A talented athlete hopes her appearance on the international stage will be a springboard to future glory.
Paige Brown, from Ashe, near Overton, recently represented Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA.
At 13-years-old, the youngster has a string of international awards in equestrian vaulting to her name.
Her debut appearance in America saw Britain finish eighth out of 12 teams, beating Australia, Sweden, South Africa and Argentina.
She told the Basingstoke Observer that the experience had lifted her hopes for a medal at the next games in four years time.
Equestrian vaulting is a form of horse riding where a team perform dance and gymnastic moves on the back of a cantering horse.
During an event, Paige and her team of two others must perform a series of moves, as the horse walks round a 15-metre circle.
Each move can see the teen, whose position in the team is a ‘flier’, perched 15-feet in the air, balanced by her team-mates.
Each exercise is judged out of 10, with the British team scooping a best score of nine for a move.
The Testborne Community College student had to travel three times a week to the English Vaulting Squad headquarters in Northampton to train – a three-hour round trip for her and mum Penny.
The youngster has to balance homework and a social life on top of a punishing training regime of gym, circuit training and trips to a sports psychologist.
However, her dedication to the sport paid off with Team GB recording their personal best in the freestyle round.
She said: “It is quite nerve-racking when you go out in front of thousands of people. But me and my team mates have a routine before going out to calm ourselves down.
“At the end it is nice to have everybody cheering and clapping you on.”
Equestrian vaulting is not an Olympic sport, something Paige said she would like to see changed.
She said: “It should be an Olympic sport, at the moment we do not get as much funding as other equestrian sports and people do not appreciate it quite so much.”
She is supported by Asda and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, but her sport’s lack of Olympic status means she is not eligible for the Hampshire Talented Athlete Scheme
This has not dampened her desire for future glory on top of her nine national and international awards.
Proud mum, Penny Brown, said: “The whole family back her 100 per cent because we realise he has an incredible talent. She trains hard and she trains a lot of the time because it is her life.
“I love watching her perform .”
