Peter Mellor is celebrating victory at the British Riding Clubs National Championships at the Lincolnshire Showground.

The 57-year-old proprietor of Woodnook Arena above Honley rode to jump-off success to take the Intermediate Class honours.

He piloted seven-year-old mount Just For Joy (whose stable name is Jez) to be one of 13 double clear rounds in the class, which featured 102 horses.

Then they went clear as the last pairing to go in the jump-off, winning the NAF-sponsored event by a clear margin.

“We did a qualifying round up in Richmond, North Yorkshire, about five weeks ago to get through to the main two-round competition,” explained Mellor, who was also ninth in the Open Class with Fearless Footsteps (known as Ryan).

“All the double clears knew they would jump off against the clock and there were 13 of us, but I was lucky in that I was last man to jump so I know what I had to do to try and win.

“It was pleasing to jump the three clears and get the time and it’s quite a prestigious thing to have won, so it went well.”

Mellor picked up a rug and sash, a silver salver trophy to keep for the year and some NAF vouchers.

“It was a really good presentation and a good class to have won,” added Mellor, whose jump-off time of 38.48sec put him well in front of second-placed Lucy Bullas on her horse William Morris in 43.38.

In the Open Class, for more experienced horses, 10-year-old Fearless Footsteps also got into the jump-off but had the final pole down, dropping him from fourth (“we were never fast enough”) to ninth in the final standings.

Mellor, who owns both the horses which did well in Lincolnshire, has been at Woodnook all his life and it remains a successful livery and equestrian centre.

It was opened by his father, Jimmy, in 1953, having moved up from the village where he started his own business at what is now Taylor’s store in 1947.

Peter took over the reins 30 years ago and, while they are not a riding school, they still run competitions and shows in their indoor arena, in addition to looking after horses for other owners and offering breaking and schooling services.

British equestrian has hit a new high by topping the world rankings in showjumping and dressage.

A week after Ben Maher was named showjumping’s new world number one, his fellow London 2012 gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin has reclaimed the top spot in dressage with Valegro.

It is the first time that British riders have headed both lists simultaneously, while eventer William Fox-Pitt is currently the world No2 in his discipline.

Like Maher, Dujardin enjoyed considerable success at the European Championships in Denmark last month.

Maher was part of Great Britain’s gold medal-winning team, and he also took individual silver.

Dujardin, meanwhile, collected individual golds in grand prix special and freestyle, plus a tremendous team bronze alongside Carl Hester, Michael Eilberg and Gareth Hughes.

Gloucestershire-based Dujardin holds a 67-point rankings advantage over Germany’s Helen Langehanenberg, with top Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen in third.

Maher, who also won the Longines King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead last month, is set to spearhead Britain’s bid for success at the Nations Cup final in Barcelona from September 27-29.

The British team will target an unprecedented treble after becoming only the second country after Germany to hold Olympic and European titles at the same time.