SOME corners of the eventing world were left asking ‘who on earth is Flora Harris?’ this week but the Wiltshire rider is hoping to be a name to remember after beating some of the biggest names in her sport to win her first CCI*** title.

The 27-year-old, who is based at Baydon House Farm, near Marlborough, upset the odds to claim the top prize at last week’s Bramham International Horse Trials, trumping eventing royalty such as world number one William Fox-Pitt, former Grand Slam-winner Pippa Funnell and Marlborough-based six-time Olympian Andrew Nicholson along the way.

Harris, who is part of the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Development Programme, posted 36.80 penalties during the dressage phase with nine-year-old gelding Bayano and followed that up with clear rounds on the cross country and show jumping rounds to finish just over four points ahead of second-placed Kitty King, from Lower Stanton St Quintin.

But with her triumph coming in West Yorkshire, there was little time for the champion to toast her success.

“I couldn’t really celebrate on Sunday night because I had to drive the lorry back for five hours,” said Harris.

“The horse is the most important thing and that’s just the way it is. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to do it soon.

“I’m absolutely over the moon and it’s just starting to sink in now. I’ve been competing at the top level for five or six years but this is the biggest win of my career.

“I’ve got a fantastic horse and a very exciting horse, and I’ve got a great team behind me and some great sponsors. We had a horse called Amazing get injured at Badminton (in May) but this has really picked us all up.

“We’d been getting better and we just needed to dot a few i’s and cross a few t’s.

“It was amazing to ride against some of the best and learn from them. People like William Fox-Pitt, Kitty King and Pippa Funnell are amazing riders and it was pretty cool to have the world number one (Fox-Pitt) behind me going into the final day.”

Harris was the top-ranked British rider following the dressage stage at this year’s showpiece four-star Badminton Horse Trials before she was forced to withdraw he ride Amazing VIII.

She represented Great Britain at the 2007 Young Rider European Championships and has produced a number of horses for the World Class Equine Pathway, a programme for rides with Olympic potential.

Harris has Bayano entered in the CIC*** category in next month’s Barbury International Horse Trials (July 9-12). She also has Cooley Lord in the CIC** and Epica and Midnight Wispa in the Novice section.

Meanwhile, local hunts are being offered the chance to race against 20-time champion jockey AP McCoy and three-time reigning Barbury champion Andrew Nicholson in the JCB Champions Challenge at the trials on Saturday, July 11.

The race will feature a line-up of two teams of jump jockeys and eventers riding against each other over a specially-designed course.

The winning junior and senior teams from the inter-hunt relay, held on the same day, will form the final two teams in the event, with McCoy joined by jockeys Sam Twiston-Davies, Richard Johnson and Wayne Hutchinson, and Nicholson linking up with fellow New Zealander Sir Mark Todd and Britain’s Harry Meade and Tina Cook.

Tickets for Barbury start from £12 per person per day booked in advance, with U12s going free. See barburyhorsetrials.co.uk or call 01672 516125.