‘I had the world’s greatest meltdown’: Jess Dunn on returning to competing after giving birth and how to make it as a professional

From featuring in the Dressage Future Elite Championships at the Horse of the Year Show to international small-tour wins at Le Mans, it’s been a year to remember for Lancashire-based Jess Dunn aboard 10-year-old gelding Dan It’s Carston.

“All the horses I’ve got at the moment are quite cool,” Jess says. “They’re all owned by Jennifer Whittaker at White Hill Stud, but Danny is definitely my forerunner and superstar.”

“He’s still very green at the level, he was only at advanced medium when we got him 18 months ago, but in that time he’s come on a lot – he tries his little heart out even though he’s a bit of an inward worrier.”

Jess also has the ride on the 11-year-old Hokita, affectionately known as Dreamy at home, whom she competed with at prix st georges and inter I at the National Championships.

“He tests me daily and makes me very grey,” jokes Jess. “He was quite tricky as a young horse because he was kept entire, and really struggled with it. I’ve ridden him for five years now and it’s been a huge amount of trying to muddle my way through and find our relationship. He’s a bit of a strange one, but as weird as he is, he is very genuine and I love him for that.”

Completing her string are several younger homebreds from Whitehill Stud who she has backed and is bringing through the levels. “It’s probably the most excited I’ve ever been about a group of horses,” she adds.

Jess Dunn: “I thought being pregnant would ruin my career”

Jess is no stranger to competing at the highest level, having reached grand prix with LG Alicante Valley in 2020. However, she is returning to the top with a new perspective, after giving birth to her son Dougie last year.

“If I’m completely honest when I found out I was pregnant, I had the world’s greatest meltdown that it was going to ruin my career and I wasn’t going to be able to juggle everything, and no one would be supportive of me, and I didn’t know how I was going to do it all,” Jess recalls.

“Now I look back and think one, I clearly had no faith in myself as a person, and two, what a ridiculously stupid way of looking at it!

“My lovely clients have stuck with me even when I was teaching with him strapped to my front. On those days where I got it slightly wrong and had a meltdown mid-lesson and had to regroup, everyone’s worked around me trying to juggle child care and cope with him running around the outside of the arena, it’s been really heartwarming.”

Despite it still being a challenge to juggle childcare, competing and coaching, being a mum has in many ways improved Jess as an athlete.

“I don’t think I get as nervous now,” she explains. “I’ve never got nervous to the point where it’s affected how I ride a test, I’m quite cool when it comes to that, but I just don’t think I obsess about it quite as much, I just get on with it. I think I’m a better competitor now because I enjoy it twice as much.

“I also probably don’t take it quite so seriously, not in a negative way, but there’s so much more to life, and being more involved with life, in general, doesn’t make you any less of a rider.

“It’s probably made me more focused when I do come to train and thinking about the shows because it’s not on my mind 24/7, I give myself a set time, then I go away, have a complete break from it and then I’m fresh.”

Jess Dunn’s top tips for aspiring young riders

Jess was born into a horsey family, her mum worked with hunt horses and racehorses but she’s never been in a position to buy ready-made horses for herself and has had to be resilient to get where she is now.

“I do feel like I’ve worked hard for everything, but it’s all relative to each person,” reflects Jess. “This industry is really hard, everybody who wants to get to the top has to work hard – even if you have money, it’s still not that easy.”

Jess spent three years working in Germany under Wolfram Wittig, and believes moving abroad to seek out opportunities is an invaluable experience for aspiring dressage riders, even if it can be tough.

“Looking back I don’t think I made the most of being out there, I was always a very nervous person, very shy, and found everything quite overwhelming,” says Jess. “I don’t think I made the most of the opportunities given to me, I didn’t ask enough questions. I still loved it but it just got to the point where I missed home, and I had no money, I had no life, and it just all became a bit much.

“I’ve achieved a lot since coming home, so I don’t regret that, but on the other hand I regret not staying out there longer, maybe having a bit of a break before experiencing a new stables or area.”

Her biggest learnings for young riders looking to make it are to be brave, seek out new experiences even if it involves moving abroad, learn as much from experienced horse people as you possibly can, and try to make the most of every opportunity given to you.

“I’ve had some cool people that have helped me, and still help me. I was lucky enough to meet Stephen Clarke when I was quite young, I then spent all my summers down at Hickstead working for Dane Rawlins and he was absolutely lovely, I worked for Henriette Andersen for a while who was also very supportive – people like that are very important to grow up with.”

Looking ahead Jess is working to consolidate the small tour work, and work towards grand prix with Danny, and is hoping to go to more internationals and “have a jolly, lovely time with him“ and “to keep enjoying what I do”.

You may also be interested in…

‘I thought, can I still do it?’: Charlotte Dujardin on returning to riding after giving birth to baby Isabella

‘Social media makes things look easy’: Gareth Hughes reflects on dreams, horsemanship and advice for younger riders

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