TEENAGER Roxanne Shipley is joining the best of British at the International Dressage Event at Addington Manor, Buckinghamshire.

The 15-year-old, of Sheriff Hutton, near York, has won a place in the Great Britain team for the three-day competition, which starts on Friday.

GB will be taking on 14 other countries, including all the top European nations and the likes of New Zealand.

Easingwold School pupil Shipley, who has ridden since she was one-year-old, progressed through local events and pony club to compete at national level in 2009.

She was invited to attend national training late last year and, after a winter of hard work with her pony Best Shakomo, was selected for the national squad.

Roxanne’s mother, Angela, said: “She has enjoyed great support from the school to enable her to attend squad training and teachers have given her additional tuition in their own time to make up for lessons she has had to miss.

“International selection is the reward for many years of hard work for Roxanne and the team behind her.”

Shipley’s typical day begins at 6.30am with mucking out and feeding her own ponies and horses, before setting off for school at 8am. After school, she rides two or three ponies or horses for about two hours, under floodlights in winter, whatever the weather.

She will then muck out and feed the horses, before doing her homework.