Young riders at Ellesmere Equestrian Team have been celebrating success after claiming rosettes at two recent events.

There was team and individual success for Ellesmere riders at the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) Showjumping qualifying rounds for the National Championships.

One team had already qualified in the 90cm class, so an 80cm team was entered, with Tabitha Leonard, Anna Maughan, Bella Spencer-Blow and Imogen Spencer-Blow working together to take fourth place.

Their finish was enough to qualify for the NSEA National Plate Championship later this month at Keysoe Equestrian Centre.

Imogen, a Year 5 pupil, also entered the 1m class and came third individually – a great achievement considering she was the youngest of the 16 riders.

Harriet Otter took first place in the 1.1m class.

Tabitha and Bella joined Chloe-Brooke Rickett and Sophie Ward to form a team in the 80cm class, and were able to take fourth place.

At the NSEA Championships in Addington, those who qualified competed and were able to shine on the big stage.

The 90cm Showjumping Team of Jake Stockton, Bella and Imogen were without fourth team member Tess O’Brien, after an injury to her horse.

This put the Ellesmere Equestrian Team at an immediate disadvantage against the other schools who had teams of four. There were more than 200 children, all from senior schools, and Ellesmere had also presented the youngest team.

The young trio performed very well and just missed out on picking up rosettes.

Imogen also competed in an individual competition too, and despite missing out on a rosette, the youngest rider in the category put on a great show once again.

The competitions are not over just yet, with Tabitha, Chloe, Sophie and Bella set to compete in the NSEA Plate Championships at Southview Equestrian Centre later this month.