Northallerton's Paul Barker beat some of the country's leading riders to complete a memorable treble at the prestigious national Blue Chip Championships in the West Midlands.

Barker, ranked in or near the top 30 in the British Show Jumpers rankings for the past few years, won three of the top senior finals at the event held at Solihull Riding Club.

He began with a win in the Blue Chip Energy A and B Championship. On his mother Lynn's Belgian nine-year-old horse Faraway Hills he was the only rider to go clear in the second round to collect the £400 winner's purse.

He then added the Blue Chip Pro B and C Championship, riding the bay horse Blue Chip Quinton II. The pair were drawn second in a strong seven-horse jump-off, which included international riders Di Lampard, Tim Stockdale and Guy Goosen.

He left them all behind in comprehensive fashion when he was again the only one to produce a clear.

Barker completed his hat-trick in the most valuable final at the show, the Blue Chip Grand Prix with a first prize of £750.

There were again some top names in the field, including riders from Ireland and South Africa, but the north Yorkshireman produced a strong performance to win by over 15 seconds on Faraway Hills, who he has been riding for two years.

"I thought the course was strong enough for the Grand Prix and was happy with the way my horse went," said Barker. "The ground was good and the organisers had really tried hard."

Young York rider Jolyse Clancey and her pony Milly on Air also finished among the prizes.

The Murton 12-year-old was one of only 54 riders from 500 hopefuls to qualify for the Kraiburg Junior Discovery Championship, for riders aged 16 and under.

Despite being one of the youngest in the competition, the Huntington School pupil produced two well-ridden clear rounds to make the final timed jump-off.

Posting one of the fastest times, she was unlucky to nudge a pole at the penultimate fence to finish eighth overall.

Jolyse, a member of the Middleton Pony Club and the daughter of well-known three-day eventer Alyse Clancey, said: "Milly rose to the occasion. She knew it was important to do well and didn't buck once.

"My friends and teachers signed a lucky tee shirt - I'm sure it worked for us! We had a fantastic time and have both learnt so much from this weekend. We know that we can cope when the pressure is on.

"Just qualifying for the Championships was an achievement as I had to beat a few British team riders to get here.

"I now want to carry on and improve both my riding and Milly's way of going, and hopefully qualify for the Junior Foxhunter and Newcomers finals at the Horse of the Year Show."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.