A LOCAL rider put in an outstanding performance to take one of only two silver medals in one of the toughest endurance rides on the calendar.

In the most appalling conditions for 20 years, Jo Chisholm and her Arab gelding Grey Medlar showed great skill and stamina in the Hilton Herbs Golden Horseshoe 100-mile ride across Exmoor.

Jo, who has recently moved from Okehampton to Lydford, said all those hours of training on Dartmoor had paid off.

'There were only four finishers in the ride from 27 starters,' she said. 'I rode all day with water in my boots and I was soaked through to the skin — the weather made it very tough but training on Dartmoor prepares you for that sort of thing.'

No golds were awarded in the event and Jo said she missed out on the medal by two minutes but is more than happy with silver.

'Two years ago I was awarded a national trophy for completing the most miles in British endurance rides in 12 months, but success in the Golden Horseshoe is something really special because everyone knows it is one of the toughest rides in the year,' she said.

Jo and Grey Medlar were also selected by the veterinary panel for one of the most prestigious awards — the Golden Horseshoe Premier Award — given to the horse judged as most capable of travelling a further 25 miles.

The rider also bagged the Top Lady Award and the Worshipful Company of Saddlers' prize of £100 towards a new saddle.

Grey Medlar won the Laybrook Challenge Trophy for the highest placed pure bred Arab and the Arab Horse Society summer sheet given to the pure bred Arab finishing in the highest category with the best recovery rate throughout the competition.

The team have been shortlisted for the Endurance GB Intermediate Squad and Jo's ultimate ambition is to get into the senior team where she would have a chance to represent her country at well known events such as the World Equestrian Games.

Jo's achievement is even more remarkable when you consider she also has a full-time job at IGER at North Wyke (Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research), two young children, Abigail and Tessa, and is renovating an old house.