Sunshine Tour

[HelenBack]

Horsey and I went out to an arena eventing competition at the weekend. We came third and have now qualified for the Sunshine Tour. I'm completely out of the loop on this sort of thing and know nothing about it apart from the fact that it's at Hickstead!

Part of me is quite excited at the idea of riding at Hickstead, and yes I know we wouldn't get to go in the main arena or down the derby bank but still it sounds like a good experience. On the other hand it would be about a four hour drive for me to get there so I'd want to feel like it would be worth my while.

Has anybody been and what was it like? I'd probably be going on my own too as I tend to do everything on my own and I guess I'm a bit worried that it might be quite a long way to go on my own and perhaps be a bit bored in between times! I don't have a big lorry so would have to sleep either next to where the horse poos or in a tent.

 

[quiteniceforacob]

It’s a great atmosphere but I’d try to qualify for something else too so you can get the most of it. They put the hickstead planks up so you get good photos over them!

 

[HelenBack]

It’s a great atmosphere but I’d try to qualify for something else too so you can get the most of it. They put the hickstead planks up so you get good photos over them!

Yes I was thinking it might be worth trying to qualify for another class. Quite a few places round here seem to run qualifiers so I can at least give that a good go!

How did you find the stabling there?

 

[Supercalifragilistic]

Take a look at the published timetable - the arena eventing is often on the Thursday or Friday so you might need to take some time off work. This would also give you an idea of what else to try to qualify for (I think dressage is on the same days).

It’s a really fun show. VERY busy and a bit of a walk from stables to arenas (no where near the International arena with the grandstand and the big bank but very nice sand and grass arenas nonetheless). There is a Premier Inn close by if you want luxury

Surprisingly little in the way of trade stands, although there is plenty to watch with about 6 rings going at once. If you do decide to go then make sure you register your qualification within the time period (think it’s 30 days) and then diarise the date and time that entries open because they fill up FAST!!!

Good luck if you do decide to go!!

 

[Bernster]

Great thing to do and yes if you can do more than 1 class that would help make the most of it. Look out for opportunities to get some ring practice in beforehand depending on how experienced you are as a combo, as it’s quite a big atmosphere with music, flags, people etc. The stables are typical tempy outdoor ones on grass. I stayed at the premier inn

 

[Patterdale]

Remember that you need to register your result with them within two weeks for your qualification code, or it won’t count!

Well done!

 

[quiteniceforacob]

Yes I was thinking it might be worth trying to qualify for another class. Quite a few places round here seem to run qualifiers so I can at least give that a good go!

How did you find the stabling there?

I’ve used the brick stabling but a friend used the temp stabling and was happy. However, if it rains I think you’d want to be in brick. You need to register soon (as above) and enter as soon as entries open in August. That goes for classes and stables - brick go very quickly!

 

[HelenBack]

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful information. I'll get the qualification registered asap this week and then I can have a look at the timetable to see what other classes could be suitable to aim for.

I'll probably just sleep in the lorry. The Premier Inn sounds great but I think I'd worry about my tack getting pinched or something while I wasn't there as tack theft did happen a year or two ago at one of the show centres near here. Also not sure I can be faffed leaving the showground again once I'm in there!

Great thing to do and yes if you can do more than 1 class that would help make the most of it. Look out for opportunities to get some ring practice in beforehand depending on how experienced you are as a combo, as it’s quite a big atmosphere with music, flags, people etc. The stables are typical tempy outdoor ones on grass. I stayed at the premier inn

This is really good to know, thanks. The horse is still quite green and really the main reason I was taking him out was to give him some experience in preparation for hopefully doing BE or Cotswold Cup once we're a bit more ready (and it's stopped raining!). I just thought it was an unaffiliated event this weekend and had no idea it was a qualifier for anything! It's in my plan to start taking him to busier events over the coming months as part of his education so hopefully that will help with his readiness. He's a pretty good boy overall and gets into the zone once he's in the ring but I think he could definitely do with a bit more practice when it comes to busy warm ups.

I’ve used the brick stabling but a friend used the temp stabling and was happy. However, if it rains I think you’d want to be in brick. You need to register soon (as above) and enter as soon as entries open in August. That goes for classes and stables - brick go very quickly!

That's helpful, thanks. I think I would definitely prefer brick if possible!

 

[Lucky Snowball]

I jumped at Hickstead four times. It was amazing. The photos and memories are awesome. The stables were ok, after all it’s only for a couple of nights. I slept in my lorry but lots had tents. Enjoyed every minute. I drove 7 hours to get there, worth every minute. Have Fun !!!

 

[HelenBack]

I jumped at Hickstead four times. It was amazing. The photos and memories are awesome. The stables were ok, after all it’s only for a couple of nights. I slept in my lorry but lots had tents. Enjoyed every minute. I drove 7 hours to get there, worth every minute. Have Fun !!!

That sounds great, thanks for sharing your experience with me

 

[dorsetladette]

We drove up from Dorset to show my friends coloured cob at the sunshine tour a couple of years running. It's a great atmosphere, the jumping goes on into the evening so lovely to sit and watch while you eat your chips.

The rosettes are lovely, and the sashes. Top 3 get a goody bag too! Photographers are good and you can pick up hoodies etc with every competitors name on them.

There's plenty of parking and and I think the tent's had there own area/field.

The temp stabling is deep littered and can be a bit yukky, but if the bed is not up to scratch you can ask for another stable. We came back with feather mites which was slightly unwanted souvenir. Take your own bedding if you can fit in the trailer as it will save you a heap of cash.

