Individual Gold for Ben Maher & Explosion W
Wednesday 04 August 2021
Ben Maher MBE & Explosion W have just proved, what everyone had already thought, that they are currently the best combination in the world when they took Individual Gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games earlier today.
For Ben, from Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, and the 12 year-old chestnut gelding Explosion W (Chacco-Blue x Baloubet de Rouet), which he jointly owns with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, it was an incredibly well deserved Gold medal win. A medal which I’m sure every nation would also acknowledge their respect in them winning - such is the esteem that they hold them in.
Jumping clear yesterday to secure themselves a place in today’s final they posted another perfect performance to be one of the six eligible to come forward for the jump -off. As the fourth combination to come forward of the six, their impressive performance saw them take the lead with a daringly fast time of 37.85 seconds and lay down the gauntlet for the two that followed.
Proving unbeatable it was an emotional Ben who celebrated in the collecting ring with Explosion when it was announced he had claimed the Gold that he had steadfastly set his sights on. A horse that he has likened in the past as having the power of a Ferrari and as the horse of a lifetime. His closest rival came in the form of Peder Fredicson (SWE) by 17/100’s of a second who had to satisfy himself with Silver whilst Maikel van der Vleuton (NED) took Bronze.
Talking afterwards Ben said “It doesn’t seem real, I think it will sink in tonight or tomorrow morning. Let’s just say there has been a lot of pressure in the last couple of weeks. I am biased, but I believe I am on the best horse – he is an incredible horse.
“I am relieved it is done, and I am very happy right now.” Ben, who after the Games wll be focusing on his imminent marriage to fiancée Sophie added “I don’t know what was more pressure, this, or getting married in a few weeks. ” Asked if he had spoken to Sophie yet he said “Yes but I honestly couldn’t really hear them as there was so many people crying and screaming it was a pointless conversation in the end!
“I’ve had so many people who I owe this to. Explosion’s the main one, but I have vets and farriers who’ve been with me for over ten years, there’s my team back home and Cormac Kenny – Explosion’s groom – who came to me from Ireland when he was 16 years old. He grew up with me and he’s a big part of this moment. My family, my fiancée Sophie and so many other people who’ve contributed to make this possible and hopefully we’ll get home and have a good celebration.”
The run-up to this Games hasn’t been the easiest for Ben, even before the complications of COVID-19. Planned back surgery in January 2020 kept him out of the saddle for several months, which gave him just two competitions before the pandemic hit. However, the surgery has given him a new lease of life.
“I feel younger than I probably am – this is my fourth Olympic Games and I’m the oldest one on the team here. It was a planned surgery and I had a fantastic team of doctors – the National Lottery and everyone who supports us back home made that possible – and the team I had around me helped me to get fit. I was in the gym for two days a week for nearly 12 weeks with a guy called Ed in America who started getting me fit just a week after surgery, and I had sessions with [World Class Programme] physio Jennie Owst over Zoom.”
About Explosion, Ben said “I’ve had many good horses in my career, but I won’t ride another one like him again, and that’s a big statement. He’s just such an intelligent horse, a fun horse to be around, and he’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal horse. All the nerves that I had coming from the hotel today and when I got here, I came in through the gate and they just went away. I jumped fence one and something just clicks, and he fills me with confidence. I’m just really enjoying riding him and hopefully it lasts a long time.”
Ben’s win saw Great Britain retain the Individual Gold medal that Nick Skelton CBE won with Big Star at Rio 2016. Nick’s win brought the first ever Individual Gold home for Great Britain when they claimed it as theirs and to have Ben come out and retain the title only serves to highlight the incredible talent and horsepower that Great Britain has within it’s stable. Only one other nation has ever managed to achieve a back-to-back win, Germany in 1994 and 1996 and to be able to add Great Britain to that outstanding achievement as a result of Ben’s win today is quite incredible.
This is the second medal that Ben has won, his first being Team Gold at London 2012 when he rode alongside Scott Brash who had also qualified for todays Individual Final with Hello Jefferson. A heart-breaking single time penalty saw their hopes dashed of coming forward for the jump-off when, having left all jumps untouched, they crossed the finish line just a fraction of a second over the time allowed.
Third rider for the Brits was Olympic debutante Harry Charles, who’s father had also competed alongside Ben and Scott on the winning London 2012 team. A stylish clear with Romeo 88 yesterday had seen them qualify for todays Final however things just didn’t go as planned for them today when they selected to retire having touched a few fences early on in the course. While it might not have been the result they were hoping for, their performance over the past few days indicates a bright future still to come for this pair and they can now build on their Olympic experience.
Full results here
Friday will see the Team competition get underway at 11:00 hrs local time. For the timetable and how to watch click here
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