Ben Maher & Explosion W win Individual Silver
Sunday 25 August 2019
Ben Maher claimed his spot on the podium this afternoon by winning Individual Silver at the European Championships in Rotterdam on the phenomenal 10 year-old chestnut gelding Explosion W owned by Poden Farms.
Going into the Individual Final, they headed the leader board after having jumped three outstanding clear rounds earlier in the Championships which had played a pivotal role in delivering a Team Bronze and an Olympic qualifying ticket for Great Britain.
This afternoon saw the top 25 combinations come forward to contest the Individual Final in the stunning Rotterdam Arena across what proved to be a true Championship course where the medals weren't decided until the final rider had been.
It was the final line that caught most riders out in the first round where a related distance between the oxer to the last obstacle, a vertical to an oxer double, saw many fail at either the first or second element.
For Ben, it was yet another superb clear with the incredible Explosion looking as careful as he had throughout the Championships. This saw them retain their place at the top of the leader board going into the fifth and final round in which only the top 12 were invited to come forward. Joining Ben was Holly Smith with Hearts Destiny, a 10 year-old bay gelding owned by TJ Hall Limited, the only other British combination to qualify for today.
The final round saw some world class performances delivered by all of the remaining riders with fortunes changing as they came into the arena in reverse order. For Holly and Hearts Destiny, a faultless clear just over the time allowed saw her climb the leader board to finish in overall tenth whilst others picked up penalties and fell by the wayside.
It was the distance on the last line between an oxer and a water tray before turning home to the final fence that asked the biggest question and caught a few. For Ben, it was the water tray that ended up giving him his sole jumping penalties of the Championships and it was these that resulted in him gut wrenchingly sliding from pole position into the Individual Silver medal place. It was a heartfelt silence that fell around the arena for Ben and Explosion W who had had the Gold medal in their grasp with faultless performances up until that point.
As a result Martin Fuchs for Switzerland moved into Individual Gold with Clooney 51 whilst Jos Verlooy for Belgium claimed the Individual Bronze with Igor.
Talking afterwards, Ben said “On the day I wasn’t good enough to beat Martin, but all of these horses deserve to win – I made one mistake and I’m very happy that if anyone has to beat me, it is Martin.”
In summing up the Championships, Performance Manager Di Lampard said “It’s been an incredible Championships for us and to be returning home with an Olympic qualifying ticket, which was the main objective of the Championship, in addition to two medals is absolutely fantastic. The whole team were outstanding and to have two riders in the top ten stands testament to the depth of top level horses and riders that we have in Great Britain.
“In respect of Ben and Explosion, it is almost impossible to find the words to convey how extraordinarily talented they are. They have performed exceptionally across all days of the Championships and to have got so close to a gold medal showcases this.”
For the full results visit https://bit.ly/2zeDGuE.
The British senior teams are supported by the BEF’s UK Sport National Lottery funded World Class Programme.
