THE equestrian teams from Queen Mary’s School, between Ripon and Thirsk, have put Yorkshire on the map this weekend as they have qualified for the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) Championship Finals in style winning four of their respective classes.

The Queen Mary’s equestrian team competed in the Show Jumping and Jumping With Style classes at 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 110cm at Greenlands in Cumbria with some outstanding group and individual performances.

The Queen Mary’s 70cm Show Jumping team and 70cm Jumping With Style team won their classes as did the 80cm Jumping With Style and 80cm Show Jumping teams. There were also successes for the 90cm Jumping With Style Team coming 4th and the 90cm Show Jumping Team taking 3rd place. As individual riders, Amy Bell, Poppy Bartle and the Queen Mary’s Riding Captain, Dee Ormston also won their classes or were placed highly.

The girls have also qualified for the Royal Windsor Horse Show in June and are looking forward to competing in what many people call ‘the Queen’s backyard’.

Dee Ormston is delighted: “We’ve done it again! Everyone has supported each other very well, and has shown great teamwork as we have been putting in hours of practice ahead of these qualifiers.”

Emma Swinburn, Queen Mary’s Riding Manager said: “I am so proud of all the girls. They all displayed excellent technical and riding ability alongside good attitude and horsemanship. The girls are great role models for the younger riders within our British Horse Society approved equestrian centre.”

Carole Cameron, Head at Queen Mary’s School said: “Congratulations to the girls and our Equestrian Centre staff for their year-round dedication. Qualification for the national finals is a tremendous achievement in itself but for a team where all the girls are aged 16 or younger, the qualification is even more impressive. Queen Mary’s provides girls with the opportunity to compete at a high level from a young age and also to gain confidence and self-assurance.”

The next Queen Mary’s Open Morning will take place on Friday 22 March. Call 01845 575040.