For William D. Sams, who bred, owned and trained a horse called Four Across, there wasn’t much but disappointment to be had in the plain brown gelding, who earned a modest $6,907 at small flat tracks. But Sams sold the horse to steeplechase trainer Bruce Fenwick, who then offered the horse to Phillip Dutton, and he arrived at True Prospect Farm with a whole new career ahead of him.

“I wish I could tell you I knew he’d do all this when I first saw him,” said Dutton. “I thought he had good instincts at the jumps and he was pretty honest. His technique is not what a lot of people look for, but that doesn’t bother me too much. He has nice paces, and he seemed quiet when we first got him, although it turned out later he really wasn’t so quiet. But I thought he had the makings of a good horse.”

In 2005, that horse, now known as The Foreman and owned by Annie Jones, turned into the top mount in a barn full of international horses, winning two CIC*** events and taking second in two of the world’s biggest events, at Rolex Kentucky and Burghley (England). By the end of his 9-year-old year, he’d already earned nearly $100,000 in eventing, a sport not known for its huge purses.

“I always thought he’d be good,” said Dutton. “But I’m lucky, and he’s lucky, and Annie’s lucky he found us. He’s just suited to the sport.”

It didn’t always seem that way, though. In his first three-day event, the 2002 Virginia CCI*, The Foreman finished third in the young horse division. But when “Chip,” then 6, tried to lay down in his first awards ceremony, Dutton had some doubts about how well the horse would handle the atmosphere at big events.

“I remember that first one-star quite clearly,” said Dutton. “You always have in the back of your mind how he’s going to deal with the crowds and atmosphere some day.”

Back then, Dutton wasn’t always able to work Chip through his nervousness, but now the horse trusts him enough that Dutton can settle him. “He’s not a horse where, once he gets wound up, he loses the plot,” said Dutton. “You can reason with him. If you have plenty of time at events to get him used to things, he’s OK.”

By the time Chip went to France for the Saumur CCI***, in May 2004, Dutton thought he had his nerves under control. But as he headed toward the arena to ride his dressage, the roping–one of Chip’s major pet peeves–set him off. “He lit up as we were going [into the ring], and it was too close to his test to settle him,” said Dutton. “It was frustrating, because we went all the way to France, and he could have done a much better test. But I learnt from that to get him used to a new competition situation as much as I can.”

Coming Into His Own
In a barn full of top-level horses, Chip didn’t stand out much at first. “At home, he doesn’t set you alight or make you think this is the nicest horse I’ve had, which he is,” said Dutton. “But at a competition, he’s a workman. He generally puts it all together. You can put it down to heart, or whatever, but he does the best he can every time.”

Early in Chip’s career, Dutton thought he might be able to improve the horse’s unconventional jumping style.

“He jumps over himself,” explained Dutton.

“He thinks of jumping before his front legs leave the ground. I tried to change it when he was young, but I didn’t think I could and I sort of gave up. But
I’ve learned to ride him with that in mind. And he is careful–he doesn’t want to hit them, even on cross-country. So I try to use my experience and whatever skill I have, especially if a fence is tall and vertical, to get him to leave the ground farther away.”

Dutton acknowledged that he’s glad the show jumps aren’t any higher. “I don’t think he could do much more,” he admitted.

Because of the horse’s once-fragile psyche and unusual jumping style, Dutton took his time bringing him to the four-star level. “I did at least three three-stars before his four-star, and I also did two two-stars on him,” he said. “I was always unsure of [how he’d be] at the four-star level because of his technique.”

But Chip came out with a bang in 2005, winning both of his major prep runs before his first four-star, including the World Cup qualifier at Red Hills (Fla.). Then, by finishing second in his first four-star, Chip had Dutton’s attention.

“After Kentucky, I thought we did have a pretty good horse, so I upped the ante and took him to Burghley,” said Dutton.

At both four-star events, Dutton said Chip started out on course a bit backed off. “Kentucky is very inviting, especially in the beginning, but Burghley is a little harder on a green horse because of the terrain,” he said. “He and I were both working pretty hard at the beginning of the course at Burghley. The feeling he was giving me was that this was really hard. He knew he had to go, but that was the most aggressive I’ve ever had to ride him. As he went around, he got more and more into it.”

