THE Zetland Hunt Pony Club is celebrating a fabulous year, with successes in different disciplines at both senior and intermediate level.

The club moved into Area 2 from Area 3 three years ago and have found some stiff competition from rival clubs. The high standard of competition and riding has enabled riders to qualify for the national PC championships at Sansaw and the novice challenge at Smallwood in Cheshire.

The first area competition of the year was the tetrathlon at the Linnels in Hexham, where the junior girls team of Georgina Zissler, Jennifer Bainbridge, Lindsey Pearson and Emma Hawksby won and Georgina also took the individual honours.

Due to the possibility of a strangles risk, the area dressage competition was hastily moved from Northumberland to Lowfold Farm, Sunnybrow.

The Zetland entered two intermediate teams, with the team of Lindsey Pearson, Claire Pearson, Georgina Zissler and Chloe Straker finishing second to qualify for the national novice challenge. The second intermediate team of Jennifer Bainbridge, Sally Thexton, Sophie Dedman and Jennifer Atkinson were just out of the placings and the senior team of Jacquetta Straker, Nicky Smith and Katie Tweddle finished eighth.

The Zetland team showjumping, the Hurworth and Zetland one-day events produced team victories, individual wins and placings for the seniors in their run up to the areas.

After heavy overnight rain, the area showjumping at Bishopton resulted in a good team win for Nicky Smith, Chloe and Jacquetta Straker and Lucy Morrison and qualification for the national pony club championships at Sansaw.

Five days later, the Zetland horse trials team of Nicky Smith, Chloe Straker, Georgie Morrison and Lucy Morrison won the area competition at Houghall near Durham to qualify for the horse trials championships. Individually, Lucy Morrison won her section, Georgie Morrison was third, Nicky Smith fourth and Chloe Straker fifth.

The intermediate team of Georgina Zissler, Jennifer Bainbridge, Claire Pearson and Robert Stapleton also won and qualified for the novice challenge.

The seniors acquitted themselves well at Sansaw, with Jacquetta Straker second in the individual showjumping, the team finishing seventh and Nicky Smith awarded three in the horsemastership.

The horse trials team was 13th, with Lucy Morrison sixth individually.

The intermediate dressage team was placed 16th at the novice challenge, Jennifer Bainbridge taking Chloe Straker's place due to the latter's Sansaw commitments, and the horse trials team were just out of the placings in ninth