'I'm obsessed with it' - Kieran Shoemark ropes Doyle and Marquand into new hobby

Kieran Shoemark rode his first winner of 2023 on just his second ride back from injury at Southwell on Tuesday night, a swift return to form that could be linked to a recent passion for open water swimming.

Despite the recent cold snap, the jockey has taken to swimming in lakes and rivers near his home and even broke the ice on a lake in the Alps last month in order to take an icy dip with his brother Conor.

Despite the mercury scarcely rising above zero this month, Shoemark has been undeterred. He said: "A friend of mine introduced me to open water swimming in October and safe to say I've become obsessed with it. I go in just in a pair of shorts, not a full wetsuit like some people as I wouldn't get the same out of it. I don't do it for the swimming factor like many, I do it for the cold water exposure. It helps you physically when you're in the water and helps you mentally as well. A lot of people are now doing it and I've really felt the benefit of it."

Shoemark enjoyed a breakthrough Group 1 success on Lady Bowthorpe in the Nassau Stakes in 2021 and struck again at the same level when Dreamloper won the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp last summer. He added of his injury woes: "I broke my collarbone in September when what they call my rotator cuff muscles fell away and they took a lot of rebuilding. Later I rode at the Breeders' Cup, but it didn't seem right so I gave it some time and I've since spent five days a week at Oaksey House."

Shoemark has enjoyed big days with the likes of Lady Bowthorpe in the pastCredit: Edward Whitaker

Shoemark has had some company on his new hobby of late, and said: "I've been going in any river or lake, but we've particularly been going to Lake 32 at Cirencester and I managed to get Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle along last week.

"Tom does the ice bath a lot, but said that the open water swimming was a different ball game altogether and was far more intense. He loved it, though, and is going to come again."

Shoemark even kept his new passion going on his holidays: "I went skiing in the Alps with my brother Conor a couple of weeks ago and found a lake there and swum in it. We literally had to smash the ice off the lake to get into it. Overall, It's very important to get covered up pretty quickly when you come out. It's important not to overdo it and for safety I spend only between five and ten minutes in the water."

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