A substitution for the Defender U.S. Eventing Squad has been announced ahead of the FEI Eventing World Championships in Aachen, which begin on August 11 in Germany.
Phillip Dutton, who was initially named to the team with The Possante Group’s Possante, announced that “Impy” had sustained an injury in training. “He will heal well but not in time for the WEG,” he wrote. “My huge condolences to Impy and all of his owners! We were really clicking well.”
Subsequently, Denim (owned by Caroline Moran, Ann Jones, Neill Sites and Anne Lapides) will step in to fill his stablemate’s shoes, as announced by US Equestrian on Saturday.
Denim, an 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding, comes in off a win at the MARS Bromont CCI4*-S in June and also finished 14th individually with Phillip at CHIO Aachen’s traditional CCIO4*-S offering in 2025. He had been listed as an alternate with Phillip on the initial US Equestrian roster announcement for these World Championships.
The U.S. squad consists of:
- Will Coleman and Diabolo
- Phillip Dutton and Denim
- Boyd Martin and Cooley Nutcracker
- Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake
- Tamie Smith and Lillet 3
The U.S. will eventually name four of these combinations to serve as the team, with one pair competing as individuals.
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