CHIPPENHAM youngster Jessica Mendoza continued her rapid rise through the junior equestrian ranks with an individual bronze medal at the European Pony Championships in Poland last weekend.

Riding her mother’s 13-year-old chestnut mare Tixylix, Mendoza, 15, jumped a brilliant clear showjumping round to finish in the same score as both Beth Vernon in first and Bertram Allen in second.

However, with a six-way tie at the top a jump-off was required which saw Vernon take top spot.

Mendoza saw off the majority of the 30-strong starting field to reach the podium, but Nottingham’s Vernon and Allen from Ireland pipped her to the gold and silver medals.

Vernon recorded an unbeatable time of 29.88 seconds which effectively secured her the gold.

Mendoza and Vernon had previously helped the British squad claim overall team gold to go with their own personal haul.

Katrina Moor, chef d’equipe of the British Pony team, was delighted with the achievements of the GB side which returned with two of the top three places.

“To say I’m ecstatic with our results at this year’s championships would be an understatement,” she said.

“We had a tremendous win on Friday with the team taking the gold medal across an extremely strong competition.

“To follow it with two of the three medals on offer today in the Individuals, one of which was a gold one has absolutely capped the championships off for us.

“When you consider that it was a six-way jump-off today, with all of the pony/rider combinations finishing on the same overall score, and less than three seconds between them, this was not only a tremendous achievement but a triumph we should all be especially proud of.”

Further information and full results from the European Pony Championships in Jaszkowo, Poland can be found by visiting www.ponyeuropeans201.com.