SHELSLEY Beauchamp's Emily Timmis ended her season on a high at the Aldon Horse Trials and CCI* in Somerset, the last one, two and three-day event of the 2005 British season.

The 24-year-old was competing in the open novice two-day event at Aldon and was up against some strong opposition that included several international riders on their young horses.

Timmis partnered the 15.2h bay Samuel Whiskers VIII, a horse she has ridden for the last six years.

"Emily had entered her other horse Sweet Jemima for the Weston Park three-day event earlier in October but she had a tendon injury and was unable to go," explained her mother Alice Timmis.

"So she decided to bring Samuel Whiskers back into work and enter him for Aldon. Emily works full-time in London, where she is training to be an actuary, so she doesn't have a lot of time to ride and hadn't evented this horse since June."

Timmis does the fitness work at home with the horses and her daughter takes over in competitions, a routine that seems to work well.

"We were quite shocked with Samuel Whisker's dressage mark at Aldon -- he isn't a flashy horse but is obedient and one judge particularly loved him -- he was joint sixth at that stage which we hadn't been expecting," said Alice.

The horse then moved up to third with a faultless show-jumping round, in a phase where clears rounds did not prove easy to come by.

The horse rounded off a good competition with a great clear inside the time over Aldon's hilly cross-country course, which included a challenging water complex. Overnight rain left the going perfect.

"Samuel Whiskers took all the direct routes in cross-country over a course which rode very well and stayed in third spot," Alice added. "In the end, Emily was only three points off the winner's score."

The horse has now qualified for a one star three-day event, which may well be his target next season.