TWO horse mad teenagers are preparing to spend the summer with their four-legged friends after making it into various prestigious competitions.

Victoria Arnold, a former Penwortham Girls high School pupils, will be performing with her horse, Barney, at various horse-showing events over the summer.

Victoria, now at Runshaw College, got into the exhibition - a sort of Crufts for the horse world - by chance after visiting a stables and being told her prized pony was a natural.

The 17-year-old is currently recovering from a fractured pelvis, an injury sustained when another horse reared while she was on it.

Provided she gets the all-clear, she could be on her way for a summer of sporting success.

Meanwhile, her friend, Rebecca Carter is hoping for just as much success as Victoria when she takes part in the show jumping qualifiers at Warwick next month.

She has plenty of event lined up for the summer, and hopes to crack the sport at national level before she returns to her A-level studies in September.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.