Georgie Davies, 24, will make her debut in the senior three-day-event squad in Pratoni, Italy in September after being named yesterday with Fachoudette - a horse she describes as “one in a million” in the team of six riders selected for the European Championships.

Zara Phillips, who is defending her European title won in Blenheim two years ago, heads the team with Toytown. The four other riders - Mary King (Call Again Cavalier), Sharon Hunt (Tankers Town) Daisy Dick (Spring Along) and Oliver Townend (Flint Curtis) - all competed at the World Championships in Aachen last year where Britain won silver.

As the replacement in the team for William Fox-Pitt, who is short of horses and named only as second reserve, Davies has some large boots to fill. “I always hoped I would make the team sometime in the future but never expected it to be so soon,” she said.

Her record with Fachoudette, suggests she is more than equal to the task. A team silver medal-winner - with Phillips - in the 2002 Young Riders European Championships, she won team gold the following year. Successes last year included the under-25 event at Bramham. But it was her form this season, most notably her third place in Luhmuhlen in June - where she was the only rider to complete on their dressage score - that sealed her selection.

With Phillips and Hunt having underlined their form with 5th and 11th places respectively in Aachen at the weekend and the three other seasoned partnerships performing well at Chatsworth and Barbury Castle, Yogi Breisner, the team manager, is convinced Britain can win a seventh successive team gold medal in Pratoni. “The law of averages suggests that sooner or later the run will be broken,” he said “but we will do our utmost to make sure it doesn’t happen this year.”

Squad for European Three-Day-Event Championships, Pratoni, Italy (September 13-16): Toytown (Z Phillips); Flint Curtis (O Townend); Call Again Cavalier (M King); Spring Along (D Dick); Tankers Town (S Hunt); Fachoudette (G Davies). 1st resrve Langarth d’Arcy (R Powell); 2nd reserve Ballincoola (W Fox-Pitt).

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