ROBIN HOOD W MAKES BEN’S BIRTHDAY A SPECIAL ONE IN ZURICH
Tuesday 01 February 2011
Ben Maher, celebrating his 28th birthday in Zurich with his own and Mike & Emma Philips outstanding horse Robin Hood W must feel totally elated with the way this superbly talented horse come back to competition having had some time off recently..
Although pipped to the post by Germany’s Marcus Ehning with Noltes Kuchengirl in the ninth leg of the World Cup in Zurich, Switzerland today Ben was thrilled with the way Robin Hood W tackled the course in the seven way jump off to finish in second place. Course designer, Frank Rothenberger, set them the toughest of tasks with a big, bold track that demanded courageous jumping and plenty of scope. However as always luck played its part too as, in particular, the planks at the triple combination chose to defy gravity in many cases while also claiming a large number of victims.
UNRELENTING
The 12-fence course was unrelenting from the outset, and even the spread on the opening oxer took its toll. Rothenberger set testing distances all the way around the arena, and most of the 39 starters opted for a forward five strides from the oxer at fence five to the following liverpool oxer at six. However the latter came up on a long distance for Austrian legend Hugo Simon - the first-ever winner of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping trophy back in 1979 and one of just four riders to claim the series title on three occasions - and he was dislodged from the saddle when his mare, Ukinda, produced a huge leap. Amused however, rather than annoyed and disappointed, the 68 year old rider left the ring with a broad smile on his face. And he wasn't alone when leaving the field of play on foot as Norway's Nina Braaten, who is 40 years his junior, also parted company with her ride Blue Loyd at the triple combination which took a heavy toll throughout the competition.
This was a real test of judgement and control, approached on a tight three-stride distance from the previous vertical at fence seven and fronted by planks at both the first and third elements. Time and again it was lowered, and Braaten's fate was sealed by an unbalanced approach which left her with a big stand-off at the second element and on her feet as she tumbled into the third.
JUMP-OFF
Despite all the drama however, seven made it into the jump-off against the clock with five nations represented in the final showdown including two from both Spain and Germany. Switzerland's Janika Sprunger led the way with the 10 year old uptown Boy but with eight faults collected at the oxer at fence six - now the third fence on the new course - and at the following vertical at seven she left the door wide open for the rest. Spain's Pilar Lucrecia Cordon has proven many times before that she can cut it with the best of them, particularly when partnering her handsome stallion Herald, and steered the 10 year old Nuage Bleu home to record the first clear of the course in 42.81 seconds.
Next to go was one of the favourites, Michaels-Beerbaum with the great Shutterfly who had made the first track look very elementary indeed. But one of the dreaded planks that had caused so much heart-ache in the opening round was still standing and when the 18 year old gelding hit that for four faults then it was still all to play for. Sergio Moya then set off for Spain with the Action-Breaker and was looking very good indeed until turning to the double at fence nine which was now just three fences from home. Their round fell apart when their take-off was a good deal too early here and they finished with eight faults in 44.70 seconds so the result was, yet again, clearly hanging in the balance.
Ehning's round that followed however was cool, smooth and careful as Noltes Kuchengirl cruised home to re-set the parameters when breaking the beam in 40.03 seconds. Edwina Alexander and Itot du Chateau were quick and clean when second-last to go, but despite a great turn from the penultimate wall - a new fence introduced for the timed round - the Australian partnership were more than two seconds off Ehning's target, leaving it all up to last-man-in Ben Maher.
Ben, who could have been forgiven for holding back with the 13 year old Robin Hood who has only recently returned to action after some time off but he wasn't at all fazed. "Today's course was one of the biggest Grand Prix tracks I've seen for a long while and it played to my horse's advantage because that's the way he likes it" Maher said afterwards, and he was clearly giving it his best shot when racing through the finish to slot into second spot in a time of 42.10.
Ben explained that Robin Hood's absence from the ring came about because he was off form last summer so got a long break. "He was never lame but he wasn't happy and the vets decided he needed a few months break mentally, so I went with that because he's too good a horse not to give him every chance. We decided to give him a longer break and he's come back in flying form now".
