A HEARTBREAKING video which pays tribute to the young teenage showjumper who was tragically killed in a car crash has been spread around the internet and watched by thousands.

More than 85,000 had viewed the online clip last night which charts Ella Popely's rise through the sport from a toddler to competition winning 18-year-old.

Ella, who was the daughter of Hickstead winning showjumper John Popely, was tragically killed when her Fiat 500 crashed head-on into an Audi on Tuesday morning.

The moving video was created by fellow horse rider Katie Lewis.

In a message accompanying the clip, she said: "As devastating as it all is, I did not want this video to reflect the sadness of her death but rather the incredible story that was her life. Heaven has truly gained another angel. She will never be forgotten. R.I.P."

The film starts with a Dustin Hoffman quote over the song To Build a Home by the Cinematic Orchestra.

The quote reds: "Stories? We all spend our lives telling them, about this, about that, about people. But some? Some stories are so good we wish they’d never end. They’re so gripping that we’ll go without sleep just to see a little bit more. Some stories bring us laughter and sometimes they bring us tears. But isn’t that what a great story does? Makes you feel? Stories that are so powerful. They really are with us forever.”

It starts with stills of Ella as a young girl on a pony, barely able to reach the reins.

It then shows clips of her as a girl jumping at local events, attended by just a handful of people before showing her competing at huge arenas in Europe.

It ends with a still of Ella on her horse with mountains in the background.

Within hours of being posted it had been shared and viewed by tens of thousands across the globe.

Friend Sally Strutton said: "Lovely tribute - such a beautiful young girl - so devastatingly sad."

Andrea Turner added: "This brought tears to my eyes. It's very clear from the Facebook posts over the last few days how well loved she was. What is lovely about Facebook is when tragic things happen how everyone comes together to share stories."

Ella, who lived in Bolney, had been at Burgess Hill School for Girls since nursery but had recently moved to Hurstpierpoint College to study for her A-Levels.

Headmaster Tim Manly said: "She was such a warm and special member of our community here at Hurst that it is hard to comprehend that she has now left us.

"Not only was she hugely talented in so many ways but she was also a truly lovely, energising and caring individual, who enriched the lives of us all.

"She is going to be missed and our thoughts go out to her family and all who have known her over the years”.