Fast Facts:
- Nickname: Socs
- Occupation: CCI4* and CCI5* Eventer
- Hometown: West Grove, Pennsylvania
- Basic Stats: 13-year-old off-track Thoroughbred gelding
- Sire: Malibu Moon
- Dam: Winner’s Ticket
Sea of Clouds’ People:
- Owner: The Sea Of Clouds Partnership
- Rider: Olivia Dutton
- Groom: Hannah Black
Sea Of Cloud’s Background
After selling as a yearling for $170,000 and racing twice with no placings, Sea Of Clouds retired from the racetrack and was sent to top eventer Phillip Dutton for retraining by his racing trainer Graham Motion. Motion and his wife, Anita, have earned a reputation for their holistic, horses-first approach to training Thoroughbreds for racing. After forging a partnership with Phillip through a mutual connection at Cosequin® in 2012, the Motions started sending racehorses who showed a lack of promise on the track to the eventing trainer to produce as event horses.
Sea Of Clouds went on to be the most successful Motion Thoroughbred in Phillip’s program, competing at the CCI5* level and finishing as high as 10th place (Kentucky 2022). At the end of 2022, he passed the gelding’s reins over to his daughter Olivia Dutton, who needed an experienced horse as she prepared to move up to the Advanced level of eventing.
“New-But-Not-New” Partnership
The 23-year-old eventer already knew “Socs” well, as he’d been in the Dutton program since his 3-year-old year. “I kind of grew up with him,” she said. Nonetheless, taking a horse who’s gone at the top levels of the sport from another rider—even someone as talented as her dad—is inherently challenging. Most eventers prefer to produce horses from their younger years rather than acquiring “going” horses, but she needed a horse who could help her learn as she moved up to the levels.
“I definitely took what my dad was doing with him and wanted to learn more about how I could help him,” Dutton explained. “My dad knew Socs was a bit quirky and I would really have to learn how to ride him, but he was also a tough Thoroughbred who could help me out of things and really teach me.”
For her, the success she’s found in this “new-but-not-new” partnership came down to the relationship she has with Sea Of Clouds. “Just building that partnership has really helped me with him,” she said. “He was used to my dad riding him, and my dad’s a strong guy. So, in the beginning it was a little trial and error getting used to each other. But our partnership has gotten so strong and we’ve helped each other out a lot.”
Sea Of Cloud’s Daily Routine
Dutton is a big advocate for turnout and barring inclement weather she always ensures her horses get turned out at night. “I find for Socs, especially, he really loves his turnout,” she said. “Mentally, I think that’s really important for them.”
Once Socs is brought in for the day, he’ll go in his stall for breakfast and then spends about 30 or 40 minutes on the walker to loosen up his joints and muscles. Usually, he also spends time on a VitaFloor platform to provide whole body vibration for faster exercise recovery before Dutton rides.
In the thick of the competition season, Dutton leans heavily on the cross-training method of riding event horses. Her weekly training focuses heavily on fitness, and she utilizes the gallop track on their property or nearby hills to do gallop, slow canter and trot sets. She also incorporates this fitness work with her usual flat rides about two times a week.
“He doesn’t need too much jumping,” Dutton noted about Socs’ jump training. “At most, we might jump two times a week but usually just once.”
Socs also benefits from the magic hands of equine physiotherapist Emma Ford, who’s spent many years working on horses at the Duttons’ True Prospect Farm. “Emma usually works on him twice a month and has made a huge impact on how he goes,” Dutton said. “Every time she works on him, he feels like a million bucks.”
At competitions, she makes use of the ActivoMed massage blanket before riding Socs to keep his body feeling loose and relaxed.
Sea Of Clouds’ Nutrition
Dutton noted the support Cosequin® has provided for her horses’ joint health. “Especially this past year, we really thought about which Coseqin® products would benefit Socs,” she said. “He’s currently on Cosequin® ASU Balance for joint, immune and digestive support, as well as their Calxequin® daily hoof support supplement. He was already on Cosequin®, but focusing on these additional areas of support has been great for him.”
She describes Sea Of Clouds as a bit of a picky eater, especially during the peak of competition season, so she and her team have navigated some challenges in keeping weight on him. “We also work with Triple Crown,” she noted. “Socs loves their Complete grain and has looked better than ever this year.
Dutton said it’s normal for horses’ bodies to change over time depending on their jobs and noted that Socs’ body has changed quite a bit since his racing days. “Each year he’s been in our program, he’s gotten stronger and stronger,” she said. “I would say putting a topline on him has been the lengthiest process. As a racehorse, he was used to lengthening his stride. So we use a lot of slow canters to help him get really comfortable with collecting. He’s naturally a really fit horse, so we just want to make him stronger and keep up that fitness.”
And she’s achieved that goal with the nutritional support Socs receives from her individualized feeding and supplementation program—and she hopes more goals will be reached in the future.
Loving Socs
“I started out wanting to do the Kentucky four-star. That was a dream I’d had for a very long time. He went so well I started thinking about other events,” Dutton said. “Both my dad and I thought Boekelo [CCIO4*-NC-L in the Netherlands, Oct. 10-13, 2024] would be a great experience for us and good for me to go overseas and put myself out there. I definitely want to see how we go at Boekelo, but I’m always thinking ahead. And a big goal of mine would be to compete at the Kentucky five-star in April.”
At the end of the day, though, Dutton’s relationship with Socs matters the most. It’s what keeps her coming back to the barn day in and day out.
“I’m really big on loving on my horses and grooming them myself and just spending that one-on-one time with them,” she said. “And that also means feeding them the best nutrition and keeping them in a quality program. They try so hard for us. So it’s important that we’re doing everything we can to keep them happy and comfortable.”
Sea Of Clouds’ Major Accomplishments
Finished 13th (2021) and 10th (2010) at CCI5* level with Phillip Dutton • 13th at the 2024 Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S • Eighth in the 2024 MARS Bromont CCI4*-L • Next competing at the 2024 Military Boekelo CCIO4*-L in the Netherlands
