link. For more information about how to register as a rider or an auditor, visit https://bit.ly/duttonrutledge19.
It's the final day of dressage at the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE) and following yesterday's schedule, the final four-star pairs will get the day started before we see the remainder of the five-star field later this afternoon.
Germany’s Michael Jung hasn’t competed in a five-star since the last time he won the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2022 with his longtime partner fischerChipmunk FRH, but his love for the bluegrass and his horse’s readiness compelled him to return this year and break an all-time record for lowest dressage score at this event (which they set at that 2022 event with a score of 20.1) at the same time. They lead the five-star field with a nearly 10-point lead on a score of 18.6.
“It's day 1, so I'm not getting too excited yet. There's a long, long way to go in this competition,” said Phillip Dutton after his dressage test aboard Denim in the Cosequin CCI4*-S leaving the pair in the overnight lead upon the conclusion of the first day of dressage at the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered!