EQUESTRIAN: Talented teenage duo get rewarded (From Witney Gazette)

EQUESTRIAN: Talented teenage duo get rewarded

1:00pm Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in Sport

Two talented west Oxfordshire riders have had their outstanding potential recognised by the British Equestrian Federation.

Alice Sandberg, from Chipping Norton, and Talia Laghzaoui, from nearby Churchill, who are both 17, are among five county riders – the others are Charlotte Agnew, 25, from Southmoor, plus the Henley duo of Tim Wilkes, 17, and Samantha Thurman-Baker, 19 – to be selected by the BEF for its world class development programme, which runs from 2013-15.

Sandberg and Laghzaoui are among 12 eventing riders to be called up nationwide.

Funded by UK Sport, the development programme works with riders to maximise their talent in a bid for success on the international stage.

And the local pair have already shown plenty of promise in their different disciplines.

Sandberg was fourth in the National Under 18 Championships at Glanusk in Wales last year, while Laghzaoui was long-listed for the 2012 FEI Junior European Eventing Championships.