Katie Speller and BE Warnham claimed victory in the SEIB British Showjumping Winter Novice Championship at the Longines Royal International Horse Show on the 26th July.
Katie has a busy week lined up at Hickstead, but the SEIB final was the one she really wanted to try to win. And that’s exactly what she did: riding the six-year-old BE Warnham, she was one of five to go through to the jump-off, which she won by three-quarters of a second.
SEIB has sponsored this popular showjumping series for nine years. The SEIB Winter Novice series is made up of ten national qualifying rounds which are held ahead of the Championship Final at the Royal International.
Katie said of her win: “I've jumped in there a few times now and it's never actually gone to plan – so it's nice to finally have a good result! It’s the horse’s first time in there, and he just seemed to love it as well,” said a delighted Katie. She has worked for Hickstead-based Irish rider Shane Breen for four years, specialising in producing promising young horses. “Shane has really given me a chance and has given me some really nice young and older horses to ride. We work together and he helps me a lot – it’s a really good set-up as you're always learning something.”
Nicolina Mackenzie, Events & Marketing Manager at Horse and Horsebox insurance specialists SEIB, said “One of our fundamental values at SEIB is always to put something back into the markets within which we operate. SEIB has many customers that are members of British Showjumping and so we are delighted to support the Winter Novice Championship.”
Tickets for the Longines Royal International Horse Show (25-30 July) are available at the gate or can be bought online from www.hickstead.co.uk. The action will be livestreamed throughout on ClipMyHorse.TV and Hickstead.TV, with additional coverage on Sky Sports and FEI.TV on Friday and Sunday.
