Lydia Rosling will see her name appear once again on the open girls trophy after landing the highly-coveted title for the second consecutive year at the national Pony Club Tetrathlon Championships, but the win was made even more special for the 20-year-old, who is the first person to lift both the regional and national title in the same year.

"Winning at the UK regionals is not usually a good omen as no one has previously gone on to win at the nationals," said Lydia, who won as an individual in Pembrey, Wales last month. "I'm really pleased to have achieved this."

At the nationals, held at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire, Lydia scored two personal bests in the swimming and running phases, a clear cross country and a "good" shoot to secure a convincing victory.

The Bath University student and keen member of the Quantock Hunt Branch of The Pony Club returned to her Taunton home this summer to ensure her ex-racehorse, Red Genie, was fit for the cross country phase.

"He hadn't jumped before I had him," said Lydia, who has partnered the 12-year-old chestnut thoroughbred for the past five years.

"He now loves his cross country – he's always looking for the next jump. The course at Hartpury was made really well and he gave me a lovely round, he fills me with confidence."

Commenting on her win, Lydia added: "It's really motivating to see the names of Kate Allenby and Heather Fell appear twice on the trophy as they have gone on to compete at the Olympics and win medals — I'd love to do the same and compete in the modern pentathlon; tetrathlon is the perfect gateway."

The Four Burrow Pony Club's formidable tetrathlon team of Chris and Mike Harris and Richard Mercer lived up to their promise at Hartpury, scoring a victory in the intermediate boys team championships.

In addition to the team's success, Chris finished individually fifth from a 51-strong field, which featured competitors from across the UK and Ireland. The sporting trio, who are all pupils at Penair School, Truro, opened their journey to these prestigious championships with a win in the area qualifier at Stonar School in Wiltshire. Fourteen-year-old Chris came away with the individual honours and confirmed his talent by recording the best shoot, best swim and a clear ride on his charismatic dun pony Godolphin Harvester. Richard, aged 16, also completed a clear ride on Cruise Bazaar to clinch the top ticket to Hartpury.

The boys' prowess in the saddle came to the fore at the championships, with all three producing flawless performances.

"Our team were lying in second place after the opening day," said team trainer and chef d'equipe Sue Harris.

"We were eight points behind the leaders and it went right to the wire to the riding discipline. Our three boys posted superb rides to clinch the national title for the Four Burrow."

Chris recorded an outstanding set of results at Hartpury, confirming his bright future in the sport. His brother Mike, 16, is equally impressive and has a story which will serve as an inspiration for up-and-coming tetrathletes.

"Mike was forced to miss out on most of last year due to a foot injury," explained Sue. "He underwent major surgery just before Christmas 2009 and only started riding and training again just after Easter. He's really gelled with his new horse Elbebe and they've posted a string of excellent results to complement Chris and Richard."

Richard made the transition from junior level last year, taking the ride on his sister's horse Cruise Bazaar, who has been consistently clear cross country at every competition.

"As both team trainer for the Four Burrow and mother to Mike and Chris, I can honestly say I'm immensely proud of all their achievements," said Sue. "But none more so than when they were called forward to receive their championship awards at Hartpury."

Other South West teams to hit the limelight at the championships were the Open Girls team from the South Devon Moorland branch, who finished a very respectable fifth.

The four girls in their first year at Open level were, Helen Richards, Sophie Jarvis, Rhianna Parker Yates and Georgie Lethbridge. Helen picked up a bronze award for her overall score.

Also in the Open Girls class were Poppy Le Marechal (Dartmoor), Verity Parke (Four Burrow), Tanya Read (Four Burrow), Rebecca Potter (Lamerton), Lowenna Stephens (North Cornwall), Susannah Kellagher (East Cornwall) and Lucy Lee (East Devon). Poppy was only just out of the top 10 placings and her high score was enough to gain a silver award. In the Open boys class, Adam Sandercock, from the Lamerton, was eighth and gained a silver award, while Peter Richards and Will Parke gained bronze awards.

In the intermediate girls, a team of four from the North Cornwall branch had a "brilliant" weekend and took fifth place overall. The team of Nina Ball, Abi Glencross, Nicola Woodley and Sophie Gaskell all rode clear with just a few time penalties to add.