A STABLE owner from Ingleton is celebrating after his horse became the first ever to win at two highly prestigious shows in the same year.

Mike Clark’s treasured 11-year-old, known as Thorney Side The Foreman, won the harness horse category at the Horse of the Year Show after scooping top prize in the driving horses section at the Osbourne Refrigerators National Championships just days earlier.

Mr Clark, who has kept horses all his life, said he was delighted at the outcome.

“I can’t describe how it feels. It would have been good enough to win one honour but to do both is just incredible. No other horse has ever won both events in the same year. This is by far his best achievement.”

The horse, whose stable name is George, was led round the ring by Minta Winn, and had previously finished third in the 2005 Horse of the Year event.

Mr Clark added: “We were hoping he would do quite well, particularly after the nationals, but we didn’t expect him to win. It was just the icing on the cake.”