On Way Up Down Under. Devonne Govender assisting with the Rural KZN equine freeze-branding program
A young man from Verulam in KwaZulu-Natal is making a name for himself and has satisfactorily driven his first Australian qualifying drive in a harness race at Gloucester Park. Whilst his horse ran unplaced on Sunday, trainer Aldo Cortepassi was thrilled after the race.
He exclaimed that “this kid’s got talent and I will be using more of him”.
24 year old Verulam resident Devonne Govender was accepted for a 12 month Driver/Trainer training program by Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) and has been in Perth for a month.
Sponsored by Gold Circle in terms of their CSI program, he flew to fly to Perth at the beginning of September and is undergoing a structured theory and practical training course which includes a requirement to drive in a number of qualifying harness races – with a view to an ultimate “A” class harness-drivers license.
Then still a teenager, Devonne was lucky enough to spend time in New Zealand, where his Telkom engineer father had been posted on a two-year work contract. During this period and owing to the wide spread and high level of harness racing in NZ, Devonne quickly became infatuated with horses and harness racing to which he was widely exposed.
On his return to SA he spent a year at the Jockey Academy at Summerveld, and much time subsequently under the tutorship of Johan Nilsson and Dean Latimer working with the Summerveld based harness horses. Devonne, too tall to be a jockey, drove in 4 of the KZN Premier’s First Harness Challenge series of races. His serious demeanour, work ethic and IT skills kept him fully utilized in HRSA’s Greyville offices over the past 2 years, as well as assisting with the burgeoning KZN rural racing scene.
