Harriette Rushton is through to the SEIB Winter Novice Championship final at the Royal International Horse Show

Harriette Rushton secured her place at the Royal International Horse Show after a thrilling victory in a competitive qualifier at Arena UK's Winter Classic in Grantham.

Rushton is now through to the SEIB Winter Novice Championship final at the Hickstead showpiece after her win on Chacstar Z.

Forty-nine competitors contended the first round over course-designer Mark McGowan's 11-fence track which started at a height of 1.10m with 18 returning initial clears to access the jump-off and chase the two coveted finalist passes.

The jump-off was hot with less than 0.70 seconds separating the top three places, but Gainsborough-based Rushton won out with a nose in front to take the win by 0.16 seconds on the Dutch-bred five-year-old , a stallion son of top showjumping sire Chacco-Blue.

Rushton - who sought out Chacstar as she owns and competes his mum, I Am Legend Z - said: "This means so much as we bought him as a two-year-old and we've done everything with him.

"We almost didn't go. I looked out the window and it was snowy and almost turned around and went back to bed but I'd paid the entries so made the effort – and I’m so glad I did."

Rushton will make her debut at the Royal International Horse Show and, although having jumped at Hickstead before, she had never qualified for the main arena.

She will again be alongside Chacstar who is very similar to his mother, I Am Legend.

Rushton added: "I love her so much, we found him and bought him. They are so similar, almost double in looks.

"I've had people comment, 'but you've just been in on that one', and I've had to tell them, ‘No, this is the mother'

"He is perhaps a little easier than her because we've had him since a two-year-old.

"We have an incredible bond and he's had an incredible year but, in this class, everything clicked into place. He did everything I asked of him."