WORLD champion eventer and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Zara Phillips is among leading riders competing in the region this weekend.

She rode three horses in the dressage section of the open intermediate horse trials at Aske, near Richmond, yesterday, and will tackle the showjumping and cross-country elements today.

The dressage was brought forward to yesterday to allow competitors who had entered the now-cancelled Witton Castle horse trials, in County Durham, next weekend to compete at Aske. The cancellation followed the latest foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Miss Phillips, 26, is the daughter of Princess Anne and her former husband, Captain Mark Phillips, and is 11th in line to the throne.

She does not have her most famous horse, Toytown, at Aske, but completed three smooth dressage tests in front of Scottish judge Les Smith on bay Tsunami II, chestnut Red Baron and dark bay Glenbuck.

Chris Dell, a friend who was helping Miss Phillips' groom, Kelly Davis, said: "Tsunami was first to run and Zara was very happy with how things went."

Competitors had dry, bright and breezy weather, and ground conditions were good after morning rain.

While the tests were ridden, organisers of the trials, which are open to the public from 8am today and tomorrow, were building the showjumping course and putting up tents.

A handful of dog walkers using public footpaths through the estate, family home of Lord Zetland, and fellow competitors and their grooms were the only spectators yesterday.

Miss Phillips, who was awarded an MBE this year for services to equestrianism, has competed at Aske before. She is also a regular at Witton Castle and at Bramham Horse Trials, near Wetherby, where she suffered a fall at a 7ft fence during the cross-country element of a one-day event in June and retired from the competition.

Other competitors at Aske include European team gold medallist Jeanette Breakwell and 2012 Olympics hopeful Nicola Wilson, from Morton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire