The story of Georgia Child and her £300 rescue horse would be a scriptwriter’s dream as they prepare for their national dressage finals this weekend.

Child, who lives in Loose, Maidstone, was a former long-distance runner whose promising career on the track was cut short by a knee injury, while showjumper Ollie had been homeless for three years.

They were thrown together when Child began volunteering at a rescue centre in East Farleigh as part of her degree.

Neither of them had competed in dressage but, six years later, the pair have received a wildcard to the national final of the Petplan Summer Equine Festivals after finishing fourth at the regionals in Cambridgeshire.

Nothing has come easy.

Child was even told to have Ollie, now 18, put to sleep after initial teething problems during a six-week trial.

And there’s no fancy riding area that many dressage riders enjoy - they do their work out on the road.

“Ollie kind of picked me - it’s crazy,” said Child, 27, who gets up at 4.30am every day to see to her horse.

“The owner of the rescue centre said he’d been waiting for a home for three years.

“She asked if I’d like to take him on a six-week trial and six years on, he’s never gone back.

“We were based at a yard in Bearsted but now I just rent some land.

“Most people who do well in dressage have a riding area but we don’t - we ride on the road.

“There is a school I sometimes use but it’s half an hour away.

“It took us three seasons to get to the regionals.

“The first year, Ollie had a field accident and the next time, I broke my wrist falling off him.

“My instructor said to give it one last go. Our first competition of the season was awful but I kept at it.

“It wasn’t easy getting there this year.

“We missed the Kent and Essex regionals because Ollie’s vaccination card hadn’t been stamped, so I had to drive up to Cambridgeshire.

“I stayed the night camping in the horse area of the lorry on a blow-up bed so I didn’t have to pay for a hotel, and Ollie had a little stable on-site.

“I was second-to-last to ride in a class of 30-40 riders.

“I spent the whole day watching and thinking how amazing everyone was.

“There were five of us who stayed overnight and they all had really posh horses.

“Ollie looks the part now but he’s got his little problems and quirks that come with a rescue horse.

“When we found out I’d come fourth, they all came rushing over, saying how amazing it was.

“He’s a rescue horse, you don’t really hear of it in dressage.

“As an example, my friend’s just bought a new horse which cost £25,000 - and that was a cheap one.

“I paid £300 for Ollie out of a field because nobody wanted him.

“It was a bit of a shock to get the wildcard to the nationals but I was so happy.

“I think it means more when you have a horse that isn’t set up to be a dressage horse.

“If you’re going down the centre line on a £50,000 horse it would probably feel a bit different.

“Last summer, I thought I might have to retire him.

“He wasn’t himself and with a rescue horse you don’t know when the last ride is going to be.

“You’d kind of be looking to retire them around now onwards but all the time he’s enjoying dressage and passing his six-monthly health check with no concerns, I don’t feel there’s a reason to retire him.”

There were issues to work through after Child took Ollie on - but there was no way she was giving up on him.

Her dedication and commitment have paid off and then some.

“For the first two weeks I had him, every single ride he threw me off,” said Child.

“I was thinking, is it me or the horse?

“A couple of people who’d seen him at the rescue centre said he had behavioural issues and I should send him back or he should be put to sleep.

“I was shocked to hear that. How can you say that?

“I had a call with the rescue centre who said if it wasn’t working he’d need to go back but I said we’d make it work.

“He was quite anxious about any new situation.

“He wouldn’t go hacking on his own, he wouldn’t load into the horsebox or the trailer, so taking him to competitions was a nightmare.

“I’d be the last one to arrive and people would start making fun of me and making horrible comments about Ollie and I was thinking, is this the sport for me?

“I got the behaviourist involved, he has a chiropractor, an osteopath and massages every month, and it’s chilled him out.

“He still doesn’t like other people - I have to be there for everything - but he’s not difficult for me.”

The nationals take place at Arena UK in Lincolnshire.

Child and Ollie are in the prelim bronze class and will be in action over the weekend.

“I just don’t want to come last,” said Child. “That’s what I said at the regionals and we did way beyond that.

“I’d like him to be happy and settled and come out of the arena thinking we’ve done our best.

“It’s the best 40 riders in the country at my level, so the competition is strong.

“I know I made mistakes at the regionals, which we’ve been working on, and if I can cut those out, I’d love to make the top 10 or 15 but I won’t be upset if I don’t.

“It’s more an achievement just to be there.”