Young riders from York and Ainsty South Pony Club will be looking to make a big impression in the opening stages of a national competition.

Lucy Chivers, Roseanna Burns and Alex Richardson, all ten years old, and Ria Ginley, eight, will be competing in the junior section of the 'area' competition of the mounted games, near Wakefield, tomorrow.

Organised by the Pony Club of Great Britain, the youngsters will ride in various races in the hope of earning enough points to qualify for the 'zone' finals. Success in those finals would ultimately lead to a place in the national finals.

The youngsters will be hoping to repeat the club's success of more than 20 years ago when, in 1978, a team from the York and Ainsty South club reached the national finals at Wembley.

The current team has been trained for this weekend's competition by Julie Jackson, whose mother-in-law coached the successful 1978 team.

Updated: 12:30 Friday, June 29, 2001