NORTH Yorkshire eventer Katie Hardisty celebrated the biggest win of her career at the weekend as she claimed the Mitsubishi Motors Grassroots Championships crown at Badminton.

The competition, which was due to be held in May 2012 but which was held over for a year because of waterlogging, was the finale of a series aimed at amateur riders.

Hardisty, who is a primary school teacher and based in Stokesley, won the title with her own seven-year-old skewbald, Croft Farm Percy, on their dressage score of 29.5 in a class of 46 riders.

“This horse has never won anything until today, so it's fantastic that he pulled out all the stops for the championships,” said Hardisty. “This kind of thing doesn't happen to me, it's incredible.

“The nerves very nearly got to me. It was very nerve-wracking being at such a big event with such a lot of competition – it was a very close call with less than a point between me and the second-placed rider.

“I think he will be the horse of a lifetime for me. I hope to get to international-level competition with him by the end of the year, and I think winning this title will be the confidence boost that will get us on our way towards that.”