Event rider suffers facial injuries when tyre explodes in her face
A former British young rider team member has suffered facial injuries after a lorry tyre exploded in her face.
Twenty-year-old event rider Flora Harris was going to a show jumping competition last Sunday (25 January) when she stopped at a petrol station on the A3 to refuel.
While there she noticed one of her tyres was looking soft so used the garage’s air pump to inflate it.
But Flora noticed the pressure gage was not working properly.
“The reading wasn’t working and the air kept just going up and up, so I gave it to my groom and went into the service station to get help,” said Flora.
“They said they would come out so I went back and took over from my groom again. But no one came out and the tyre exploded in my face.”
“I have fractured my cheek bone and lost the hearing in my left ear, and it might never return.”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Flora is currently seeking legal advice.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.