STEPHEN Mercer, from Alton, won a competitive SEIB Winter Novice Qualifier last weekend.

The class attracted a huge field of 73 starters at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre, in Buckinghamshire.

Competition was fierce as the riders battled it out for one of the two qualifying tickets on offer for the prestigious SEIB Championship at the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead in July.

Mercer took the class victory on board his own six-year-old chestnut mare, Mums The Word, after the pair rode a double clear in 42.60secs.

He won by just 0.01 of a second from Hertfordshire’s Tara Mcdonald on her own six-year-old bay gelding, Fygo Von D’Ouwe Grint. Also jumping double clear, Tara’s time of 42.61secs earned her the second qualifying place.