A young showjumper has taken a major title at a prestigious show – by just two hundredths of a second.

Harpenden’s Millie Dickinson, 16, partnered Claddagh Prince, a 10-year-old bay gelding owned by Jan Dickinson, to secure the Squibb Group Pony Foxhunter Championship at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) on Saturday.

Sixteen riders had gone clear in the first round at a packed NEC in Birmingham, forcing an incredibly competitive jump-off.

A couple of clear runs early on forced many to go against the clock resulting in them picking up penalties along the way.

In the end just five managed to deliver that much-wanted second clear round.

Dickinson’s time of 34.73 seconds was enough for the title, narrowly beating Cameron Rogan and Landlord III into second place with their time of 34.75.

This is Dickinson’s first time at HOYS and says it has been a long-held ambition.

She said: “I still can’t really believe it, it’s just incredible and it’s basically a dream come true.

“To think that it’s actually happened is amazing.”