A long shot became a reality when a Taupō teenager was one of two selected to represent New Zealand in Equestrian.

Thirteen-year-old Esme Morgan has been riding horses since she was four.

Having no particular goal to represent New Zealand, the St Patrick's Catholic School student thought it was a long shot when she put her name forward to ride for her country at the Gold Saddle Equestrian Club in Guilinn, China.

With hundreds of entries from all over the country from teenages aged between 13-18, Esme said it was a huge shock when she found out she had been selected.

"I always thought it would be cool to be known for riding. I never thought it would actually happen until I was older," she said.

"I was quite happy just riding around the Pony Club but when I saw the entry for China I thought why not.

"I thought it would be cool to [be selected] but it's not very likely that it would happen. It was a really big shock when I found out I got in."

With the event being held in China, Esme will have to compete in the show jumping and games sections on a horse she isn't familiar with and because that horse is in China, Esme said there's not really a lot of prep work she can do here in the meantime

"There's not a lot [of training] we can do for it. We don't know the pony we are using," she said.

"I've ridden and jumped my friends horse before so I do know how to ride a different horse."

Although Esme has competed in many National titles and represented Taupō in Bay of Plenty teams, this is the first time she has been selected to represent New Zealand but she is looking forward to meeting yet another new friend.

"I really enjoy the fact that all the horses have their own personalities. It's all just fun."

While representing New Zealand is a dream come true, Esme has no future goals she is currently working towards – instead she's just going to simply enjoy riding her horse.

"Most people set on one specific thing. At the minute I'm just doing everything I can."

Esme will be travelling to China in November. She will spend a week there, competing in the equestrian event.

Source: Stuff.co.nz