British Olympic champion Ben Maher returned to the Winter Equestrian Festival to win the first “Saturday Night Lights” of the season, a year after a fall at the beginning of WEF 2023 sidelined him for the season with a shoulder injury.
The current FEI World No. 2 returned to Wellington, Florida, better than ever aboard Enjeu de Grisien, a 10-year-old Selle Français gelding (Toulon—Noblesse Des Fontaines, Andiamo) he owns together with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, to win the $140,000 Southern Arches CSI3* Grand Prix from a 45-horse field over tracks designed by Nick Granat.
“It’s great every Saturday night here,” said Maher, who is coming off an FEI World Cup Grand Prix win in London with Enjeu de Grisien. “It’s a good atmosphere, and you have some of the best riders in the world which gives top sport.”
In the jump-off, Maher’s time of 36.87 seconds was just enough to push the 37.49-second leading time of McLain Ward, riding Robin Parsky’s First Lady, into second place. Fellow U.S. rider Spencer Smith and longtime partner Theodore Manciais took third in 38.31 seconds.
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“It was a difficult course; the time allowed is always a factor here, but my horse is doing very well and I was very happy,” said Maher of Enjeu de Grisien, a horse that joined his stable as a 7-year-old.
Watch their winning round, courtesy of ShowGroundsLive:
See complete results here.
