Eldwick Riding Club did more than just horse around at the British Racing Club Quadrille Selection Trial earlier this month.

Four members of the Bingley-based club - Katherine Wilkinson and Emily Wilkinson, Chloe Eshelby and Millie Ryan - were one of the four teams to reach the final in London later this year, despite never competing in quadrille before.

The competition, held in Liverpool, involved each horse and rider performing set moves to music, with Eldwick up against eight other riding clubs.

Eldwick’s Millie Ryan, 13, said: “The atmosphere was fabulous, with the audience clapping and cheering; it was a lot faster than any of us really expected.

“We came out of the arena having really enjoyed ourselves, and agreed that whether we qualified for Olympia or not, we were very proud of our performance and all the training had been worth it.”

However, Eldwick were in for a pleasant surprise when the results were announced.

Three of the four finalists had already been selected when their name came up.

Millie added: “We stood together holding our hands tightly, resigning ourselves to the fact that we weren’t going through.

“When the commentator announced that the fourth team to go to Olympia was “Eldwick Riding Club” we shrieked, burst into tears, jumped up and down and hugged each other in delight.

“Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, we found out that we’d got the highest marks overall with 86 per cent, with a 39/40 from one dressage judge.”

Eldwick will now go on to compete in the Quadrille of the Year at London’s Olympia on Saturday, December 17.