PROFILE.
SUCCESS IN focus FOCUSING ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IS WHAT DRESSAGE IS ALL ABOUT; BUT IT’S EASILY SAID, AND OFTEN MUCH MORE DIFFICULT IN PRACTICE. FOR JESS DUNN THAT APPROACH, WHETHER IN HER RIDING, FITNESS, HORSES, TRAINING OR MINDSET, IS PAYING DIVIDENDS. HELEN PENNY REPORTS.
W
hile the foundation of being successful in dressage is being a great rider, there are a plethora of other essential skills, aptitudes and attitudes. For Lancashire-based dressage rider Jess Dunn, success means being the best version of herself, and a continuous focus on improvement in everything she does. It’s an approach that has seen her achieve international wins, and compete in her rst Grand Prix tests last year, but it has involved determination and overcoming obstacles. Jess was born into a horsey family, with her mum working with hunt horses and racehorses. Initially, eventing was Jess’s passion, but when her pony was injured, they bought an Irish horse to bring on, turning to dressage as it couldn’t jump. After selling it on, 14-year-old Jess and her parents went looking for another and ended up with a ‘skinny, quirky’ horse. It was unn o A named y her dad her rst dressage horse and one which, four years later, took her to four internationals. But it wasn’t all easy, with Jess recalling that it took seven hours to get a ridle on the mare at rst. LEFT: JESS DUNN, PICTURED WITH GROOM AMBER FLYNN, OF WHOM SHE SAYS ‘I WOULDN’T BE WITHOUT HER’, HAS NEEDED DETERMINATION AND FOCUS TO BOUNCE BACK FROM SETBACKS .
BRITISH DRESSAGE // Issue 3 2021 // 9
