Dutton's luck

Before winning two Olympic gold medals, before traveling the world, before becoming one of the best in his sport, Phillip Dutton was just a bloke growing up on a farm in Australia.

"Horses were always a part of my life; work-wise herding the sheep and cattle but they were also part of our recreation," the 46-year-old renowned rider said before World Cup competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm on Friday.

"I gradually got more involved and more ambitious about it and ended up traveling to the U.S. to train and compete. Twenty years later, I'm still here."

Since his arrival in 1991, Dutton has become one of the world's best and most accomplished riders. The list of achievements includes three Olympic appearances, winning two team gold medals for Australia, and being named the USEA Leading Rider of the Year the last 10 years running.

On Friday, Dutton began pursuing one of his few missing accomplishments - win The Event at Rebecca Farm.

Riding his heralded thoroughbred Truluck in the CIC3* World Cup dressage, Dutton shined in his first Montana test and moved into first place. But in one of the final rides of the day, Dutton lost the top spot to Karen O'Connor and Mandiba as the pair jumped ahead by just over one point.

Dutton scored 45.8 while O'Connor came in with a low-score best 44.2. Mara Dean and High Patriot finished third with 47.4.

"Mandiba has really matured, has become very confirmed in the flatwork, and a lot of fun to ride," said O'Connor, once ranked the No. 1 lady rider in the world and a 10-time winner of the U.S. Female Equestrian athlete of the year. "I was feeling the fruition of a lot of years of work. And it was becoming easier than it ever has - and that is a very fun moment."

FEI World Cup CIC3* action continues today with the high-intensity cross country event on Capt. Mark Phillips' much-talked about course.

It's funny to hear the story of how Dutton and Truluck came to be where they're at now.

Most riders start young and begin competing early. Not Dutton. Growing up herding livestock, Dutton did ride horses and participated in pony club rallies and trials. But eventing wasn't something that came into view until his mid-twenties. At 28, after he took an interest in the sport in earnest, Dutton decided to go for it and he caught a life-changing flight to the U.S.

"You always dream about going to the Olympics, but in reality I never actually thought I'd get there," said Dutton, who now lives in Pennsylvania and became a U.S. citizen in 2006. "Sometimes I take a minute and sort of soak it up and think yeah, wow, it's pretty cool what I've done."

Six years ago, Dutton's path crossed with Truluck's as a student of his arrived with the large four-legged animal. The student eventually chose college over riding and there Truluck was without a rider. Dutton just couldn't say good-bye.

Now one of the rising stars in the equine world, Truluck carried Dutton to an individual silver medal at the Pan Am games in Brazil in 2007. The unlikely pair are already shortlisted for the World Games in Kentucky, and the sky seems to be the limit from there. A trip to London for the 2012 Olympic games seems almost cemented on this current pace.

"Truluck's probably greatest attribute is that he does want to do things well and he wants to please and he's quite trainable," Dutton said.

Truluck and Dutton have bonded together after training six days a week on average for six years and counting. To see them ride as one is to see a true partnership between man and animal.

"It takes a long time for them to learn and a lot goes into it so they become sort of partner and friend," Dutton said of the horse-rider relationship. "You get to know them very well and they get to know me very well."

It all came close to never happening, for one reason or another. There's the leap of faith Dutton took almost 20 years ago from the farm to the U.S., to the chance meeting between horse and rider.

Then there's the fact that this 12-year-old thoroughbred was never even meant to be in eventing. He was bred for racing.

"That's a little bit unique especially at the higher levels, to have a horse that was bred to race and had a different career before he came to eventing," Dutton said.

Call it true luck.

-- Even though the best names in the sport were competing in dressage on Friday, almost all eyes were fixated on the winding cross country course that spans the north side of Rebecca Farm. Decorated with flower-laden boxes, trees carved into colorful animals and field jumps large and small, the course is once again the talk of The Event.

For the ninth year in a row, equestrian legend Capt. Mark Phillips designed the intricate complex that offers tests for all skill levels.

