We caught up with D&H Brand Ambassador Jess Dimock as she is competing on the Sunshine Tour in Spain.
1. Tell us about the Sunshine Tour, how long you are away for; how many horses you have taken with yo
u and what classes are you currently competing in?
My team and I have brought five horses away competing for four consecutive weeks, however it’s just over five weeks in total when you include the travelling time. It takes three days of travelling to get down here, so we made sure we arrived five days before the jumping started to allow the horses to settle in and recover.
Two of my horses are competing in the age classes and the three older horses are jumping at 1.45m level.
2. What is your daily schedule whilst you are away?
My schedule whilst I’m out here competing varies daily. It all depends on what classes I’m jumping in and when I am drawn to compete. The horses leave their boxes twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon and their feeding regime stays the same. If I have a particularly sharp horse I tend to work them a couple of hours before the class to get the freshness out of them!
3. What is the best thing about competing on the Sunshine Tour?
The best thing about competing at the Sunshine Tour is all the arenas, there are around 15 of them. We are always competing in different grass and sand arenas which is great practise, it’s like being at a different show every week.
The hacking is also fantastic and the horses get to see so much. You can go from riding in the woodland to riding on the beach in the waves it’s all good experience, especially for the young horses. The facilities here are second to none.
The weather is also ideal as at this time of year it isn’t too hot, so we don’t really need to acclimatise. We all appreciate the sun on our backs and riding in pleasant conditions rather than the freezing cold!
4. What is your regime with feeding your horses during travelling and on the tour?
As a rule, we try and keep the horses feeding regime the same whilst travelling and whilst we are out here in Spain. We plan our travel around their feeding times so this isn’t disrupted. We keep an eye on how the horses are feeling and looking and we will adapt their feed accordingly. As the horses are jumping most days, we sometimes increase the feed or add an additional feed to their diet to keep them feeling fresh and full of energy!
5. What feed are the horses currently on?
All of our horses are fed on Fibre Fusion and an equal amount of Competition Cubes or Conditioning Cubes or Elite Sport Muesli along with the Winter Health Mash. We don’t tend to add supplements as the Dodson & Horrell feed range contains everything the horses need.
6. What are your plans for the season ahead?
My plans for the season ahead haven't been finalised just yet. I plan on competing round Europe at international 2*/3* shows. I have a fantastic team of horses so I am really looking forward to the season ahead with my great team!
