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Phillip Dutton will now ride Denim rather than Possante at the World Championships in Aachen
Phillip Dutton will now ride Denim at the World Championships in Aachen rather than Possante.
“Unfortunately, Possante has come up with an injury in training. He will heal well but not in time,” said US rider Phillip.
“My huge condolences to ‘Impy’ and all of his owners! We were really clicking well.”
Although Denim was named as a reserve on the US squad for the eventing World Championships in Aachen later this month, he was not a direct reserve horse for Phillip Dutton, so it was not automatic that he would step in when Possante was withdrawn.
Phillip added: “It has been an emotional roller coaster of a week to say the least, as, fortunately for me, Denim was then selected as Impy’s replacement. I’m really excited still to be a part of the US team in a very special venue at Aachen.”
Phillip will ride on the squad alongside Will Coleman (Diabolo), Boyd Martin (Cooley Nutcracker), Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Blake) and Tamie Smith (Lillet 3).
The withdrawal of Possante will be disappointing to any British fans who were looking forward to seeing this horse in Europe again. Formerly called Imposant, he was produced to four-star level by Emily King before being sold for Phillip to ride.
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At 11, Denim is two years younger than Possante. He was produced by former Dutch team rider Merel Blom-Hulsman before joining Phillip in 2021 and belongs to Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran and Neill Sites.
The pair have plenty of good placings at four-star together, including a win at Bromont CCI4*-S in June this year. His record suggests his dressage scores and time-faults across country may prevent him being super competitive individually at the worlds, but he certainly has the profile to be a useful team member.
Phillip Dutton and Possante on the way to eighth at Kentucky 2026
The obvious asset which Possante offered which Denim lacks is five-star experience – Possante was eighth at Kentucky Three-Day Event in the spring this year, whereas Denim has yet to run at that level.
There is always debate about whether horses need five-star experience ahead of championships. The event runs at a hybrid level between four- and five-star, with the cross-country fence dimensions at four-star, but the technicality expected to be “four-star plus” on the direct routes round Giuseppe della Chiesa’s course. The showjumping is at five-star height.
The US squad mixes horses with five-star mileage (Diabolo, Cooley Nutcracker and HSH Blake) and those without (Lillet 3 and Dublin).
Phillip is a vastly experienced championship rider – he has only missed one World Championship (2022) since 1994. He rode at the 2006 World Championships in Aachen for Australia, his final championship under that flag before he swapped nationality to ride for the USA, the country where he is based.
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.