A NORTH Yorkshire student has become the latest pupil at her school to achieve national success in equestrian sports.

Georgina Prest, of Ampleforth College in Ryedale, recently won her section at British Eventing’s Frickley Park Horse Trials.

It was her first season competing in British Eventing contests. She beat more than 33 competitors in her section and went on to attain the best score of the day.

Georgina, a member of Ampleforth College Equestrian Team, finished 19th at Northallerton Horse Trials and fourth at Aske Horse Trials earlier in the summer.

She trains under former Ampleforth College student, Christopher Bartle, who recently won gold with the British Eventing Team at the European Championships.

Christopher, director of Yorkshire Riding Centre, was appointed as British Performance Coach after leaving his role with the German teams earlier in the year, after coaching them to Olympic, World and European Gold medal success.

The five-day Pony Club National Championships held at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire proved another winning event for current and former Ampleforth students, as Georgina Prest, Issy Saxby, Isabella Armitage, Isobel Higginbotham and Freddie Fawcett were all placed in their respective classes.

Equestrianism is just one of more than 50 co-curricular events available for boys and girls at Ampleforth College, which also provides an opportunity for students to take part in riding and polo lessons.

Those who live locally with their own horses can also represent the College in dressage, show jumping and eventing competitions.

Ampleforth’s equestrian coordinator, Eliz Cook, says, “Our students continue to go beyond all our expectations and we are very proud of them.

“We are really looking forward to the new academic year and all the excitement it will bring as we start training in earnest for the NSEA competitions later this year.”