Lexington, Ky.—April 25

The last time veterinarian Chris Newton rode in the Kentucky Three-Day Event, things looked a bit different.

The year was 1994, four years before the event was upgraded to a five-star. It was still the long-format era, and Newton, who’s based in Lexington, estimates that approximately 90% of the riders were mounted on Thoroughbreds.

“The fences were probably much bigger, much more galloping, and far less technical at that stage,” he said. “The sport’s gotten way more difficult in the dressage, show jumping, and technically on the cross-country phase since that point in time.”

Like many of his competitors, Newton was mounted on a Thoroughbred. Newton had gotten Crimson Flash as a 3-year-old from John Hagan for $10, after the horse’s owner failed to pay his board bill.

“I didn’t think he would make anything, and off he went,” said. “I had him until he was 35.”

When Crimson Flash was 5, several veterinarians told Newton the gelding would never be sound enough to compete—an experience that sparked his own interest in veterinary medicine.

“That was kind of the beginning of my learning how to do rehabilitation and how to manage performance horses in a manner that increased the likelihood of them being able to perform, which then drove my desire to become a veterinarian,” he said. “Because I felt like horses really had a lot of pain in their body that began to reflect in their feet or in their legs, and so I went to vet school. But really, the common adage in the equine veterinary field was, there’s no pain primary in horses bodies. It’s all in their legs. That’s finally starting to shift.”

Newton was in his second year of veterinary school and had a new baby at home the year he first attended Kentucky. Two years later, he made a bid for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics team, so he learned early “how to juggle—I wouldn’t say balance, but juggle.”

Now 56, Newton works by the Kentucky Horse Park at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. He’s backed off his work schedule to give him more time to ride; he put in closer to 50 hours a week rather than 110 these days, he said. He also gets key support from his wife, Maxine Preston, and son Dylan Newton.

“I have a wife who is incredible, and she manages a ton for me, and without her, I would not have been able to do this,” he said. “And my older son [Dylan] runs my farm in Kentucky. We have a farm in Ocala, [Florida], and she runs it, and they kind of manage the rehab and the boarding, so I can really focus on my riding and my veterinary profession.”

In his veterinary career, Chris works a lot with spinal nerve pain and compensatory pain, specifically in a horses’ back and neck, utilizing dressage techniques during rebab.

“In my opinion, rehab is less about sitting in a hot tub and having a laser, and it’s more about redeveloping and relearning how to use your muscles and carry your posture in a different manner,” he said. “And so that’s what we do with the horses.”

That focus has helped him with Noble Discovery, his partner for this weekend’s Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S.

“Nobu,” a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, came to the United States and immediately started having behavioral issues. The gelding’s veterinarian at the time diagnosed him with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis and suggested he get turned out for a while. But when Nobu was brought back to work, his behavior worsened, so he was sent to one of Chris’ clients, Jacob Fletcher.

When Chris first got Nobu, the gelding couldn’t carry his left lead for more than a couple strides on the longe line, and he diagnosed him with severe neuropathy and neuritis in his poll, the base of his neck, his shoulders and upper thoracic region.

“What I do, is I treat around those nerves and take the pain away so that we can begin to teach them how to use their body in a manner that creates strength and changes those behaviors that are causing the pain to begin,” Chris said. “Because it’s really a cycle that occurs, and he has gotten better and better and better.”

The horse’s journey from novice to four-star wasn’t without struggles. Initially Preston showed the gelding, but after they parted ways a few too many times, and she got other horses, Nobu went on the back burner.

“The first day I got on him, he put me on the ground twice at the halt, which isn’t terribly easy with me,” Chris said with a grin.

“Three years ago at the horse park, I ran him prelim … and we got dangerous riding in dressage, which is a feat,” he added. “As a matter of fact, I don’t know of anybody else who has gotten dangerous riding in dressage.”

But things improved, and last year, they stepped up to the advanced level. This spring, they had a steady performance at The Event at TerraNova CCI4*-S (Florida) before heading to Kentucky. And on Thursday—31 years after his last ride at this event— Chris and Nobu rode down centerline to score a 40.8, much to the delight of his cheering section.

“It feels unbelievable,” he said of being back. “One of my best friends, Kyle Carter, who’s an upper-level rider and Olympian for Canada, texted me yesterday morning to relish the moment. And I am relishing in the moment. It was just incredible coming out of that stadium with the cheers like that, after he showed up and performed that test.

“My wife crying with happiness, and that entire group just cheering us on was an unbelievable moment,” he continued. “I didn’t have moments like that when I was younger, and here. I was a nobody and thought I was better than everybody because I hadn’t learned all the things that I’ve learned in the interim and realized how horrible I am. So it’s far, far sweeter than it was at that stage.”

The pair are now on to cross-country—a phase Nobu prefers over dressage—and will head out on course at 9:48 a.m. local time Saturday.

The Chronicle is on-site at the Kentucky Horse Park with two reporters to bring you everything you need to know at coth.com, so you don’t have to miss a minute of the action. You can find all of our coverage from the week here. You can also follow along on Instagram and Facebook. Be sure to read our May 23 issue for more in-depth coverage and analysis of the event.