A HORSE bred in Bridport has ranked the highest for endurance in a prestigious competition, making it a good bet to compete on a national level.

Horse breeder Samantha Mowatt, from Bridport, gained a higher first premium award with her mount Dream The Way Back at the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity held in Devon.

The horse, owned and bred by Mowatt, attained a higher first premium of 8.70 in the endurance section – the highest score awarded to a potential endurance horse at the event.

A higher first premium indicates that the horse has the potential and outlook to perform at national level.

The BEF Futurity Evaluation series aims to identify British-bred young sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, showjumping or endurance. It started in 2005 with 100 young horses to be evaluated and will now see more than 800 judged in 2014.

Mowatt said: “I’m delighted with my horse.

“She was a bit short of preparation for the day but she behaved brilliantly – and it was also useful to get her out in public.

“We will possibly race her, although I plan to mainly compete her in endurance rides.

“This was the first time I had been to the Futurity.

“We found everyone very friendly and the comments from the evaluators were good.”

The BEF Futurity Evaluations are held at 11 venues over 14 days throughout the UK and young horses go home with a BEF Premium grade, a rosette, certificate and a detailed, informative score sheet.

BEF chief Jan Rogers said: “The Futurity is now in its ninth year and over this time we have seen it develop to provide real support to British breeders to achieve their aims.

“Through their carefully planned breeding decisions we are seeing an improvement in the horses presented at the Futurity for evaluation.”