Flora Harris showjumped clear this afternoon to score her first CCI3* win at the Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials.
Flora and her mother Caroline and Rebecca Salt’s Bayano had a fence in hand by the time they entered the arena, but the horse never looked like touching a pole.
“I’m overjoyed —but a bit in shock!” said Flora. “He’s the most amazing horse. This is a cliché, but it takes so many people to make this possible, we get all the glory, but it’s down to all the people who support us, sponsors, trainers and so on.
“You never know with a nine-year-old how they will come out on the Sunday, especially here with the hills, and he’s not an experienced three-day horse, but he felt fresh and on it. He really tried and I love him because he’s brilliant.”
Flora Harris and Bayano at Bramham 2015. Picture by Peter Nixon
Kitty King also jumped clear, riding Frank and Jane Inns’ Persimmon, to move up a place to second and make it a one-two for young Brits.
“He jumped his socks off today, it was by far his best three-day round at three-star level,” said Kitty. “He felt like would at a one-day, which they never normally do — you expect them to be a bit flat and tired.”
Kitty also won the CCI3* at Tattersalls on Ceylor LAN and said: “Being on the World Class performance programme has made a huge difference to me — last year was my first year on it and my season didn’t quite come off, but this year it seems to be coming together.”
France’s Gwendolen Fer took third — her ride Romantic Love, who belongs to her brother Gregory, has a very unusual technique, sticking his head out on the approach to fences and somehow clearing them, but he was careful for a clear.
Sarah Ennis’ clear on Horseware Stellor Rebound moved her up from eighth to fourth, a good result for Ireland.
William Fox-Pitt was third overnight on Fernhill Pimms, but he hit the white upright at fence six and the first part of the treble at 12a to drop to fifth.
Pippa Funnell jumped a lovely round, except for an error at fence nine which saw Sandman 7 plough right through the fence. She recovered her composure brilliantly and in the end held sixth place.
Those placed seventh to 10th all jumped clear — Lauren Kieffer and Veronica took seventh for the USA, New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson rode Perfect Stranger to eighth, Emilie Chandler was ninth for Britain and Thibaut Vallette wound up best of the French on Qing Du Briot ENE HN.
Full report of Bramham in the magazine this week, out Thursday, 18 June.
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