Zack the show jumping zebra: You may not believe your eyes... but there it is in black and white (and colour)



It's a sight that would have Zara Phillips rubbing her eyes in disbelief but there it is in black and white... and in colour



In the world of equestrianism the the blue-blooded former World Eventing Champion has pretty much seen it all.



But Texan farmer Sammi Jo Stohler, 27, appears to have one up on Miss Phillips, who one would wager has never gone around the course on a zebra.



Leap of faith: Sammi Jo Stohler trained her zebra Zack to leap show jumping fences with a rider on his back

Miss Stohler has taught her exotic six-year-old pet Zack to hurdle big fences.



She first discovered his unlikely talent when Zack cleared the perimeter fence of her farm and it had to be raised from 5ft to 8ft to keep him in.



Zebras are distant relatives of the horse family but they are rarely properly domesticated.

But, curious to see if Zack could take his talents a step further, Miss Stohler trained the animal to repeat the feat with a rider on his back.



'I've kept zebras for a number of years, but this is the first one I've been able to jump with,' said Miss Stohler from Willis, Texas.



'I could see Zack was very athletic and loved to jump we had to raise the fence as he kept jumping over it.



One woman and her zebra: Miss Stohler was inspired to train Zack after seeing him leap over her farm's perimeter fence

'So I thought I'd try him on some show jumping fences and he loves it.

'I just pointed him to the jump and he took it in his stride.



'He likes jumping and I just raised it and he can now comfortably clear a 2ft 8 inch fence.



'I've taken him to a number of shows in the States and he loves it.'



Zack the zebra, who is 12 hands (4ft tall), was born and bred in the U.S. and has been owned by Miss Stohler for a year.



Miss Stohler has another younger zebra on her farm but he hasn't yet shown any aptitude for show jumping.



However, five-year-old Charlie may yet find a vehicle for his own talents - pulling a cart.

On the pull: Miss Stohler's younger zebra Charlie hasn't yet shown an aptitude for jumping but he is happy to pull a cart for his owner