Chip proved his heart and speed by making up the time he’d lost early on at Burghley. “He was down quite a bit, and it’s not easy to make up time on that course,” said Dutton. “He’s a particularly fast horse, and he just made it. It was hard for him, no question. But the experience will hopefully give him a lot of confidence for next year. He jumped very well in show jumping, so I don’t think it scared him at all.”

For 2006, Dutton plans to return to Kentucky, since he hopes to be riding Chip in the World Equestrian Games in Aachen (Germany), and doesn’t want to ship him to Europe twice. In the meantime, he’s working to improve the one area where Chip can still be beaten–the dressage. The horse left True Prospect in early December to train in Florida with Betsy Steiner, and Dutton joined him there a month later.

With time and a lot of work, Dutton thinks Chip’s dressage can be up there with anyone. “He’s a good mover and a really good worker. He likes to be ridden and worked. So his trainability is pretty good. It just takes time and strengthening. I’m the one who has trained him all along, so I’m looking for an edge, someone with more experience at a higher level, to maybe make a bit of a breakthrough,” he said.

A Quiet Personality
He may not have been famous when he arrived at True Prospect Farm, but Chip was a favorite of the grooms there from day 1.

“He’s been the underdog in the barn, and we’ve loved him from the beginning,” said Sara Richardson, Chip’s groom from his preliminary days through his first four-star. “We never thought he was going to be anything special. He’s the horse no one ever made a fuss over, and he’s our favorite because no one thought he was special.”

Richardson said Chip just doesn’t have any quirks on the ground. He’s easy to handle, whether you’re clipping him or flying him to Europe. “He’s as good as he can be, that’s why we all love him,” she said. “He’s perfect. That’s kind of his personality; he does whatever you want. He tries hard. He doesn’t want to be bad.”

Dutton recalled that Chip was even quieter when he first arrived. “He was reasonably meek with his whole demeanor when he came,” he said. “He just stands in his stall and watches rather than trying to get involved. He goes about life in a quiet way and keeps to himself. He has his own, quiet personality.”

Now, the quiet horse who’d never drawn much attention has a place of prominence in Dutton’s barn. “He’s not the most talented horse I’ve had, but he has that quality about him that when he goes to events, he does everything he can,” said Dutton. “It’s exciting because he’s just 10 now, so he has a lot of training and years ahead. He’s shaping up to be the best horse I ever had.”

And to Dutton, the ability to win with a horse whose main strength is his willingness to try is what makes his sport unique.

“It’s one of the reasons we do our sport, because you don’t have to have a million-dollar horse,” he said. “I like to think he’s well-trained. And cross-country is a big part of our sport. Where the time is hard to get, Thoroughbreds are still hard to beat. He’s careful on the last day, so if you can get the dressage quite good and end on it, you’re going to be close to winning it.”

Jones, who’s owned Chip since Dutton started with him, can’t believe what her horse has accomplished.

“Why he does it, I have no idea,” admitted Jones. “He’s a horse that somehow is tough and scrappy, and maybe that’s why Phillip likes him so much–he’s had to make it on his heart. He must have heart, and tremendous scope.”

Dutton won’t readily admit that his own skill has played a huge role in the development of a quirky horse into an international eventing star. “He does have a nervous side, and he’s not suited to everybody,” he said. “There are other riders who could have brought him along, but they’re not going to get him now!”

The Foreman’s Early Years
Breeder William Sams recalled that The Foreman was extremely agile as a very young horse.

“We have three paddocks on a grade, and this little rascal, he would run in a circle, and his circle would get wider and wider, and then he would take off running uphill and jump those fences uphill until he got to his buddy,” he said.

Sams raced the horse on and off from September 1998 through May 2000 before deciding to sell him. “He wasn’t real aggressive on the track, and he was just too pretty to keep going until something happened,” he said.

