A YOUNG rider from Dalton on Tees, near Darlington, has been looking back on a tiring but successful summer season.

Kerry Metcalfe and her grandparents' 11-year-old Connemara Middleton Michael Murphy achieved many good results at both local and national level in their first full season competing together.

The 13-year-old's season began with an excellent qualification score for the national Trailblazers dressage final at Stoneleigh in August.

After weeks of preparation, Kerry was ready to compete in two tests on the Thursday and another two on the Friday to find the overall winner.

She made a good start on the Thursday morning by winning her arena in the preliminary section, allowing her to compete for the championship on the Friday.

This was followed by a fantastic third place in the novice section on the Thursday afternoon, again allowing her to compete in the championship.

Although she did not win the championship for either class despite two good performances on the Friday, Kerry is determined to return next year.

The pair also showed their versatility when they qualified for the national riding clubs final as part of the Hambleton and District Riding Club one-day event team. Unfortunately, other commitments meant Kerry had to pull out.

But she made sure she didn't miss out when she was part of a strong Hambleton and District team which finished first in the riding club dressage area finals to qualify for the national finals.

The three-strong team, who were up against teams of four from other clubs, went on to finish ninth overall at the national championships.

Kerry won her class and her younger sister Kirsty finished sixth, with the third team member Maddie putting in a great performance to ensure the team finished in the top ten.