Ben Maher take a commanding victory in the Dallamires Stables Cup
Saturday 12 October 2024
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Triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher marked his return to the Horse of the Year Show with a commanding victory in the Dallamires Stables Cup at Birmingham NEC.
Ben, twice an Olympic team gold medal winner and the individual champion in Tokyo three years ago, guided Ginger-Blue to an impressive success.
Last to go in a six-horse jump-off, a time of 31.50 seconds saw them home by a margin of 2.5 seconds from Joe Stockdale and Ebanking in second, with Sienna Charles and Valkiry de Zance taking third.
Cheered from the rafters following his latest Olympic success, Ben showcased his world-class quality to end the opening day of international competition with the most impressive of wins.
But there was also much to applaud for Joe and the highly-regarded Ebanking, with the horse enhancing its reputation through two faultless clear rounds, while Sienna pushed her rivals hard in a jump-off that oozed quality.
"Ginger-Blue was amazing tonight," Ben said. "She has been with me a long time now and we know each other very well. She showed how experienced and how quick she is, and I had the pole position to go in.
"Perhaps I went just a little bit too quick at the end - I took a bit of a risk at the second-last fence - but it is hard to judge sometimes on the screens to what it looks life in real life.
"The show this year has fitted the right time in the schedule, and we all like to compete at home if we can.
"Ginger-Blue is an amazing indoor horse, and I have a promising young horse Nighthawk here this week as well. It is an amazing arena, and to go last and win like that was great."
Full results can be found here
Tickets are still available for the 75th Anniversary Horse of the Year Show. Simply visit the ticket purchase page at hoys.co.uk/tickets/book-tickets/ and use the code HOYSBSMEM24 in the promo code box for 20% off Sunday Evening tickets.
Image: 1st Class Images
