World number five showjumper Ben Maher took a major victory in the US just after he broke his foot in a freak – not horse-related – accident.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist rode Point Break to win the Adequan WEF Challenge in week 12 of the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington International in Florida, USA.
The class was on 27 March – two days after he fractured his foot.
“I opened the back of the car and a heavy piece of machinery fell on it,” said Ben, whose broken bones are in alignment. He is wearing a riding boot with a supportive synthetic sole to allow him to compete.
Ben and Pamela Wright and Charlotte Rossetter’s 11-year-old Action-Breaker stallion, who flew to the US the previous Sunday (23 March) and returned to Europe the day after the class, were late to go in the 16-strong jump-off.
Six of the world’s top 10 riders were vying for the honours in the $116,100 (£90,000) class, in which Ben beat home rider Kent Farrington with Toulayna into second by 1.15sec.
“I didn’t watch Kent today; I’ve made that mistake a couple of times this season already,” said Ben.
“I think the distances were quite forward for me; I was always moving and always going forward. Everything came up nicely today and it was great to get a win on board for the team.
“It’s sometimes the timing, I’ve had a lot of second places with Enjeu [de Grisien] and Dallas [Vegas Batilly] in the grands prix here, so sometimes you feel you just need that one result to change the mentality of the team and give us all a little hope.”
Point Break was due to return to Europe with plenty of time before the World Cup Final (2-6 April), in which he and Ben and Robert Whitaker and Vermento are the British representatives.
Harry Charles also had a week 12 WEF win; he and Stall Zet and his father Peter’s 12-year-old Sherlock won the five-star 1.40m speed class by almost six seconds.
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