THE future is bright for Thomas Hardye pupil Ellie Hayward, as the 15-year-old found out that she has been accepted into the British Racing School in Newmarket next July.

The Sydling st Nicholas rider was granted a place on to the prestigious two-year course, which means that on completion she will be placed at a professional yard anywhere in the UK in a bid to become a professional jockey.

This news also comes following her win in the 2014 Horseware National Open Hunter Trial in Derby aboard her horse Indie.

And nobody else is as proud of the youngster, who rides with Cattistock Hunt and South Dorset Pony Club, than her mother Zoe.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of her,” she told Echosport.

“She went up to Newmarket for an interview and that in itself was quite a challenge because she was against a lot of kids who were also after placements there.

“She had to do a fitness test, a maths and English assessment and then was interviewed by two people on the panel.

“Ellie has done this all off her own back, it is not me being a pushy parent. All the horse stuff she does herself, I get her to places but she is so determined.

“The application to Newmarket I didn’t even know about, she sent that off on her own after finding out you could get a placement there and then they sent her the full application pack.

“For her to leave home at 16 is a big step and both me and her dad were quite dubious about it, but she is adamant that it is what she wants to do, and that’s why she has got in, I think.”