A PUPIL at a school in Ryedale has qualified for the national working hunter pony championships at Hickstead this summer.

Year 8 Terrington Hall pupil Alex Cordingley, 13, has qualified for the competition in West Sussex on July 24 where she will be competing on her pony Ozzie 14hh.

This is the second year in a row that Alex has qualified for the Royal International Horse Show.

Last month, Alex, who has been a member of Sinnington Hunt’s pony club since the age of four, competed at the Royal Windsor Horse Show where she came fourth in the national mountain and moorland working hunter pony class.

A representative of the school said that this is an outstanding achievement given the class has no age restriction.

Terrington Hall headmaster Stephen Mulryne went on: “I am incredibly proud of Alex’s achievements, especially as she juggles so much else, representing the school across all sports, playing an active role in music and drama and still finding time for her schoolwork.

“It takes extraordinary dedication and self-discipline to ride before and after school and throughout the weekends, but she has done this for many years and has shown how much can be achieved when you set your mind to it.”

Alex leaves Terrington Hall at the end of the summer term on a sports scholarship to Queen Margaret’s.

The national working hunter pony championship, held annually at the Longines Royal International Horse Show, is organised by the National Pony Society.

During the final at Hickstead a diverse 12 fence course will be jumped with an increased height of 5cm in each section and the inclusion of a water splash. The cleanest, most stylish round wins.