Fourteen-year-old dressage champion, Ella Glennan, has been offered one of only twelve available places nationally at the National Academy for British Dressage 2022 camp.

Ella, from Gulworthy, impressed the judges with her skill, knowledge and dedication to dressage to gain a place on the camp, which is expected to begin in February and is organised by the British Dressage, a company which provides training and support to riders and their horses.

Mum Debbie said: ‘I’m pretty excited for her. We’re trying to get everything organised and ready for it. It should be in February but there haven’t been any dates yet - they’re working on it apparently.’

This is the next achievement which will bring Ella closer to her goal. She hopes one day to join the Great Britain team and compete at the Olympics.

‘I would absolutely love to do the Olympics in the near future,’ said Ella. ‘That’s sort of my main aim at the moment.’

Ella trained her own pony, six-year-old Leo, from the age of one. She said she had to give Leo intensive training to become a champion dressage horse.

‘He had to be really well behaved on the [dressage] grounds and I taught him the dressage moves and I just sort of passed that up when I started riding him. He’s never put a foot wrong’ with me as of yet,’ Ella said.

In fact, Leo has been so well trained that he is now one of the youngest ponies ever to compete at such a high level.

Ella has been a life-long horse rider, having followed in her mum’s footstep and starting to ride as a very little girl.

She said: ‘My mum was a dressage rider and really, I seem to have liked horses since I was born. I got the fever and I managed to ride at three. It’s just sort of gone from there.’

Since she started riding, Ella and Leo have won numerous awards including the regional dressage competition, which she said was one of her proudest moments.

Ella is now hoping to enter Leo into the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) test which, if they pass, will allow Ella and Leo to compete abroad.