British riders head for the sun

British Dressage has sent a diverse squad of riders on the popular 2004 Sunshine Tour, which is taking place in Spain this month.

Riders competing in Vejer de la Frontera include top names Carl Hester, Pammy Hutton, Rhett Bird and Laura Richardson, as well as a number of up-and-coming stars.

Jo Bagnall of British Dressage says: “The sunshine tour is becoming increasingly popular with British riders as it offers the chance to really focus on competition performance with just one or two horses, without the day-to-day stuff getting the way like it can at home.

“With competitions each weekend and time in the week to concentrate on training, riders who choose to spend time in Spain normally find it extremely beneficial.”

Although bad weather made the journey across Europe eventful for some of the British riders, most produced fine performances at the first competitions of the tour last weekend.

Carl Hester pictured made a positive start to his campaign to represent Britain at the Athens Olympics with Escapado, by taking second place in the grand prix and grand prix special classes with scores of 69.67% and 69.04% respectively.

“Carl and Escapado were reserves for the European Championships last year, and he is determined to go one better and make the main squad for Athens,” explains Jo. “British Dressage is delighted that Carl has made such a fantastic start in Escapado’s first international competition of 2004.”

Carol Phillips

H&H website editor

Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.