Nova Top blooms for Dutton at Foxhall Cup

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Fairytale endings come in all shapes and sizes, and as the final few show jumping rounds took place under gray Easter skies at the Foxhall Cup CCI*** in Douglasville, Georgia, it was clear that no matter who came home with the trophy, there was going to be a fairytale ending. There was Phillip Dutton's Nova Top, a horse who had everything to prove; Darren Chiacchia and Windfall, a combination with a jinx to overcome; and Natalie Bouckaert, riding in place of her injured father. In the end the trophy would go to Australia's Phillip Dutton on Nova Top, but without question, everyone was a winner.

It's rare that a dressage test ridden on Thursday garners a score that holds up to all the riders on Friday, but Natalie Bouckaert and Westfarthing's magnificent, flowing test turned that convention on it's ear. Her score of 42.6 would stand to all comers over the rest of the dressage phase of competition. Though there is always pressure at these big competitions, Bouckaert was under special pressure at Foxhall. Westfarthing is the normal ride of her father Carl, but Natalie was aboard him for Foxhall because two weeks prior to Foxhall, Carl Bouckaert and Westfarthing had taken a crashing fall on cross-country at a qualifying horse trial, leaving Carl with two ruptured arteries leading to his kidney. He had emergency surgery, and was in the ICU for more than a week.

"I don't know him very well, I've only ridden him consistently this week," said Natalie. "I'm going to be going for time [on cross country], he seems very ridable, but it's his first three-star, and I'll be getting to know him as we go along, so I may have to go more carefully than some."

A nearly flawless show jumping round propelled Phillip Dutton and Nova Top to the top of the leaderboard at the Foxhall Cup.

As the riders considered the cross-country test, two things seemed clear-Captain Mark Phillips' course had been strongly stepped up, and was harder than it had ever been, and the footing would play a big part in everyone's plans. In year's past, the relative dryness and hardness of the footing had been an ongoing concern, but this year Mother Nature had a surprise in store, as spring was spent in a constant deluge of rains and storms. As a result, the Foxhall property, which sits adjacent to the Chattahoochee had been transformed into a giant mud puddle. In preparation for the normally hard footing, Foxhall had laid down peanut shells, which in theory are supposed to biodegrade in to the soil and turf and soften the footing. Unfortunately with the water table so high, they merely floated on top of the mud, making the ground feel like you were walking on a waterbed.

Phillips' course was laid out on a tight and twisting track, and accuracy questions seemed to be the watchword of the day. Of particular concern were fences 12 and 13, the Flower Show Arbor and the Triple Brush, which taken directly meant a strong jump in over a large lattice covered table, followed by an immediate right-hand turn to the narrow triple brush. Questions about how the footing would hold up with 80-odd horses following the same narrow tracks at these fences increased concerns about them. Longer routes were available at many fences, but taking them insured you of time faults.

"It'll be hard to find the rhythm and be quick and keep the horse's feet underneath them," said Chiacchia. "The peanut shell layers are greasy underneath, and there's a lot of tight turns and technical jumping efforts."

It was unseasonably cool on cross-country day, and several of the horses seemed to be feeling their oats as they jigged and jogged through roads and tracks, and galloped along steeplechase. The line from 12 to 13 was proving every bit as difficult as feared. The footing was proving a challenge and horses were slipping and sliding around the turns in places. Making time was proving to be an elusive goal, as everyone soon learned that you slowed down around the turns, or you fell, as did several unfortunate pairs.

Among the top riders, the first to venture out was Natalie on the handsome bay Westfarthing. Though she appeared quick across the ground, she took the longer routes at both 12 and 13 and the second water. Though a clean round within the time had not happened yet, it seemed a gamble for her if she wished to retain her lead. But Westfarthing proved speedier than he looked, and she came home with a mere 5.2 time penalties, ensuring she would stay the leader for one more night.

"It was lots of fun," enthused Natalie after her round. "I don't know the horse so I took two unexpected long routes, but he was quite fast, honest and straight forward. He slipped on the turn between 12 and 13 so I pulled out for the long way, and he came down to the rail [at 18] and dropped his shoulders so we climbed over it, so I went the long way over the corners."

"I found the go and stop buttons on steeplechase," she continued. "But he was very ridable, and not that complicated. He would just lock on and go."

Despite her great round, and her father's threats to defy bed rest and come watch her show jumping round the next day, Natalie was circumspect about the future with Westfarthing. "It's [my father's] horse and I'm lucky to be riding him. It's the same thing with Mr. Mullins, the horse I rode at Rolex last year. I got the ride because my dad didn't have time to ride him last year, but I always knew it was his horse, and when he wanted him back to ride for this season, I said, 'OK.'"

