A YOUNG show jumper has crowned a highly successful year with a winning debut at the Olympia International Horse Show in London.

Pippa Allen, from Stainsby Grange, Thornaby, teamed up with Northallerton rider Paul Barker to win the Mini Major competition in front of a capacity 6,000 crowd at the famous venue.

The 11-year-old was one of only eight junior riders chosen to take part in the event after being nominated as a representative of Cleveland Pony Club.

Hundreds of nominations from clubs across the UK were considered by the Olympia selection committee, who then picked the best eight candidates based on their record in competition throughout the year.

They were then paired with a senior rider for the competition, with the adult jumping a course with fences of 1.35m before handing over to their young partner to tackle fences of 1.05m.

Pippa, riding her seven-year-old sister Millie's pony Corra Lass, and her partner were the fastest pair to complete the course, beating Michael Whitaker and his nephew George into second place. It was the second time Paul Barker had won the competition as he was successful as a junior rider on Silver Charm when he partnered Geoff Billington more than a decade ago.

Peter Allen, Pippa's father, told the D&S Times his daughter had thoroughly enjoyed her first taste of the special atmosphere at a big international show.

He said: "Her sense of anticipation was quite strong because she knew she would be with a top rider."

Pippa also gave her first television interview at the competition, which was covered live by Eurosport, and Mr Allen was impressed by the attitude of the professional riders. He said: "I was pleased to see how seriously the senior riders took it. They paid a lot of attention to detail and obviously didn't want to let the kids down."

The victory capped a great season for Pippa, who attends Red House School in Norton. She won the 128cm final on Silver Wonder at the Scope Championships at Stafford in September and was placed with two ponies at the Horse of the Year Show.

She also represented England in three of the four Home Pony Internationals, winning two gold and one silver medal.

Pippa has been given the ride on Strawberry Fair, one of the top 138cm ponies in the country, and will be aiming to continue her success as she embarks on another demanding schedule in 2005.

Mr Allen said: "It's something she loves doing and her school have been excellent with her. They are more than happy for her to take limited time off to travel to the important shows, which is great.