TOP teenage horseman Alex Shaw has been selected for the Great Britain team for the Mounted Games World Championships in Australia in July.
A Year 11 pupil about to sit his GCSEs at the King’s School, 16-year-old Shaw, from Taxal near Whaley Bridge, was chosen from hundreds of young riders, with all 250 branches of the Pony Club across the Great Britain submitting their own nominations.
After a rigorous assessment process, just two riders were selected from England and Scotland with another from Wales for the five-strong team.
Mounted Games not only tests a young rider’s horsemanship, but also their hand-to-eye co-ordination and athleticism as relay teams are put through a series of challenges and obstacles against the clock.
A member of the Cheshire Hunt North Pony Club branch, Shaw has appeared regularly at the Horse of the Year Show and is an emerging three-day event rider.
He spends every spare moment riding or looking after his two horses but will not be flying out to Perth with his 13 /2 thoroughbred Toffee, or his 16 / 2 Irish sports horse Philip.
He said: "It’s a great honour to represent my country and has fired my enthusiasm to ultimately forge a career in eventing."
The son of a small animals veterinary surgeon, Jim Shaw, who practises in the Brook Vet Centre in Great Moor, Stockport, Shaw and his sister, fellow international rider Stephanie, who also attended the King’s School, have been brought up with a love and respect for animals from an early age.
He added: "I think it helps to have confidence around your horse; it gives them confidence in return."
