CHIPPENHAM teenager Olivia Sealy was triumphant at her first-ever British Dressage Championships at the weekend when she won her class at the NAF Five Star Winter Championships at Hartpury College.

Riding in the Novice Restricted category, 17-year-old Sealy and her mount A Leonidas were the only combination to break the 70 per cent barrier and finished top of the pile on 70.32.

Sealy, who attends Kingswood School in Bath, took on around 60 other riders in the qualifying round before then coming out on top in the 30-strong field in the final.

Speaking to British Dressage’s official website, Sealy said: “It was a massive surprise. I’m very, very excited, really thrilled.

“My first test was pretty safe and to just get him in the arena. For my second test I worked hard to ride every single movement, it paid off. I came out smiling so I knew it was good.”

Elsewhere, fellow teenager Chelsea Pearce is also celebrating after tasting victory at the Portman Horse Trials at Rushmore Park, near Salisbury, last week.

The 17-year-old, from Shalbourne, near Marlborough, guided new Austrian ride Kilnaboy Buffet to success in his first event, taking top prize in the Open Novice U18 section by securing a dressage score of 31.80, almost three points ahead of their nearest challenger.

Pearce, who opened her season by taking the Coronation Challenge Cup for being the best U18 competitor at the Aldon International in Yeovil, has recently secured a sponsorship deal with Bristol’s Longcroft Building Services. She trials for selection on British Eventing’s 2016 junior programme at Withington Manor on April 30–May 1.