Rye rider named world champion in Mounted Games

There is a background of many trees with green leaves. In the forefront of the image on the right side, there is a woman wearing a red helmet and dark blue coat holding a silver trophy, as well as a small red, white and blue ribbon. She is smiling as she looks off in the distance towards the left-hand-side of the image.Mounted Games Studio

Eleanor Wheeler with the 2025 World Championship in Mounted Games in Normandy, France

Robin Grey
Sports Reporter, BBC South East
Reporting from
BBC South East

A 25-year-old woman from East Sussex has been crowned world champion in the Mounted Games, an equestrian competition which took place in Normandy, France.

The games were first introduced at the Prince Phillip Cup in 1957, as he wanted a more accessible and cheaper option for riders, with participation now increasing in countries like Nigeria, Mexico and Australia.

Men and women can compete together or individually, with Eleanor Wheeler becoming the first female to win the World Championships in 16 years.

She said: "It's so fun to test your agility, speed, and athleticism with you and your pony - it's a bit like stunt racing on ponies."

There is a woman on the left-hand side of the image, wearing a bright blue collared top with a white logo on either side of her chest. She is also wearing a dark blue cap with a yellow logo on it. Her grey hair is packed backwards in a ponytail and she is angled towards the right-hand side of the image. There is a building behind her, with green painted around the window frame and garden tools can be seen on the right side of the image, including a light blue shovel, a broom and a pitchfork.Robin Grey

Eleanor's mother, Alex Wheeler, said she had worked incredibly hard for this prize

Eleanor's mother, Alex Wheeler, introduced her daughter to Mounted Games after competing herself and said she was "amazingly proud" of her.

"Something that was a hobby, has turned into a little bit more, it's totally taken over me and my family's life," she said, adding that Eleanor's dad who "wasn't horsey at all" now drives the pony across Europe, and sorts out all the equipment for them.

The games includes races such as the five flag, where riders reach and pick up and drop off flags from their pony; the toolbox, where hammers are picked up and dropped, and "the sword," a relay race where riders pick up rings off poles with a sword.

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