Amanda Waugh, Sutherland Riding Club's training officer, is heading south to Gloucestershire early next month to compete in the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Grassroots Championship and in so doing she becomes the first rider from Sutherland ever to do so.

In order to qualify for this championship, Amanda needed to finish in the top 10% in her section (BE 90) throughout the previous eventing season - she is one of only two who qualified from Scotland.

The Badminton Horse Trials, arguably the most prestigious and well known three-day event in the world, has spawned the Grassroots Championship, which is held over two days, to give riders at a national level of the sport the unique opportunity to ride across the same hallowed turf as their sporting idols.

Amanda, daughter of William and Jeanette Waugh, grew up on Bogbain Farm, near Tain, and was educated at Tain Royal Academy and Thurso College (now the North Highland College). She now works for the Carnegie Club, at Skibo Castle, as its equestrian manager.

She was a member of the Ross-shire Pony Club and started eventing at the age of 10, before joining the Sutherland Riding Club. In 2012, she travelled to Co Wexford, in Southern Ireland, to look for a young horse to 'bring on' to replace her previous one, which was due to retire.

Having seen and ridden the three or four horses that she had on her 'shopping list', but not been sufficiently impressed by any of them, a chance conversation with a farrier at one of the yards she was visiting led her to a fiveyear-old Irish Sports Horse called Fan Daby Angus (bred from a pony mare by a horse stallion).

She knew as soon as she popped him over a few jumps that he was the horse she was looking for. Since then, she has put in countless hours of hard work to develop his potential and make him the quality horse he is now.

Not only did Amanda consistently finish well at the British events she attended last season, but also won the Scottish points award in 2014, the BE90 'Ribbons and Tails' trophy and the Burgie 2014 challenge (she did this by not only completing all three Burgie one-day events, but finished third in one and winning the other two).

Amanda, who has an HGV driving licence, travels to events in her 7.5-tonne horse lorry and this will be how her and Angus will make the long journey, a round trip of over 1000 miles, to Badminton. She will need to leave Sutherland four days before the competition in order to break the journey overnight near Carlisle to allow Angus to rest, eat and drink and then to give the horse a couple of days to recover from the journey.

Not only will the travel costs for such a journey be high, but there is also stabling fees at the event for Angus as well as en-route (Amanda has living quarters in the lorry, so will not incur any accommodation costs), specialist feed for the horse to prevent dehydration and provide enough nutrition.

So, whilst Amanda is receiving a great deal of support and assistance from family and friends, including fellow members of the Sutherland Riding Club, she is hoping that some local businesses may sponsor her either financially or by donating supplies or services required by her and her horse.