FLAGSTONE State Community College rider Anika Green was named dressage champion at the 2014 Interschool Queensland State Championships recently.
The 14-year-old won the secondary intermediate preliminary class and also placed third in novice freestyle and seventh in secondary four phase showman at the competition in Maryborough
Fellow Flagstone school rider Kiara Sheppard, 17, also competed in the preliminary dressage event, placing seventh in one test and in the top 20 for the other.
Anika received the highest score of the day for preliminary dressage, which she said shocked and surprised her.
"My goal was to come top 10 so to come first was a great feeling," she said.
"I rode my best and my horse Singing Sands tried his hardest.
"When I bought him last year he had very minimal dresssage experience and no jumping or competing experience.
"I have trained really hard with him and I couldn't have done that without the help of my family, Elaine King and my dressage coach Tammy Stephens."
Flagstone school equestrian co-ordinator Elaine King said she could not be happier with Anika and Kiara's achievements.
"They have both worked really hard, were out there every day training and they deserve the results they got," she said.
"Anika winning state champion was great, especially because we are a small school with not many riders."
Anika has qualified for the National Interschool Championships, which will be in Victoria in October.
She said she would love to compete at the championships but would need to fundraise to get there.
"Any help I can get with this would be appreciated, it would mean a lot to me to be able to go," Anika said.
