Ben Maher

Britain’s Ben Maher MBE is one of the world’s leading showjumpers and a triple Olympic champion.

He won individual gold at the Tokyo Games with former top horse Explosion W, and team gold at both the London 2012 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Born in Enfield in 1983, Ben Maher began riding when he was eight and competed in pony classes from an early age. He represented Great Britain on pony, junior and young rider teams, winning team gold at the young rider European Championships in 2004.

After leaving school, he trained with British rider Liz Edgar, before travelling to Switzerland where he spent two years riding for Swiss show jumper Beat Mandli. He has since gone on to become one of the most successful riders in the world, including being ranked as the world number one.

He now runs his global equestrian enterprise Ben Maher Stables and splits his time between his stables in Florida and Hertfordshire. He’s married to fellow showjumper Sophie Gracida from USA and the couple have two children.

Ben underwent serious back surgery in 2020 after suffering with pain for many years and in 2023 he faced several months on the sidelines after he fractured his shoulder in a fall.

“I’d had a couple of bad falls and in the end it catches up with you,” said Ben, who also won the sport's richest prize, the 2026 CPKC International presented by Rolex at Spruce Meadows, the day after being injured in a fall during the Nations Cup.

“Riding wasn’t at all comfortable, but it was the best place to be. Through the European Championships in 2019, I struggled with simple things like putting my boots on and walking the course. You get tired of fighting that all the time.”

Ben Maher's top horses

Ben Maher’s former top horse and Olympic gold medal-winning partner was Explosion W, a huge 12-year-old gelding by the stallion Chacco-Blue, known at home as the “BFG”, and widely considered to be one of the best horses in the world. Pamela Wright and Charlotte Rossetter stepped in to buy the gelding from previous owners Poden Farms after “multiple offers and a series of negotiations headed up by owner Neil Moffitt, whose priority was to keep Explosion W with Ben and under the British flag”.

The same owners have since invested in several more top horses for Ben to ride, including his championship contenders Point Break and Dallas Vegas Batilly, and Spruce Meadows victor Enjeu Du Grisien.

Among Ben’s other top horses in recent years have been Cella, Diva II, Tic Tac, Robin Hood W, Rolette and his home-bred London 2012 Olympic horse, Tripple X III, who was sold as part of the resolution of a long-term legal dispute between Ben and his former backers Michael and Emma Phillips of Quainton Stud LLP.

What else has Ben Maher achieved?

• In addition to his team and individual Olympic gold medals, Ben has also represented Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong and the 2016 Games in Rio.
• Ben won team bronze at the 2011 European Championships in Madrid, claimed individual silver and team gold at the 2013 European Championships and individual silver in 2019. He won team bronze medals at the 2026 world championships in Aachen and at Herning in 2022.
• He also represented Team GB at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor and the 2015 European Championships in Aachen. 
• Ben was selected to compete at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2014 with the brilliant grey mare, Cella but a late training injury ruled them out.
• In 2005 Ben became the youngest person to win the Hickstead Derby
• He won one of the world’s richest prizes, the Global Champions Super Grand Prix, in Prague in 2019 with Explosion W.
• He has won many other international grands prix including Olympia, Madrid and the King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead.
• In 2025, he and Enjeu Du Grisien were part of the Great Britain team that won the Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona.
• In 2013, Ben Maher reached number one in the world ranking.
• He won the Longines Global Champions Tour championship two years in a row.

Ben Maher’s offical social media pages

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