{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}
Trending:

From ponies to gold medals — Happy Birthday Ben Maher!

Madeleine Silver

    • To celebrate the Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper’s 33rd birthday today (30 January 2016), we’ve dug deep into the archives to find pictures from a time when Ben Maher didn’t have medals hanging round his neck and champagne in his hands…

    Ben Maher’s career in pictures

    Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout major shows like London International and more with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

    This is an image 1 of 13

    Ben before he was famous

    The early years: Ben took up showjumping at the age of eight and he began competing in pony classes while he was still at school

    This is an image 2 of 13

    Ben Maher with his ponies

    Ben with his ponies Tom Cobbley, Go Easy II and Dusty Boy

    This is an image 3 of 13

    Ben Maher riding Dusty Boy

    Ben and Dusty Boy in action

    This is an image 4 of 13

    Ben Maher riding Beechways Delight

    Ben riding Beechways Delight during his junior showjumping days

    Image credit: Trevor Meeks
    This is an image 5 of 13

    Beijing Olympic Games 2008

    At the age of 25, Ben rode for Britain at the 2008 Bejing Olympics in Hong Kong, where the team finished fifth

    Image credit: Trevor Meeks
    This is an image 6 of 13

    2011 European Showjumping Championships in Madrid

    Ben Maher and Tripple X III at the European showjumping championships in Madrid, 2011, where the British team picked up a bronze medal, and Ben finished 12th individually

    Ben Maher and Tripple X III win team gold at the London 2012 Olympics
    Image credit: Trevor Meeks
    This is an image 7 of 13

    Ben Maher and Tripple X III win team gold at the London 2012 Olympics

    Ben Maher and Tripple X III win team gold at the London 2012 Olympics

    Image credit: Jon Stroud
    This is an image 8 of 13

    GCT London Global Champions Tour 2013

    Ben and Cella clinch the grand prix title at the Global Champions Tour of London in 2013

    Image credit: Jon Stroud
    This is an image 9 of 13

    London Global Champions Tour 2013

    Time to celebrate: Ben soaks up the moment at the Global Champions Tour of London in 2013 after taking the grand prix.

    Ben Maher riding Cella at the 2013 European Championships
    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 10 of 13

    2013 European Showjumping Championships in Herning, Denmark

    Ben MAHER riding Cella (CH) GBR in the Individual Final of the FEI European Championship in Herning, Denmark in August 2013

    Tripple X III MAHER Ben RIHS 2013 King George Cup
    Image credit: Lucy Merrell
    This is an image 11 of 13

    RIHS 2013: King George V Gold Cup

    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 12 of 13

    2015 European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany

    Ben and Diva II at the 2015 European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany — where the team finished fourth and secured their Olympic qualification for Rio 2016

    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 13 of 13

    Olympia 2015: Ben riding Boomerang

    Getting in the Christmas spirit: Ben and Boomerang in the jump-off for the 2015 Santa Stakes at The London International Horse Show, Olympia

    You may like...