The top placings shifted slightly as Iorio-Borden an the big gray Make Mine Irish swept around the course and in to second place to be one of only two pairs to finish double clear (the other was Clark Montgomery and Falcon Flight). And Chiacchia and Windfall finally conquered the Foxhall course, though their time penalties dropped them to third. Roffe and Better I Do It fell victim to the tricky turn at 12 and 13, but finished with only the one stop and time. Dutton and Nova Top meanwhile had added only 1.2 time penalties, the third fastest round of the day, to slip in to fourth.

An otherwise good day was marred by news late in the day that John Williams' horse Hazmat, who had put in a fabulous performance across country to move in to 13th place, had collapsed and died after completing the course. The horse was in the presence of veterinarians when he went down, and he passed away within five minutes, according to head veterinarian, Dr. Kathy Kohn. A necropsy scheduled at the University of Georgia, revealed signs of hemorrhage in the horse's lungs and heart, but no conclusive cause of death. Further tests were being performed and results were not available by press time.

The final horse inspection on Sunday morning is always a time for nerves, but the jog at the 2003 Foxhall Cup proved to be incredibly influential, as 10 horses were held for re-inspection, with four of them being spun, and one not re-presented. In addition three others were not presented for inspection. One of those spun was Iorio-Borden and Make Mine Irish, who looked devastated as she learned she would not be continuing on.

With the placings so shuffled by the jog, Natalie and Westfarthing entered the final phase in 1st place, with a rail in hand over 2nd placed Chiacchia and Windfall, and two rails in hand over now-3rd-placed Dutton and Nova Top. The show jumping course proved to be surprisingly difficult, with only three double clears all day-Graeme Thom and Arrow, Kristin Schmolze and Cavaldi (who would go on to win the Markham Trophy for the highest placed young rider) and Karen O'Connor and Bally Mar who would finish 15th.

As show jumping goes in reverse order of placing, Dutton was the first of the top three in the ring. Nova Top cruised around the course bravely, and looked on his way to a clean round before an unlucky toe tipped one rail to give him four faults. Chiacchia was next with the big black stallion who seemed ill at ease with the course, and dropped two rails and stuck in the corners for three time penalties. Now it was Natalie's turn, by virtue of the other's performances, she could now have three rails and a time fault or two and hang on to her lead, but as the pressure on this partnership forged by fire grew, it wasn't enough of a lead. She had three rails down already coming down the final line, after several awkward moments on course, and Westfarthing just caught his toes on the final fence to drop his fourth rail. The final standings would be Nova Top and Dutton first, Chiacchia and Windfall second, and Natalie and Westfarthing third. Buck Davidson on Twist and Shout and Jessica Heidemann (who made the long drive from Oregon) on French Twist would round out the top five.

"It's not the best way to win," admitted Dutton. "I wanted Natalie to do well. She rode so well under difficult circumstances, and was so bold and strong yesterday, but it didn't quite pull together.

"To start with I was quite nervous, and I had a hard time in my head," said Natalie. "He tried hard, I put him in a lot of bad places and he jumped. But he got stronger and flatter, and I needed a shorter stride and couldn't figure out how to get it."

Still, she was thrilled with her finish. "I had no idea coming in to this we'd be here," she said with a smile.

Dutton calls the chestnut 12-year-old son of Ra Nova a "late bloomer," but admits that of his three Foxhall mounts (he also finished 8th with Damien), he considered him his best chance for victory. "He's had a good spring and has been going really well, so I did think he was my strongest chance."

The Thoroughbred gelding had been in several barns before Dutton's, and had a reputation for being difficult and nervous, but when now-owner Shannon Stimson approached Dutton about buying a horse for him to ride, Dutton felt Nova Top was redeemable.

"I'm fortunate Shannon trusted me with him. We took a bit of a gamble with him, and he turned out to be a nice horse. He was careful, which I liked, and a nice mover, I think his dressage will only improve. The biggest gamble was his cross-country, because he'd had trouble and we bought him in the winter so I couldn't test it," he said.

Dutton believe the secret to turning the horse around has been in understanding and managing his high-octane personality. "Sometimes the talented ones aren't easy to ride, and he's a sharp horse who really looks at his jumps. He needed someone stronger. But he's a nervous horse and a lot of work to manage, but two of the girls that ride for me, Colby Saddlington and Sara Sadler have spent a lot of time with him, to make him comfortable."

Chiacchia was happy to just be over his string of bad Foxhall luck. "I'm just pleased to get done and get it behind us," he laughed.

Still, he was a bit disappointed in his two rails. "He's been a good show jumper, he's never had two down before. But he's never been fond of liverpools (there were four on the course), especially in combinations, and he'd see it in the air and freeze and take a breath.

Chiacchia hopes to aim Windfall for the Pan Am games in Maryland in October, while Dutton is thinking of bigger things further down the road. "He's my first horse whose now qualified for the Olympics [in Athens]. It's his first three-star, so he'll probably [go to another in the fall]. But if he keeps improving, there's no limit on where he can go. I think quite highly of him, actually," he finished with a smile.