Ben Maher & Faltic - 2nd in Wellington $140,000 Grand Prix
Monday 21 February 2022
Ben Maher with his recently acquired ride, the 12 year-od Oakingham Stud owned stallion Faltic HB, took close 2nd in the CSI3* Grand Prix in Wellington, Florida over the weekend. The $140,000 Grand Prix was the highlight of Sunday which saw the sixth week of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) come to a close.
The jump-off was a strong one with a third of the field, fifteen, jumping clear in the first round to qualify for it. Coming into the area as the eighth to go Ben had a time to beat of 42.47 seconds to beat which had been set by early leader Harrie Smolders (NED) and Monaco. As always Ben’s performance didn’t disappoint when he jumped clear to break the finish line in 40.92 seconds to take the lead.
With a number of riders still to follow it was only the final rider, Bertram Allen (IRL) to come forward that managed to beat the time laid down by Ben and take the win. Riding Harley vd Bisschop took the course head on with a long striding gallops wherever possible to just manage to shave some time off to stop the clock in 39.66 seconds to take the victory.
Ben only took the ride on Faltic just before Horse of the Year Show last year before going on to the London International Horse Show where they jumped a faultless two rounds in the World Cup Qualifier. Since then Faltic has been competing in America with Ben and the experience he has gained during this time saw Ben push Faltic a little harder. Talking afterwards he said “ He [Faltic] has had a great upbringing in his life and jumped up to 3* level. He had a little bit of a break with COVID being in Europe, so he still has to learn this next level and faster jump-offs even though he’s 12. I was really happy with him today”.
RESULTS
CSI3* IDA Development Grand Prix
1. Bertram Allen (IRL) & Harley vd Bisschop (0/0/39.66)
2. Ben Maher (GBR) & Faltic HB (0/0/40.92)
3. Eduardo Pereira de Menezes (BRA) & H5 Elvaro (0/0/40.95)
4. Conor Swail (IRL) & Count Me In (0/0/41.84)
5. Naywel Nassar & Coronado (0/0/42.30)
6. Harrie Smolders (NED) & Monaco (0/0/42.47)
