Ben Maher

Ben started riding at the age of eight, competing on the local showjumping circuit and joining The Pony Club. He went on to represent Great Britain on Pony, Junior and Young Rider teams, which saw him take team gold at the Young Rider European Championships in 2004. He was the first British showjumper to be ranked world number one in 2013 and was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List in 2013.

Ben made his Olympic debut riding Roulette at Beijing 2008, then was part of the gold medal-winning team with Tripple X III at London 2012. He rode at Rio 2016 with Tic Tac, before winning the coveted individual gold at Tokyo 2020 with Explosion W. His fifth consecutive Games appearance came at Paris 2024, where he and Dallas Vegas Batilly won team gold alongside London 2012 teammate Scott Brash and Harry Charles – the son of another London 2012 teamate, Peter Charles. 

Alongside his Olympic appearances, Ben has ridden at six FEI Jumping European Championships – he’s won one team gold medal, two team bronzes and two individual silvers. With such a long and successful career, it’s surprising that his first FEI Jumping World Championship appearance only came in 2022, when he and Faltic HB helped Britain to a historic team bronze medal.

Ben is a familiar on Nations Cup teams, and twice featured on the British squad for the Longines League of Nations in 2024, including the recent third-place finish at CHIO Rotterdam. He also finished sixth at the FEI World Cup Final that year, riding Dallas Vegas Batilly. 

Just weeks after his win in Tokyo, Ben married his partner and fellow showjumper Sophie. They now share two-year-old Cooper, who's already showing his parents' love of horses, and a baby girl named Quinn.