Ben Maher posts brilliant double clear in Gijon with MTF Madame X
Saturday 02 September 2017
This afternoon saw Ben Maher with Poden Farm’s 10 year-old bay mare MTF Madame X post two foot-perfect clear rounds in the CSIO 5* Nations Cup competition in Gijon, Spain.
It was an overall 5th place finish for GB, competing under the title sponsor banner of Team NAF, in what was the last point scoring leg for them before the Final in Barcelona next month. The team of four, in which Ben took the role of anchor, all put in some solid rounds however none were able to match the performance given by Ben which was only mirrored by three other riders throughout the entire competition.
First to go for the Brits was Keith Shore with his own British bred 14 year-old bay gelding Mystic Hurricane. Finishing on 4 penalties in the first round when they lowered the gate, it was a match score in the second round when a touch of a pole in the middle section of the combination saw then pick up a further 4 penalties.
Alison Barton from Bradford, Yorkshire with the British bred 10 year-old chestnut mare Roma IV, owned by Gaye Hartley were both making their debut on a 5* Nations Cup team. It was the water that caught them out both times when they marked the take-off tape to be awarded 4 penalties apiece with a further 4 penalties being given in the first round when they lowered a back pole of the oxer jumping into the combination.
Nigel Coupe from Preston, Lancashire with the 14 year-old bay gelding Golvers Hill, owned by Susan Simmons finished on the same score as Alison with 8 penalties in the first round and 4 penalties in the second. It was different obstacles that caught them out though with Nigel lowering the middle section of the combination and the white planks which were the final fence. Jumping through the combination and clear until the last, it was the final planks that once again caught him out .
For Ben Maher, who is based in Bishops Stortford, the big and winding course that took in the entire arena just couldn’t have ridden any better giving the scopey and talented mare MTF Madame X the opportunity to showcase herself at her very best. Looking like a long established combination, rather than the more recent one that they are, they delivered exactly what was needed of them to produce one of only four double clear rounds achieved across the competition.
The other double clears came from a rider in each of the top three teams in the form of Gregory Cottard for France who were the overall winners, Roelof Bril for the Netherlands who came 2nd and Shane Breen for Ireland who took 3rd place on 4, 8 and 12 penalties respectively.
Talking about Ben’s double clear Di Lampard, the Performance Manager for Showjumping commented “Ben proved to be a master in his role of anchor today showing not only what a superb rider he is but also the extremely good relationship he has built with the talented Madame X within a very short time.”
The Grand Prix will be on Monday 4th September at 16.30 hrs local time. For full results visit http://hipico.gijon.es/. Full information in respect of the FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org. FEI TV will be showing live footage from the event. To access this please visit www.feitv.org.
British Showjumping would like to thank NAF, title sponsors of the Senior Nations Cup Teams along with the Children, Junior and Young Rider teams.
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occuring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu/uk/index.jsp.
The GBR showjumping teams are supported by the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Programme, funded by UK Sport through the National Lottery. The Programme focuses on identifying talent, developing potential and maximising medal-winning performances on the world stage.
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