A CLEVELAND rider has returned in triumph from last weekend's Mercedes-Benz national dressage championships at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.

Suzanne Eeles, from Stockton, won the preliminary championship with John Moorhouse's four-year-old Dutch sport horse Picture This.

Competing against 20 rivals, the partnership finished first with a percentage of 71.67 to round off an excellent first season of affiliated dressage, which has brought them 36 points from limited outings.

The 16.2hh bay gelding was bought in Holland by Mr Moorhouse as an unbroken three-year-old and brought over to his Whispers Equestrian Centre at Whinney Hill.

Both horse and rider are trained by Ian Brown and qualified for the national championships at the Northern Regional championships.

l More news from the national dressage championships next week