Young event riders from the Hursley Pony Club beat riders from all over the south and west to win both the Open and Intermediate Horse Trials at the Regional Qualifier for the National Pony Club Championships.

The event was held at the prestigious Moreton Equestrian Centre near Dorchester.

In sweltering heat, the Open team of Victoria Leabeater (16), Julian Hill (15) and Julia Knight Jones (24) were the only team on the day to have three clears round a testing cross country track. Leabeater was one of only two riders to finish without adding any penalties to her dressage score and was crowned Individual Open Champion on the smallest horse in the class, the 14.2 part bred New Forest pony Fusilier. Hursley individual rider Claire Fundrey (21) was second (also finishing on her dressage score) and Julian Hill, competing at this level for the first time, individually fifth. On the second day of competition, the Intermediate team of Sophie Damment (23), Red Middleton (14), Holly Smith (17) and Hannah Bakewell (16) won the team title from 13 other pony clubs. Sophie Damment won her section on her young horse Ben, with Red Middleton second . Many Olympic riders such as Zara Phillips, William Fox-Pitt and Charlotte Dujardin started their careers at The Pony Club Championships.

Both Hursley teams now head to Cheshire next month to compete against the best young event riders in the UK.