Ben Maher receives outstanding achievement award

Ben Maher award — (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Olympic champion Ben Maher was presented with the British Equestrian Writer Association’s outstanding achievement award at the London International Horse Show, following his success in Tokyo this summer with Explosion W.

Ben was presented with the award by Rupert Bell on Friday (17 December).

“He’s a superstar and he knows he’s good. He likes all the attention and is just a pleasure to work with every day,” he said. “It comes with a bit of pressure because everyone knows he’s really good but he gives you such confidence, he can really do amazing things and it’s things you can’t teach horses to do. We train hard but he’s that natural born athlete that gives him the edge.”

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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.

‘An unforgettable year’: Olympic champion Ben Maher honoured at London International Horse Show

“I’ve been lucky over the years to have many good horses but the year we’ve had is going to be an unforgettable one and certainly hard to top,” said Ben.

Ben said it was a “shame” not to be competing Explosion W at the London International but fans were treated to an appearance from the combination on Friday (17 December) as they took to the arena for a lap of honour.

Ben said “it really doesn’t get better” than the 12-year-old gelding.

Ben added it felt “great” to win the outstanding achievement award and thanked his team and sponsors who made it all possible.

“Hopefully after this weekend we’ll get to celebrate a little bit,” he said.

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