Ben Maher

British show jumper Ben Maher was born in London in 1983. He began riding at the age of eight and won the title at the European Championships with the British team while still a pony. That was in 1997, at the tender age of 14.

After switching to large horses, Maher’s career continued successfully, including being part of the winning team at the 2004 European Young Riders Championships. In 2005, aged just 22, he won the prestigious Hickstead Derby. He was the youngest winner of this classic show jumping competition.

Apprenticeship and traveling years

Maher began his professional career in the stables of British Amazon Liz Edgar. In 2005, he then went to Switzerland for two years with Beat Mändli, who was married to the British rider Leslie McNaught. His first championship as an adult was the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong, where he saddled the mare Roulette and finished fifth with the British team. He finished 19th in the individual rankings.

Maher then celebrated his greatest success in his early career in his native city of London, where he won gold with the British team at the 2012 Olympic Games in the saddle of Triple X. The pair finished in ninth place in the individual competition.

Another important horse in Ben Maher’s career was the mare Cella, a Cento daughter. With her, he won the individual silver medal at the 2013 European Championships in Herning. The British team also won the team classification, again gold! The year 2013 marked another important point in Ben Maher’s career: he topped the world rankings for the first time.

New beginning

In the early years of his career, Ben Maher was supported by the Philips family. However, as there were alleged irregularities in the invoicing of horses sold, they parted ways after a lawsuit, which was ultimately settled out of court. Ben Maher then set up his own training and trading stable.

It was his former boss Liz Edgar who provided him with the chestnut mare Diva. She was successful in the indoor season and also took part in the 2015 European Championships in Aachen. In 2016, Maher was part of Great Britain’s Olympic team at the Games in Rio de Janeiro with Tic Tac.

Sensation Explosion W

An absolutely exceptional horse then entered his life with the Dutch gelding Explosion W. The Chacco Blue son, born in 2009, already attracted attention as a young horse due to his spectacular jumping ability. Maher won the overall Global Champions Tour in 2018 and 2019. And at the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam, the pair of Maher/Explosion W narrowly missed out on the gold medal. They returned to Great Britain with the silver medal in the individual competition and a bronze medal from the team competition.

After the 2020 Summer Olympics had to be postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s best did not meet until 2021 in Tokyo. Ben Maher and Explosion W won the gold medal in the individual competition in outstanding style. It was the last major championship for Explosion W. He only competed in three tournaments in 2022, but was placed in every Grand Prix, including the one in Aachen. In mid-June 2023, he jumped over the moat in the Grand Prix of La Baule, landed and could no longer perform. Maher jumped off immediately. The horse ambulance came and removed the KWPN chestnut from the arena. He had suffered an injury to his tendons and ligaments. Although Maher announced that Explosion would return to the sport, this did not happen.

Still well-mounted

In return, the Briton now has a whole series of not-so-new top horses in his stable, above all the mare Dallas Vegas Batilly. With her, he was part of the British team that won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – Maher’s third Olympic gold medal. They also jumped to team silver at the European Championships in La Coruña in 2025 and came fourth in the individual classification.

Alongside Olympic horse Dallas Vegas Batilly, Maher has a second top horse at the start of the 2025 season in Point Break. The Swedish Action Breaker son finished second in the World Cup Final in Basel.

Private

Ben Maher is in his second marriage to Sophie Maher. The couple have two children, Cooper Maher and his younger sister Quinn Amy. In 2020, Maher had to undergo back surgery. Several falls had affected his spine to such an extent that even putting on his boots and walking the course caused the Brit severe pain.

In winter Ben Maher lives and trains in Florida, in summer he is at home in Bishop’s Stortford, close to London Stansted Airport.