A junior team of disabled horse riders came home with a string of rosettes on Wednesday after competing in Carlisle.

Dressage and an obstacle course were among the challenges facing the group from the Wear Valley Riding For The Disabled, based at Three Lane Ends Farm, in Escomb, near Bishop Auckland.

The five riders and three ponies travelled to Blackdyke Equestrian Centre for the Northern Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Championships in Cumbria.

All of the team returned with prizes and three qualified for the National RDA Championship in Gloucester in the summer.

Wear Valley instructor Christine Barratt-Atkin said: "The children all train regularly with us.

“They have worked very hard to achieve this success. We are extremely proud of them.

"The riders and ponies were beautifully turned out and were a credit to us."