PONY and Junior European gold medalist Libby Soley has made a winning start to the new British Eventing (BE) season, which started this month.

Libby, who turned 18 in January, started her BE season at the Oasby one-day event in Lincolnshire, where top names such as Brook Staples, Nicola Wilson and Matthew Wright were also among the entries.

She headed an open novice section on her 15.3hh Frenchbred horse Kachemire Le Beau, who took her to team gold and individual silver at the 2008 Junior European Three-Day Event Championships.

The pair gained a superb dressage score of 23.5 to take a clear lead from this opening phase, and ended up winning by six marks.

“Libby has been working hard on the flat over the winter with former British dressage team trainer Ian Woodhead and it looks to have paid off,”

said mother Sue Soley. “The Oasby cross country course was flatter than last year and the water complex was a little easier, but it still asked a fair few questions and was up to height.

“Libby felt the course rode well and that the ground was perfect.”

The teenager is back on the trail of a place on the GB Junior European team and will take Kachmire Le Beau to the Open Intermediate under-21 Trial at Weston Park in Shropshire next.

“She will also take her grey Irish Thoroughbred horse Pebbly Aga Khan to Weston Park,”

Mrs Soley added. “Libby has had the horse for nearly a year but this will be their first event together.

“Last year he was either balloted out, the weather caused events to be cancelled or Libby was busy with the junior team and she just couldn’t get a run on him.’ Bedale-based Eleanor Mercer won a BE100 (formerly prenovice) section at Oasby on her dapple-grey horse Dalton Boy, who came over from Ireland last autumn and was bred to show jump.

“I was teaching out in Ireland, doing cross country clinics and children’s courses, and I always bring a few horses back with me,” said Eleanor.

“Dalton Boy is owned by Robert Ropner who owns Camp Hill, where I’m based when I go to Ireland.”

The horse came home nine seconds under the cross country optimum time, on his first ever BE run, to complete on his dressage score and leave his nearest rival over four points behind.

Eleanor was also fourth in another BE100 section on Glen Ross, who would have made it a double but for a show jumping error.

Fellow Beadle rider Lucinda Broad also topped a BE100 section on her six year old chestnut My Abalution.

The 16hh gelding added just 1.2 cross country time penalties to a dressage score of 33 to win his season opener by just over a point. The horse scored two pre novice wins in 2008, at Skipton and Buckminster Park, and qualified for the British Young Horse Championships at Tweseldown as a four-year-old.