A NINE-YEAR old Sticklepath boy has qualified for this year's Horse of the Year Show, to be held at the NEC in October.
William Bentley-Lovell won his class at Stithians Show with his pony Cherrytop Imperial Starlight, known as Coco, beating many top class ponies in the process.
William had previously qualified for the 2006 show two years ago with the same pony when he was only seven and came 17th in a class of 28, mostly with older entrants up to ten years old.
His mother Nicola said qualifying for the prestigious show was 'quite an achievement for them both'. Only between 25 and 30 ponies qualify in the whole country each year for the class.
'Competition is really strong and the classes are very full. Usually the bigger concerns upcountry win the classes so it was nice for someone local to get through,' she said.
William has been riding since he was two-and-a-half. 'He works extremely hard after school to ride his ponies to a high standard and is very excited that he is going to the NEC with his pony.'
Nicola said the pony was 'not the easiest' but William was very calm when it had an occasional quirk. He has now started jumping with another pony.
William is sponsored by local firm BVS, who maintain their lorry and cover the cost of it, enabling them to travel to shows, without which Nicola said they would struggle to compete.