A HORSE-mad teenager from Broomfleet is bound for Greece this weekend after riding her way into the British team taking part in the Junior European Showjumping Championships.
Olivia Dales (13) and her horse Arabella IV will be competing, along with four other team members, in the Children on Horses competition in the Marco Polo Olympic Stadium, Athens, between July 10 and 13.
The teenager started riding at the age of f
our, initially being taught by her mother, Lara and in the past year by her step-father, Russ Underwood.
He said Olivia had been involved in eventing until last year when she took up showjumping. "She moved on from ponies to horses early and took part in five selection trials for Team GB and was placed in four of them."
He, along with Olivia's brother Tom (15) set off yesterday (Wednesday) with Arabella IV and two other horses from the team on the arduous journey to Greece - catching the ferry to France, driving down to Southern Italy and then catching a ferry to Greece in time for Monday; a journey that will take £1,000 of diesel to complete and has required a horse truck with air conditioning as the animals will have to cope with 30 degrees of heat.
Olivia, her mum and baby sister Kitty, are to fly out to Greece on Sunday, after which she will have just two days to acclimatise to the temperatures before taking part in the competition.
"Olivia is over the moon to be going and we are all really proud of her," said Mr Underwood.
"She was really excited when she received her Union Jack and Team GB jacket and can't wait to take part in the competition."
Mr Underwood said the family were really grateful to local sponsors who had made the dream possible, including RD Websters of Howden, Riverside Carriages Weel, Skerne Leys Haylidge and Gold Label.
The full article contains 323 words and appears in Goole Courier newspaper.
