AN inaugural horse show proved a big success – and has raised £2,000 for the village school.

The Pickhill Horse Show and Gymkhana, near Thirsk, attracted more than 100 entries and riders travelled to the event from as far afield as Durham City and York to help raise funds for the primary school.

Now organiser Carolyn Woods, an equestrian teacher at Queen Mary’s School at Topcliffe, hopes to make the show an annual event.

The 32-year-old mother-of-two used her 17 years of experience in the equestrian world to organise the event. In the past she has worked with racehorse trainers in Banbury and Ireland, as well as at a point-to-point yard on Exmoor in Devon.

“It was a fantastic day and it was brilliant to see so many people enjoying the event,” said Ms Woods, who lives in Pickhill.

“Since moving to North Yorkshire, I’ve found there aren’t many shows for everyone so I wanted to organise an old-fashioned gymkhana.”

Ms Woods also thanked farmer Graham Clarke for the use of his field, as well as The Nag’s Head, Top Spec and Steven and Louise Fall, all from Pickhill, for sponsorship.