"I Never In a Million Years Thought That Was Going to Happen": Olivia Dutton Wins Bronze at the Under 25 World Championships
Hear from Olivia Dutton on her third place finish with Jewelent at the inaugural FEI Eventing World Championship for Under 25s at Millstreet.
Olivia Dutton had already got off her horse when she became a World Championship medallist. She had jumped clear, one second over the time, and was happy enough with it. What she did not expect was to climb. She went back out to watch as nine combinations above her added penalties.
Dutton and Jewelent finished third at the first FEI Eventing World Championship for Under 25s on Sunday, on a show jumping day that pulled the medals apart. Only three rounds were clear inside the time. She had been 26th after the dressage, a test she was unhappy with, and 12th after a cross country track that beat the whole field on the clock.
Millstreet brought the horse back to where he started. Jewelent was bred in Ireland and produced there by Clare Abbott, and the woman who bred him drove six hours to watch him over the weekend. She was in tears at the finish.
On this week's US Equestrian Open Podcast, 24-year-old Dutton takes us through the journey with Jewelent, the weekend at Millstreet, and a medal that doesn't feel real yet. Listen here.
Dutton scored 35.8 in the dressage and sat 26th. It was not the test she wanted. Jewelent came into the arena tense and the marks reflected it.
"I was honestly pretty bummed, because I know he can put in a good test," Dutton said. "I let myself be a little down about it and then I walked cross-country and I was like, I don't think this is going to be a dressage show. So I forgot about it pretty quickly."
She read it correctly. By Sunday evening the leaderboard had changed many times and the winning score was 12.4 penalties higher than the best dressage mark of the week.
Mike Etherington-Smith's track produced a 54% clear rate, the toughest Millstreet has seen at four-star. Nobody caught the optimum time, the third running in a row that has happened. Clear rounds averaged 15.5 time penalties. Dutton added 12.0 and moved to 12th.
"Some of the combinations with corners were on a pretty severe angle, especially that last water that was catching some people out," Dutton said. "You really needed a horse that was honest, and you needed to be there right with them, supporting them. Jewelent is an amazing cross-country horse. He doesn't pull at all. I really just have to kick and tell him to go, and he goes."
She went third for the United States, and she went out knowing the day had already turned. Quidley Kellermann fell from Blakeneys Cruise as the first team rider out, although the American plan did not change much. Cassie Sanger went last and was also eliminated, ending the team challenge.
"The goal was to get around, but we knew that to be competitive we had to go as quick as we could," Dutton said. "After I knew Quidley had fallen I wanted to be safe. I wanted to get around for the team, but I also tried to be as efficient as I could on the backside of the fences, and I knew I was on a fast horse. I really felt for Quidley and Cassie. They were going really great up until then."
Sunday started with a withdrawal. Overnight individual leader Alice Casburn pulled Topspin out before the final horse inspection. Then the course did the rest. A 10% clear rate inside the time, the lowest Millstreet has recorded.
"It actually rode harder than it walked," Dutton said. "I didn't watch too much, because sometimes you can overthink things. I watched a few in the beginning and how the lines were riding, and then I made my plan and I stuck to it. Jewelent has his own way of jumping, so I tried to ride him the best I can. I kept my nerves in check. If I can be calm for him, usually he gets it done."
She kept every rail up and paid 0.4 for the time, one second over. Then she waited.
"I got off and I didn't even think anything of it. I was happy I went clear," Dutton said. "Then I went back out to watch the last ones go and I just kept seeing my name rise up. Then the last ones went and suddenly I was in third place. I never in a million years thought that was going to happen."
It was an emotional victory for all connections to Olivia, Jewelent and Team USA.
"My sister Mary was there and she never goes to horse shows, so I felt so special that she came," Dutton said. "She didn't really know what was going on, but she was like 'You did good.' And Jewelent's breeder was there as well. She drove six hours to come watch him go and she was crying after the finish. The whole weekend just felt amazing."
Ahead of her, Germany's Calvin Böckmann and Altair de la Cense were one of the three clear inside the time and took the inaugural title on 40.0. Cerys Macaulay (GBR) and Kananaskis added 0.8 for silver on 45.3.
Jewelent is a fourteen-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Valent, owned by the Jewelent Group and produced in Ireland by Clare Abbott. Abbott jumped clear cross-country on him at Badminton in 2022, when he was ten, although they did not complete the weekend.
In between he was Olivia's father's horse. Phillip rode him through 2024 and 2025, and their third place at Fairburn in March 2025 helped secure his runner-up finish in the 2025 US Equestrian Open of Eventing. Olivia took the ride in September 2025.
"I had ridden him a few times at home for my dad and I always got along with him really well, so it was pretty natural," she said. "I've never clicked with a horse so fast as I did with him. It was kind of instant."
While the team weekend did not come together, the individual weekend was a different story. Molly Duda and Disco Traveler took fifth on 49.2, ahead of Jack Curtis and Luska Candy Clover on the same score. Meg Pellegrini and Dondante finished 13th with two down on the final day, on her first trip overseas.
"All of the American riders just rode so well that day," Dutton said. "I think that's something we should be really proud of. Everyone just looked really polished and finished really well. It's rare for us in the US to be able to compete against everyone, so I think it's great that they have this now."
The fall is not fixed yet. The season after it is.
"My goal next year would be to do a five star on Jewelent," Dutton said. "He's the horse I want to do it on. He gives me so much confidence, especially in the cross-country."
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