BARNABY Treneer, a fifth form pupil at Mount House School, came seventh out of 15 in the final of the National Pony Racing Championships at Cheltenham, despite being by far the youngest rider in the field.

He refused to be intimidated and jostled with the more experienced riders to make sure he got a good start. He got away quickly and led for the first furlong, knowing that the race distance of 7 furlongs on fast going was too short for his relatively small pony.

Through the summer holidays, Barnaby competed with great success in the Charles Owen sponsored pony race series for children aged 11 to 16.