Harris and the gelding, trained by Trent Smith, placed sixth in Australia in a field of 58 competitors for the prestigious National Cutting Horse Association 2015 Snafflebit Futurity in Tamworth on March 29. 

She followed it up with a first place at Armidale in the annual Easter Cutting Bonanza where Rey came first in the open class, an achievement for such a young horse. Harris felt Armidale’s win was thrilling, but making her mark at Tamworth’s big event was another thing altogether.

The Futurity is regarded as the top event in the nation with about $700,000 in prize money. It attracts over 500 riders and horses from across Australia, New Zealand, and the US, Canada and New Caledonia.

Harris got back into horses only recently after a childhood of riding. Part of the reason was her husband Aaron Boone’s rekindled interest in horses. The two have chosen select mares and competition horses and started a breeding program.

Senor Rey is a young horse, but Harris said time and time again, when she hits the arena, the horse is ready, and Tamworth was no different.

She was in the first and second runs on Thursday and Friday that earned her scores of 1.47 and 1.41. Those two scores join, and ten riders were eligible for the Saturday finals. Harris was in.

“I was second last out of the 12, which wasn’t a good draw because all the cattle had been used. You’re better off coming out mid-herd if you can,” she said.

“So we just went out and did a 1.42 1/2 and then, it was just enough to get us in sixth spot.

“I was sort of ecstatic. I just couldn’t believe it; it was all just a bit of a dream.”

Harris said her win at Armidale on the following Sunday was equally stunning. It all might have gone wrong, with their late arrival, and her draw, late in the second herd. But once she was aboard Senor Rey, the pieces fell into place.

“I woke up the next day and I said to Aaron, ‘Did we win yesterday, or did I dream it?’ Because it’s such a ride’,” she said.

“I’ve had a few people say ‘You’ve got a good little horse there’. He tries really hard, that horse.”