A VALE pony rider was celebrating this week after helping to achieve a British victory in the Mounted Games European Championships in Switzerland.

In a close-fought final, Catherine Pinney and her colleagues beat off a strong challenge from the French team.

Ex-Pershore High School pupil Catherine, of Peopleton, who works as a childcare assistant at the Vale of Evesham school, competed in the contest last month.

She has been involved in the Mounted Games Association for six years and before that she was a member of the Croome Pony Club's Prince Philip Cup team.

The 21-year-old said: "It's an amazing feeling knowing that we won. We only won by a point but we played against a team who were of the same ability as us. It's a great achievement to win such a contest and it means a lot to us all."

gdon, Catherine Pinney, Alex Edwards, Susie Warne and coach Tim Pinney, the team of riders who represented Great Britain.