TALENTED three day event rider Ben Hobday knows all about overcoming obstacles.

There’s the 20-odd fences in the gruelling cross country to start with and another dozen in the show jumping.

However, he is hoping to overcome the biggest obstacle of the lot — finding the funding to help him compete in the London 2012 Olympics.

If it was simply down to his riding ability, then the 20-year-old is on target to make that dream come true after his success in the recent Young Rider European Championships where he won an individual bronze and helped the Great Britain team to gold on his trusty mount Uptons Who.

But Hobday knows that ability alone will not get him to the Olympics and to the next level. For in the high maintenance sport of eventing, money talks.

“I am fortune enough to have some very good sponsors,” said the former Haslingden High School pupil. “But you are always looking to bring more people in to help you achieve your goals and get to the next level.

“I don’t just want to compete at a high level, I want to stay there and having that support and funding is just as important as being a good rider and having a good horse.”

But Hobday is delighted with the way his career has gone since marking his arrival by winning the National Under 21s Eventing Championship when he was just 18-years-old.

And his success in the European Championships in Germany is the stand-out success to date.

“It was a fantastic performance from everyone involved,” said Haslingden-born Hobday. “Our aim was to get team gold but for me to win an individual bronze was a bonus but I am obviously delighted.

What made the success even more impressive was that Great Britain beat a very good Germany team in their own backyard in Kreuth.

“That made it all the more special,” added Hobday who favours the jumping events but has come on in leaps and bounds in the dressage. “We led from first to last which was superb, especially when you consider how good the German team was.”

Hobday finished in eighth place overall after the dressage and jumped up to fifth overall following a clear round in the cross country — a course he was asked to be ‘pathfinder’ which meant he was the first to ride the course and report back to his team-mates.

And he completed a memorable Championships with a clear round in the showjumping, as did his team-mates, to take first place.

Victory for Hobday made up for missing out in the GB’s gold winning performance in last year’s Young Rider European Championships at Blair Castle in Scotland despite finishing in sixth place overall.

“Each team has four riders but only three count for the team event,” said Hobday who lives in Edenfield, “So it was great to be in the team this time around and win a gold medal.”

Eventing is the ultimate challenge for both the horse and rider, testing their skills in the dressage, cross country and show jumping — a combination of finesse and fitness mixed with skill, strength and stamina.

And Hobday has shown he has both the skill and stamina to go all the way to the top in a sport he has been competing in since he was four-years-old.

He has been in the international set up for the past five years and has been on the World Class Development programme for the past two years.

You can also add a steely determination to Hobday’s make up as well.

Not content with just performing on the international stage, Hobday is thriving to succeed on the other side of the sport as well.

He set up his own yard earlier this year and already has seven or eight promising young horses as he looks to train one up to follow in the trusty steps of Uptons Who.

“My ultimate goal is to compete in the Olympics,” added Hobday who has recorded a victory over Zara Phillips this season. “That obviously means London 2012 but 2016 could be a more realistic target. Uptons Who probably has three or four years left competing at the top so, realistically, I will need to train up another horse that will be just as good, if not better.”

Hobday is currently competing in Class Three events but is looking to move up to Class Four next year in his stepping stone towards the Olympics.

“I have targets and it is important to stick to them,” said Hobday. “I still have one more year competing as a Young Rider so I will be aiming to get in the Great Britain team for the next European Championships.

“I also want to step up to Class Four and that means competing at the likes of Bramham, Badminton and Burley.

Hobday knows he wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for his support team, including his parents, dressage coach Judy Bradwell and all those who help his yard run smoothly.

Then there are the sponsors Baileys Horse Feeds, Maxavita, Horsebits in Ramsbottom and Fitzpatricks from Bolton.

But with his talent, their support and his trusty horses, Hobday looks certain to overcome whatever obstacles that are in his way.

l Anyone who would like to support Ben Hobday or would like further information, contact him on 07983 424062 or log on to benhobday.com