WORCESTER’S Louise Marden has qualified for the South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship at the prestigious Horse of The Year Show.

She finished second in the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Show Class at Vale View in Leicestershire recently, riding Double Brandy.

The pair fought off stiff competition from the other combinations to earn their coveted ticket to the grand event at Birmingham’s NEC from October 3 until 7.

Double Brandy, known as Flo at home, is owned and ridden by Marden, who works in racing doing freelance clipping and has known the eight-year-old grey mare since she was three.

When the Worcester rider got the opportunity to buy her, she jumped at the chance.

“We do show jumping and dressage as well as fun rides. She does everything and is just easy to do,” Marden said.

The pair made the Horse of the Year Show Racehorse to Riding Horse final in 2010 but last year they were third at the qualifier and did not get through.

They were also third in the final of the Retraining of Racehorses class at Hickstead this year.

The duo have started doing open hack classes and qualified for the Royal International Horse Show.

“It is another class to go on to. I still keep in touch with the trainer and they have a picture of Flo in the tack room,” Marden added.

“Flo has a holiday over the winter and I work really hard so we can both have a bit of fun in the summertime.”

Horses need to have raced and been in training with a recognised trainer to be eligible for the classes which provide an opportunity to qualify for the prestigious HOYS finals.

Nicolina MacKenzie, marketing manager at SEIB, said: “This move for the Racehorse to Riding Horse champion to be included in the HOYS Supreme proves they are taken seriously as show horses and is testament to the success that can be achieved with an ex-racehorse.”

For more information on the championship, visit racehorse2ridinghorse.co.uk.