A SHOWJUMPING Kingswinford teen has trotted off with first place at a national championship.

Charlotte Hall, 14, who has been riding her pony Calusa competitively for the past year-and-a-half, won the National 138cm Debut Final at the recent Scope Festival.

The pair have picked up top results in both local and national British Showjumping competitions over the past year, with Charlotte sitting in pole position in the West Midlands Bronze pony rider league.

However, taking home first place at the Scope Festival was Charlotte and Calusa's biggest win to date.

More than 100 competitors from across the country qualified for the championships, with further in-competition qualification taking the entrants down to 33 for the final on August 26.

The duo went clear in the first round, resulting in only 13 competitors going forward to a timed jump off.

Charlotte’s mum, Rachel, said: “There was fierce competition in the jump off but Charlotte rode superbly with pony and rider pulling out all the stops to take first place in a breath-taking 29.17 seconds.

“She now has her sights set on qualifying to compete at the Horse of the Year Show.”

Charlotte has also competed at prestigious events such as Bolesworth Castle, in Cheshire, and more recently at both the British Showjumping Championships at Stoneleigh – taking second place in the Stepping Stones Championship Final – and then being placed third in the National Academy team competition in Coventry, representing the West Midlands region.