A RIDER from the region has become a celebrity in Ireland after she was the only woman to take part in a showjumping competition.

Philippa Curry, from Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, cleared a 6ft 6in jump in the puissance class at Cavan International Horse Show this month. Olympic showjumping classes only go as high as 5ft 2.5in.

Mrs Curry, 35, took joint fifth place in the class with her 18-hand chesnut-coloured stallion Tsjakke. She was up against 20 men – all experienced riders, some with military backgrounds.

She became a talking point among horse riding enthusiasts in Ireland and was interviewed on Irish television news during the competition.

She said: “When I’d finished my round and the camera crew came to interview me, I was astonished.

“I had no idea I was being talked about. They told me I was a celebrity in Ireland.”

She said she felt her competitors may have underestimated her skill because she was female.

She said: “A lot of the other riders were Olympic-level riders and ex-Army. They were saying ‘who’s this little girl trying to jump?’.”

She puts her success down the strong bond she and the stallion have.

She said: “I have only had him for a couple of months, but he really trusts me. When you are jumping a wall jump like in the puissance competition, then the horse needs to trust you, because they do not know what is on the other side of that jump.”

Mrs Curry hopes to ride in the Olympia international horse competition this winter.

However, because the class is full, she is on the waiting list.

Olympia, to be held in London next month, is one of the highlights of the showjumping calendar. Mrs Curry also aims to compete in the international Hickstead Derby, in Sussex, in July next year.