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Pathfinder Ben Maher puts Great Britain in pole position in Olympic showjumping team final

Jennifer Donald Jennifer Donald

    • Friday’s medal decider for the team Olympic showjumping at Paris 2024 has kicked off with plenty of drama from the first line riders, the time-allowed proving particularly tight.

    But Great Britain’s pathfinder Ben Maher and super 11-year-old mare Dallas Vegas Batilly executed their second superb jumping clear of the Olympics, just succumbing to the 79sec time limit to come home with one penalty on the board. The mare looked to be loving the track set by Santiago Varela and Gregory Bodo, remaining beautifully balanced down some tough lines over some colourful Paris-themed fences.

    Ben Maher had swapped from his intended ride Point Break in the run-up to the Games but Dallas Vegas Batilly, who he co-owns with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, has proved a superb substitution so far at the Paris Olympics.

    Olympic showjumping: “We gave the team a great start” says Ben Maher

    The pair jumped a perfect clear in Thursday’s qualifier to help Great Britain qualify for the team final, and again over Friday’s more technical track which will decide the team medals. The pair’s one-penalty score was the best performance from the first-line riders, putting Great Britain into an early lead ahead of France and Germany.

    “It was a great round again today again, I’m very happy,” said Ben Maher on day two of the Olympic showjumping. “She felt a little unsettled just as I went in today, there are a lot of people here and they told me outside that the time was short. Maybe I just underestimated it a tiny bit on the rollbacks. But we left the jumps up and gave the team a great start.

    “We’re talking point three of a second [over the time allowed]. All the distances are very, very slow for my horse today, which takes a lot of time up. I could perhaps have gone shorter back after the double of Liverpools, taken a bit of a risk there, but she jumped great and our team is in a good position so far.”

    Ben is followed by team-mates Harry Charles (Romeo 88) and Scott Brash with Jefferson for Friday’s medal decider.

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    Jennifer Donald
    Jennifer Donald

    H&H showjumping editor
    Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
    Jennifer Donald

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