Thomas Dovkants is victorious in the final SEIB Winter Novice Qualifier at SouthView Equestrian Centre
Monday 20 February 2023
SouthView Equestrian Centre played host to the final Winter Classic Show in the 2022/2023 Calendar on Saturday, 18 February 2023. With less than a second separating the top three combinations, it was Thomas Dovkants who took the victory riding Susan Nelson’s 10 year old grey gelding Top Gun XIV.
The popular Cheshire show centre saw a field of 54 keen combinations come forward to take on the 1.10m course set by Gillian Milner, with the hopes of gaining one of the final tickets on offer to Championship Final at the Royal International Horse, Hickstead, this summer.
28 of the starting field produced a first-round clear, with ten of those finishing on a clean sheet in the jump off, meaning the clock would decide top spot.
It looked like Graham Babes and Bambi VII had the victory sealed, holding onto the lead from second to go in the jump off. But Thomas used the advantage of a late draw to pilot Top Gun XIV around some breathtakingly tight turns to claim the top spot. Despite this being only their first show together, the combination crossed the finish line in an unbeatable time of 34.77 seconds.
SouthView Equestrian Centre – Saturday, 18 February 2023
SEIB Winter Novice Qualifier
1st – Thomas Dovkants & Top Gun XIV – 0/0 – 34.77 seconds
2nd – Graham Babes & Bambi VII – 0/0 – 35.01 seconds
3rd – Daniel May & Mazzeltov – 0/0 – 35.29 seconds
Find the full results here.
Image: Phil Hillier at Landscapesandhorses.co.uk
NB: Results pending official grading.
The SEIB Winter Novice Championship is a popular series made up of ten national qualifying rounds which are held ahead of the Championship Final, which will once again be run during the prestigious Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead (25 - 30 July 2023). For more details, visit Hickstead.co.uk
