Sundown ambassador Will Rawlin talks about his plans for 2024 eventing season
Will has been using Sundown Green and Yellow straw bedding for over six years. All of Will’s 14 horses are bedded on a combination of Sundown Green (chopped wheat straw) and Sundown Yellow (chopped rapeseed straw). Will explains the combination of using both gives him the ideal balance of absorbency, economy and ease of mucking-out whilst creating a soft, thick and warm bed, which really helps encourage the horses to lie down after a busy day at work!
He says, “All of my horses love their Sundown bedding and it’s reassuring to see them lying down and getting their rest. We have a good routine on the yard, with the horses’ beds topped up with fresh Sundown bedding twice a week. Sundown also breaks down really quickly on the muck-heap, taking up less waste space, and even the messier horses do really well on it.
“Having been an Ambassador for Sundown for many years, I genuinely love their bedding products and it’s great to be building on our long-term relationship. It is incredibly important to me that all the horses are happy and healthy in all aspects of their day to day lives, and Sundown plays a huge part in this.”
Will talks about how 2023 was one of his most successful and consistent seasons so far, and how since moving yards in February 2023 to hilly Marlborough has had a tremendous impact on all the horses performance. The top horses The Partner and Ballycoog Breaker Boy have had fantastic seasons, with The Partner getting his first 5* completion at Luhmühlen abroad in Germany under their belt, and Ballycoog Breaker Boy establishing himself competitively at 4* level, coming in the top 20 in his first Nations Cup in Arville, Belgium and Blenheim CCI4*L has been extremely exciting.
He says, “Next year we will aim for getting more 5*’s under my belt, with the goal to be on home soil at Badminton!”
Will has also built up a wonderful string of young horses which have all either started their eventing careers this year or gone up levels, achieving their goals. Will says, “All the youngsters absolutely love coming home to their thick Sundown beds after an educational day of eventing. They are lying down within minutes and sometimes I am rather jealous!”
Reflecting on his 2023 season, Will says, “One of my goals this year was to not only get the horses fitter, but to gain consistency in their performance across all the levels. It’s important that I have quality over quantity, and it has definitely been achieved this year. We are so looking forward to taking this into the 2024 season, but for now they all are having a well-deserved holiday where they can sleep in their beds as much as they like!”
Find out more about Will Rawlin by visiting his website and following him on Facebook or Instagram.