SADDLE and harness maker Kate Hetherington, of Dulverton, has won a £5,000 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to learn traditional skills in danger of dying out. She will be presented with her award by the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl Peel, at the Royal Warrant Holders annual lunch in London in June. Kate, aged 28, always wanted to work with horses and, after leaving school, spent four years apprenticed to John McDonald, master collar and harness maker in Dulverton. She then stayed on for an extra year making traditional English leather driving harness. She gained qualifications in harness, bridle and saddle making, successfully completed her BDS carriage driving tests and spent six months with a master saddler. Six years ago, Kate set up her own business making traditional leather driving harness using English leather sourced from the only remaining oak bark tanners in the country. Everything is made to measure and Kate uses traditional cutting and stitching skills. Now, with the award from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), Kate can study traditional gig collar and heavy horse collar-making in straw with John McDonald. She will also learn how to make hames - the two curved metal pieces that fit the leather collar around the neck of a horse and to which carriage traces are attached. Kate said: "There are very few traditional straw collar makers and, as far as I know, John is the only person still making steel close plated brass hames by traditional methods. "By gaining these rare skills, I will be in a position to pass them on to other harness makers in the future. I will also be able to offer a complete high quality traditionally made harness to customers." Kate hopes that, when John McDonald retires in six years' time, she will have sufficient skills and experience to ensure continuity by taking over his business The QEST scholarships began, in part, to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen Mother. Open to men and women of all ages, scholarships are awarded twice a year. This spring, seven awards were made totalling £42,500. For an application form send a 50p stamped, addressed envelope to The Secretary, The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, No 1 Buckingham Place, London SW1E 6HR. They can also be downloaded from the website http://www.qest.org.uk">www.qest.org.uk. Closing date for is June 8 for summer 2007 scholarships and January 18 for spring 2008.