A DALE rider has helped England take victory in a national schools’ dressage competition.
Charlotte Merrigan Martin, from Stainton, and her horse Volatis Diva scored an impressive 70.58 per cent in the National Schools Championship in Buckinghamshire on Saturday, October 19.
England, with a score of 281.33, won the event ahead of Rest of the World and Wales on 257.06 and Scotland on 254.47. Each team fielded five riders with the top four scores counting towards the tally.
Ms Merrigan Martin’s score placed her third for England and fourth overall.
The Barnard Castle School pupil said: “To be selected meant so much to me. Wearing the England flag on my saddle cloth filled me with pride. I will keep on riding and training my horses the best that I can. I am on the lookout for other horses to compete in showing and dressage and will just continue with what I have been doing and seeing what comes along.
“I am taking some of my British Horse Society exams but also have university to look forward to in the future.”
