Local internationals Kathryn Harris and Chris King both made the line-up at a rainsoaked Chepstow CCI one-star international three-day event.

Harris, who is based at Malmesbury, finished third on the nine-year-old bright bay Time For Change.

The horse, who missed a year of competition due to a leg injury, was lying fifth after the opening dressage phase.

She said: "Just before we went cross country I took advice from early riders to go slowly 20 of the earlier horses out on course didn't make it to the last fence.

"We actually came home clear with just 11.2 time penalties Time For Change is a naturally quick horse and very fit and his pace never faltered in very testing conditions."

A win was well within the pair's sights coming into the final show jumping phase but sadly four fences fell to leave them in a still highly creditable third place.

Lechlade-based King finished just 0.2 of a mark behind Harris in fourth spot. He rode Prairie Monarch, who performed an excellent dressage test but was then sensibly taken steadily in the difficult cross country conditions and came home with 24.8 time penalties.

A single fence down in the final show jumping phase, where clear rounds were to prove a very rare occurrence, cost King just one place.

n Devizes-based Clayton Fredericks saw off a strong French challenge to claim the Saumur CCI three star three day event title in France.

The Australian international claimed top spot on Ben Along Time, leaving top French rider Nicholas Touzaint in second and third.

Fredericks led from start to finish on the highly consistent horse after a superb start in the opening dressage phase.

The pair then jumped clear cross country, where the going stayed good despite heavy rain overnight, and then added just one show jumping time penalty to their score on the last day.

Ben Along Time won the Swedish staged World Cup final in 2005 and headed the Chatsworth International one-day event just a few days before Saumur.

Fredericks also finished fourth on Nullabor, who lay second after dressage and then jumped clear cross country with 4.4 cross country time penalties.

n Sammy Jean opened the Fern Farm dressage and combined training competition at Bourton, near Shrivenham, with a victory under judge Caroline Evans.

Jean headed the Prelim 1 dressage section on her young horse Caveland Fiesta Rose, who has been showing some excellent form recently, and the pair made it a double when judge Bula Brazil gave them the top spot in the Prelim 14 test.

There was also a win for local event rider Jayne Wilson, when judge Bev Ackling awarded her the top spot in the Prelim 7 combined training.

Fern Farm, a livery yard which has a full size floodlit outdoor arena, runs dressage and combined training competitions on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays from April to October. Next dates are May 28 and June 7 and 11 phone 01367 820618 for details.