"When they're going cross country it's against the clock. The riders all the time have to think about going as fast as they safely can or as fast as they can without making a penalty," he said. "The rider is a bit like the racing car driver - every now and again they run out of road and spin off. They might make a mistake. That's the line for riders, how fast do I dare go here without making mistake. That's what makes cross country exciting."

Even though Phillips admits that this year's course is meant to be well-rounded and without a particular focal point, there's one section that stands out. Midway through, just before the second large pond, what looks like a large Christmas-wreath stands atop a jump. On the other side of the "keyhole" is the blue-dyed water.

Because of its difficulty only riders in the CIC3* will have to jump through the 6-foot-in-diameter wreath.

"The keyhole is always a quite spectacular thing because the horse and rider sort of burst through," he said. "And also it creates an element of uncertainly which will make this a little bit more difficult, because if the horse is not quite certain enough or lands a little short through the keyhole, then riders are going to have to think how they can solve the rest of the puzzle."

And what a puzzle this course is, which is why today's performances will be the most breathtaking out of the four days because of the sheer thrill of the ride and because of the potential teeth-clenching horror of something going wrong.

On Friday, a number of novice riders spilled over on jumps in the cross country. One young woman was thrown out of the saddle into the pond while another was toppled over into a flower bed.

Fortunately, a few riders who did lose their seats had protective jackets underneath their uniforms that acted like automobile airbags. Once the rider leaves the saddle and a cord is disconnected, an inflatable vest expands for protection. Almost all top-level riders use these vests as a precaution.

"It's impossible to make riding a cross country fence totally safe," Phillips said. "You can't do that because if you're traveling 25 miles an hour over four feet of fixed timber with 1,000 pounds of horse, there's the possibility for something to go wrong. So it's a potentially dangerous past time. But we go to an awful lot of trouble (to make sure it's safe)."

The goal in the cross country is to race the course in the shortest amount of time, clearing jumps, splashing through ponds and coming through the finish line in the same saddle you started in.

In the senior open division on Friday, moments after a rider was dumped at a jump because a horse lurched to a standstill, Kate Tooke came zooming through the grass on Bella Luna. Near the latter section, the pair eased over a rounded jump and hit the pond in a smooth trot. Then up and out they went as hundreds of onlookers atop the centerfield hill watched captively.

Tooke and the dark bay Canadian Warmblood made the final turn and galloped through the finish line, both hearts racing together.

"Oh my God!" Tooke said with exhilaration as she came through the finish patting Bella Luna with a wide grin. "Good girl, good girl!"

Tooke's moment came to a close and she stepped off the horse to a small crowd of fans - her husband and a few friends who made the trip.

Eventually, the attention throughout the day shifted to the professional riders, but for the novice and training level competitors like Tooke, this was their Event, too.

"This is the goal," Tooke said. "This is where we want to be."

Tooke started eventing three years ago in her hometown of Banff, Alberta, Canada.

"We've been waiting to get to Rebecca Farms from Canada and we always thought 2010," she said in between gasping breathes of slowed excitement. "We're so happy to be here. It's such an amazing facility and it's just so exciting to have the opportunity to participate. (Bella Luna) did amazing."

-- Day 2 of the FEI World Cup at Rebecca Farm begins today with the cross country phase happening from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for all FEI Levels and National Horse Trial Levels. World Cup riders will compete on the course from 11 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.

The Event at Rebecca Farm

Friday's Top Results

(For complete results, visit www.rebeccafarm.org)

Dressage

CIC3*

1. Karen O'Connor/Mandiba, 44.2; 2. Phillip Dutton/Truluck, 45.8; 3. Mara Dean/High Patriot, 47.4; 4. Tiana Coudray/Ringwood Magister, 49.2; 5. Hawley Bennett-Awad/Gin N' Juice, 49.6; 6. Buck Davidson/My Boy Bobby, 51.2; 7. Kristi Nunnink/R-Star, 51.6; 8. Beth Temkin/Jude's Law, 51.8; 9. Sara Mittleider/El Primero, 53.2; 10. Phillip Dutton/Inmidair, 54.6.