Sams used to stand Across The Field, a stallion by Roberto, and he later donated the horse to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. (He’s since been retired). “I bred him to 16 or 18 mares, and they could all jump,” he said. “He made awesome babies–great conformation, good size and real good minds. They weren’t squirrelly Thoroughbreds.”

Although he didn’t pick up many checks on the track, Sams always thought The Foreman was attractive and enjoyed his personality. “He was a little jokester. He would play with you, and he loved to show off. He knew when you were watching him,” he said.

“I’m real proud of him,” he added. “My neighbor who has show horses said he wouldn’t make it as a jumper, but I’m glad he did. I wish him good luck.”

An All-American Horse
Annie Jones has always enjoyed the process of bringing along young horses off the track. “If you have them from the time they’re first learning the trade, you can appreciate it even more,” she said.

She likes spending the summers teaching her charges to hack across country, cross streams, and get the track out of their system. But The Foreman didn’t fit into that program too well.

“He wasn’t easy,” she said with a laugh, recalling a fragile and untrusting young Chip. She tried hunting him, but that didn’t work. “Every time out, he got more fragile and frantic. At that point, I decided Phillip needed to do the main work. They’ve built up a partnership, and Phillip adores him and Chip trusts him.”

Jones still does many of Chip’s gallops–which are easy, unless there’s another horse around. “Then he tries to fling himself on the ground and run backward,” she said with a laugh. “I have gotten off him a few times.”

Still, Jones, who owns several of Dutton’s mounts, credits Dutton for always having faith in the horse. “We’d always joke when Phillip said we should sell another horse, and I’d say, ‘You know which one is for sale,’ ” said Jones. “You either have the chemistry with a horse or you don’t–and Phillip does, and I don’t. But he’s won my heart a lot more now that he’s done everything we’ve asked.

“He’s the most successful horse I’ve owned and maybe a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” she added. “I mean, how many do you get at that level?”

So would Chip be for sale now? “You couldn’t sell him out from under someone who’s done so much [training],” she said. “But if I did, he’d be worth about 80 times what I paid for him.”

Jones, who started eventing when she was 54 and also enjoys hunting and owning race horses, is sold on the U.S. Thoroughbreds. “I don’t think you have to go to Europe to buy a horse,” she said. “Thoroughbreds are intelligent and speedy and clever.”

She’s hoping that her project horse might someday have an even bigger year than he did in 2005. “I’m still hoping to get to the No. 1 spot of winning a four-star because that’s still on Phillip’s list,” said Jones. “I’m hoping we can get him there.”

Personal Profile
Description: 1996 U.S.-bred Thoroughbred, br. g., 16.1 hands, by Across The Field–Four Flora, Quadratic.
Home: True Prospect Farm, West Grove, Pa.
Breeder: William D. Sams, Catlett, Va.
Owner: Annie Jones.
Rider: Phillip Dutton.
Grooms: Sara Richardson, Joanie Morris, Emma Ford.
Veterinarian: Dr. Kevin Keane.
Farrier: Dave Kumpf.
Feed: Pennfield’s Enduroevent, Cosequin and KER supplements. “He’s a slow eater, but he will finish everything,” said Richardson.
Pasturemate: Amazing Odyssey, the 2005 Jersey Fresh CCI*** (N.J.) winner. They live out with run-in sheds while in Aiken, S.C., over the winter. While in Pennsylvania, they go out as much as possible, for half the day or overnight.
Pet Peeves: The start box, awards ceremonies, roped-off areas. “We had to lead him into the start box for a while, but now Phillip starts trotting small circles and trots him in,” said Richardson.

career highlights
2005–2nd Burghley CCI**** (England); 2nd Rolex Kentucky CCI****; 1st Chatsworth (Ga.) CIC***; 1st Red Hills CIC***-W (Fla.); USEA Horse of the Year
2004–1st Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.); 1st Area II Advanced Championship at Menfelt (Md.); 17th Saumur CCI*** (France)
2003–4th Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.); 1st Bromont CCI** (Canada)
2002–3rd Radnor Hunt CCI** (Pa.); 3rd Virginia CCI*