UNRELENTING
The 12-fence course was unrelenting from the outset, and even the spread on the opening oxer took its toll. Rothenberger set testing distances all the way around the arena, and most of the 39 starters opted for a forward five strides from the oxer at fence five to the following liverpool oxer at six. However the latter came up on a long distance for Austrian legend Hugo Simon - the first-ever winner of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping trophy back in 1979 and one of just four riders to claim the series title on three occasions - and he was dislodged from the saddle when his mare, Ukinda, produced a huge leap. Amused however, rather than annoyed and disappointed, the 68 year old rider left the ring with a broad smile on his face. And he wasn't alone when leaving the field of play on foot as Norway's Nina Braaten, who is 40 years his junior, also parted company with her ride Blue Loyd at the triple combination which took a heavy toll throughout the competition.
This was a real test of judgement and control, approached on a tight three-stride distance from the previous vertical at fence seven and fronted by planks at both the first and third elements. Time and again it was lowered, and Braaten's fate was sealed by an unbalanced approach which left her with a big stand-off at the second element and on her feet as she tumbled into the third.
JUMP-OFF
Despite all the drama however, seven made it into the jump-off against the clock with five nations represented in the final showdown including two from both Spain and Germany. Switzerland's Janika Sprunger led the way with the 10 year old uptown Boy but with eight faults collected at the oxer at fence six - now the third fence on the new course - and at the following vertical at seven she left the door wide open for the rest. Spain's Pilar Lucrecia Cordon has proven many times before that she can cut it with the best of them, particularly when partnering her handsome stallion Herald, and steered the 10 year old Nuage Bleu home to record the first clear of the course in 42.81 seconds.
Next to go was one of the favourites, Michaels-Beerbaum with the great Shutterfly who had made the first track look very elementary indeed. But one of the dreaded planks that had caused so much heart-ache in the opening round was still standing and when the 18 year old gelding hit that for four faults then it was still all to play for. Sergio Moya then set off for Spain with the Action-Breaker and was looking very good indeed until turning to the double at fence nine which was now just three fences from home. Their round fell apart when their take-off was a good deal too early here and they finished with eight faults in 44.70 seconds so the result was, yet again, clearly hanging in the balance.
Ehning's round that followed however was cool, smooth and careful as Noltes Kuchengirl cruised home to re-set the parameters when breaking the beam in 40.03 seconds. Edwina Alexander and Itot du Chateau were quick and clean when second-last to go, but despite a great turn from the penultimate wall - a new fence introduced for the timed round - the Australian partnership were more than two seconds off Ehning's target, leaving it all up to last-man-in Ben Maher.
Ben, who could have been forgiven for holding back with the 13 year old Robin Hood who has only recently returned to action after some time off but he wasn't at all fazed. "Today's course was one of the biggest Grand Prix tracks I've seen for a long while and it played to my horse's advantage because that's the way he likes it" Maher said afterwards, and he was clearly giving it his best shot when racing through the finish to slot into second spot in a time of 42.10.
Ben explained that Robin Hood's absence from the ring came about because he was off form last summer so got a long break. "He was never lame but he wasn't happy and the vets decided he needed a few months break mentally, so I went with that because he's too good a horse not to give him every chance. We decided to give him a longer break and he's come back in flying form now".
When asked why he didn't react as the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" for him at the end of his first round - "it wasn't that I didn't appreciate it - I was worried I could end up on the ground! Robin Hood is not a sociable horse and he doesn't like noises in the ring or anything like that - I knew if I relaxed for a second after I finished my round I could end up on the floor because he's done it before so i was just concentrating on getting out of the ring in one piece!" Ben explained smiling,
The heat is on now as the series heads for Bordeaux, France next Saturday and then Vigo in Spain and Gothenburg, Sweden later in February before the final qualifying opportunity takes place in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands in March. But the host nation of Germany is looking stronger than ever, with Ehning's result today bringing their record to five wins from nine qualifiers so far this season.
Photo - Katya Stuppia FEI
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