ELEVEN pony club branches sent members to compete at shooting, running, swimming and cross country horse riding competition when Croome Pony Club hosted the first tetrathlon of the season.

The event – closely associated with the Olympic sport of modern pentathlon – was held at venues in Worcester and Wadborough, near Worcester.

Croome member Harry Sykes, aged 13, of Grafton Flyford, near Pershore, was the fastest junior boy swimmer completing 245 metres in three minutes, and also the fastest junior runner covering 1,500 metres in five minutes 34 seconds, which made him the highest scoring junior of the competition.

With team mates Chris Lole, 14, also from Wadborough and Toby Alliband,12, of Dormston, near Inkberrow, both scoring highly, the Croome junior boys were the winning team.

Chris Lole also bagged the competition’s junior rider jumping award for his style and accuracy.

Croome ‘tiddler’ member sevenyears- old Robert Saunders, of Droitwich, got the second highest shooting score of the day with 960 points out of 1,000.

The testing cross country course had a dramatic effect on scores, with only about half the competitors going clear.

Two of them were Croome members Emily Turner,10, of Harvington, near Evesham, and Katie Caldicott, 13, from White Ladies Aston, near Pershore.

Croome Pony Club, which draws most of its 80 members from around Pershore and Evesham, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.

District Commissioner Sarah Roberts said: “Tetrathlon is a testing multi-discipline event and just to complete every phase is an achievement.

“This was a marvellous start to the new season and well supported by other branches across the Midlands.”