 

[Annagain]

Well done! Was that the AE at Beacons?

 

[humblepie]

Not done Sunshine Tour but competed at Hickstead many times. I love it there but it is either wet and muddy or dry and dusty. It is a very long walk from lorry to ring but if you’re on a horse then you’re not walking . Would definitely recommend going for it. Always makes me emotional just driving down the entrance road. . Did I say that I love competing there

 

[HelenBack]

We drove up from Dorset to show my friends coloured cob at the sunshine tour a couple of years running. It's a great atmosphere, the jumping goes on into the evening so lovely to sit and watch while you eat your chips.

The rosettes are lovely, and the sashes. Top 3 get a goody bag too! Photographers are good and you can pick up hoodies etc with every competitors name on them.

There's plenty of parking and and I think the tent's had there own area/field.

The temp stabling is deep littered and can be a bit yukky, but if the bed is not up to scratch you can ask for another stable. We came back with feather mites which was slightly unwanted souvenir. Take your own bedding if you can fit in the trailer as it will save you a heap of cash.

It does sound good and my horse doesn't have feathers so hopefully he wouldn't bring back any extra friends with him! Good tip on the bedding though, I'm pretty sure I would have room and that could help on the hygiene front too. It does sound a bit yukky to deep litter when there's multiple occupants in the stable but I suppose it saves wasting loads of bedding and I'm sure I can try and close my eyes to that for a couple of nights!

Well done! Was that the AE at Beacons?

Thanks! Yes, we went on Saturday when they had the knock down jump 4 joy fences out. Sunday they had the solid fences which I think would have been more fun but they had the riding club qualifiers there too and I thought I'd probably end up having massive waits between my classes and getting bored! They had both BE ACE qualifiers and open unaffiliated classes on Saturday. I just went into the open bit because the BE finals are in Aintree and I didn't fancy driving all the way up there if we did qualify, plus I was only really going for the experience anyway. So I wasn't really expecting this! Our jumping is definitely along more than our dressage

 

[Annagain]

Yes, we went on Saturday when they had the knock down jump 4 joy fences out. Sunday they had the solid fences which I think would have been more fun but they had the riding club qualifiers there too and I thought I'd probably end up having massive waits between my classes and getting bored! They had both BE ACE qualifiers and open unaffiliated classes on Saturday. I just went into the open bit because the BE finals are in Aintree and I didn't fancy driving all the way up there if we did qualify, plus I was only really going for the experience anyway. So I wasn't really expecting this! Our jumping is definitely along more than our dressage

I'd have thought they'd have put the solids out for the whole thing - once they're out, you may as well get the most use out of them! Still looked lovely though from the photos I've seen.

 

[HelenBack]

I'd have thought they'd have put the solids out for the whole thing - once they're out, you may as well get the most use out of them! Still looked lovely though from the photos I've seen.

It's because the BE ACE qualifiers have to over knock down fences. That's like their entry level competition and then they have the next step up which is over solids. It must have been a hell of a job to change the course overnight though!

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

I’ve used the brick stabling but a friend used the temp stabling and was happy. However, if it rains I think you’d want to be in brick. You need to register soon (as above) and enter as soon as entries open in August. That goes for classes and stables - brick go very quickly!

We had to switch to the brick stabling as my chunky 16.3 was never going to fit in the wooden stables. Also, I expected because it was Hickstead, it would be luxurious but it was just like any other show. You don't get to go anywhere near the main arena. When i did it , it was on grass and one jump was a real brick wall. Now I think it is xc portables in a huge, fantastic all weather arena. Have a look on YouTube.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I live fairly locally so not stayed overnight but it’s a great show very well run and a good atmosphere. I did the showing classes so had assistance and used a wheelbarrow to carry up all my show prep stuff up to the arenas so I didn’t have to walk back to my box. Also I did in hand and ridden so needed something to put my saddle in. The day parking is even further away than the overnight parking.

There are plenty of toilets and places to eat near the arenas as well as a few other stalls.

 

[WelshHoarder]

If you’re on Facebook, join “The Sunshine Tour Group” - it’s full of handy bits of information and reminders, and they’ve just published the 2024 timetables so you get an idea of what’s going on. There are usually some open classes that you don’t need to qualify for along with the championships, so as long as you’re qualified to be there, you can add some of those on too to make the most of the trip. We went in 2021 with my son and his Welshie and had the best time, he’d qualified in dressage, showing and jumping and so we had a crack at everything across the weekend (only 2 classes each day!). It IS a long walk around everything, and when they publish the site map with timings on, believe them. But it’s also a lot of fun, and everyone we met was really lovely and helpful. We had our girl in the temp stables and they were fine, although I can see how they’d get swampy if the weather is awful. We took a couple of bales of our own bedding and all was good.

Don’t forget that you now need to register the horse first before you put your qualification through as you need their number to do so. It’s pretty quick and easy though.

I agree with diarising date and time entries open, it’s manic and the popular classes fill up really fast. Usually first weekend in August but it’s well publicised beforehand.

We didn’t manage to go the last couple of years as circumstances got in the way, but hoping to qualify again this year, a last hurrah for the little partnership, and possibly also with her new career in-hand with me. If you want to see a full write up of our weekend a couple of years back, look us up on Instagram or Facebook, under “Baby Blaze and her Boy” - I did a pretty thorough debrief with lots of photos.

I’d definitely recommend it for the experience - as others have said, there’s something about competing at Hickstead, even though you’re nowhere near the famous arena…