A WELLING teenager is trotting away with prize after prize and she is doing it with the waifs and strays of society.

Last year Tanya Chapman, 19, won the pony showjumping class at the national championships in Addington Manor, Buckinghamshire, aboard Williford Just William a horse which had been a bag of bones at an animal rescue centre just months before.

Tanya said: "Williford Just William only cost £300.

"I really enjoy buying horses who have won nothing so I can train them myself so when I win I know all the effort was mine.

"We also bought a horse called Bailey from the City of London Police after they decided he was not brave enough to be a police horse.

"They said he was useless and at first he would not jump because he was so scared, he was even scared of his own shadow.

"Now he travels around Europe with me."

Tanya's list of achievements is very impressive.

At the national championships she was also a member of the showjumping and equitation where riders are judged on their style of riding teams which won gold.

In the French national side saddle show Tanya took second overall.

While at the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead she took fifth spot in a field of 40 in the Equine America Side Saddle Concours D'Elegance.

Tanya, who first climbed into a saddle aged just 18 months, admires showjumping legend Clare Lewis.

The former pupil of Eltham Green School, Queenscroft Road, said: "My ambition is to win the rider of the year title, just like Clare, and to do it as professionally as possible.

"I am a full-time rider now but I really need sponsorship to carry on."

Tanya, who lives on Hook Lane, competes in many disciplines including dressage with costumes.

This discipline's heyday was in the 1930s when emphasis was placed on elegance and style rather than technique and horsemanship.

Conscious the side saddle rider was becoming extinct and spectators and riders were missing the elegance of this form of riding, Valerie Francis and Janet Macdonald formed the Side Saddle Association in 1974 and there are now over 1,200 members.

Contrary to popular belief side saddle riding is safe and as more coaches focus on the discipline it is becoming increasingly widespread and qualified instruction is now available.

Disabled riders who cannot ride astride a horse often find riding side saddle is an enjoyable way of continuing their equestrian pursuits.

Many shows now feature specific classes for the side saddle rider including the National Side Saddle Association Championships to be held this year at Addington Manor.

Tanya is now set for the International Showjumping event of the year in Nantes, France, where she will rub shoulders with the likes of jumping legend Tim Stockdale.