A TEENAGE show jumper won a silver medal for Great Britain after competing in two European competitions in a week.

Madison Jamison is a Year 10 student at Haslingden High School.

She won a place to compete in the Nations Cup event in Belgium and her success led her to being invited to a similar competition in Germany.

She said: “There were five riders in Team GB in Belgium and on the first day we all completed a round to decide which four of us would go through to the competition.

“I was riding Clippie and we got a clear round so we got picked for the team. There were teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, France and Great Britain.

“I did a clear round on the first day of the competition and, as only the scores of the top three out of the four riders count, we got through to the second day.

“Three teams went through – Ireland, France and Great Britain – and I went clear again so we had to have a jump-off between France and GB. I had a fence down and so we won the silver.”

Madison then returned to Guide, only to be told by the coach that she had done so well she was invited to compete in a further Nations Cup event in Hagen, Germany, in three days’ time.

It was a quick turnaround for Maddie, ponies Clippie and Sweep and parents Trevor and Nicola and they were soon on their way to Dover.

While travelling across the continent it was thundering and lightning and the journey took 11 hours.

Madison said: “I take Clippie and Sweep together because they are company for each other.”

Unfortunately Clippie was not well when it came to the competition and had to retire from the first round. However, Madison completed the next two rounds on Sweep. She said: “It was the first time Sweep had jumped 1m 25, but he cleared it on both rounds giving me two clears, putting us in 9th position. I was really pleased with how Sweep performed.”

Madison, 15, has been horse riding since she was eight and owns six horses. There is a further competition in Denmark in August, which she may get asked to compete in and she would like to earn a place in the European team. Her ambition is to become a professional show jumper or a groom.