Showjumping Update from Olympia

Speed demon Guy Williams had a great week at Olympia, The London International Horse Show, having won the Kingsland Speed Stakes, joint winner of the Alltech Christmas Puissance and 12,500 euros better off as a result of emerging best in the winner-takes-all Renault Christmas Masters for the seven leading riders in the show. He produced a blistering round on the eight-year-old grey Depardieu van T Kiezelhof, a last-minute entry to Olympia, in the fifth and final round. This was a jump-off against the clock for the last men standing, to overhaul Scott Brash on the exciting prospect Whisky Mac lV, a relative novice, by a cheeky 0.26 seconds.

In the Santa Stakes on Sunday, French rider Simon Delestre’s audacious early round on the young mare Whisper in a mammoth 14-horse jump-off paid off. It is unusual to win a jump-off class from such an early draw but Simon, who was second to go, set off dramatically fast and appeared to pressure his rivals into making mistakes. There were only four double clears, and it was an international line-up, with German Holger Wulschner second on Cavity G, Ludo Philippaerts third on Chicago vh Moleneind for Belgium, and Tina Fletcher, the best Briton, in fourth on Ursula Xll.

Ben Maher and Tripple X III Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI

But it was British rider Ben Maher who brought the Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier at Olympia to a thrilling finish when he stormed round on the stallion Tripple X as the penultimate rider in an 11-horse jump-off. In yet another of this season's super-exciting showdowns, the 28 year old rider effortlessly surpassed the seemingly impossible target set by three-time Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping champion Marcus Ehning from Germany in an 11-horse jump-off against the clock.

In a truly international line-up, Ireland's Dermott Lennon slotted into third ahead of America's Laura Kraut, while reigning European champion Rolf-Goran Bengtsson from Sweden finished fifth and Spain's Manuel Anon filled sixth spot. "It's the biggest win of my career, and the perfect end to a roller-coaster year" said Maher who was additionally pleased because he bred the winning horse himself. "Some people breed hundreds of horses each year, and I breed just three, so I know I'm really lucky to not only ride, but to have bred one as good as this!" he pointed out.

The Grand Hall at Olympia is always a challenging venue, with the buzz of the crowd creating an electrified atmosphere and the relatively narrow confines of the arena placing extra pressure on horses and riders. Bob Ellis, the man who will design the courses for next summer's London Olympic Games, tested them with a course that required their full attention.

Initially it seemed he might have been a little too lenient, as a foot-perfect tour of the 13-fence first-round track by the pathfinders, 19-year-old Spaniard Manuel Anon and his lovely 10-year-old mare Rackel Chavannaise, was followed by three more in quick succession. But as the class settled down, it became quite clear that it would take only the best of the best to earn a place in the decider. ""I thought the course was big when we walked it - the first three fences were sited in unusual positions, but it was fair and not crazy" commented Ehning afterwards. The double at fence four, the triple combination at eight and the penultimate oxer at 12 all proved influential, while the vertical at fence 11 demanded real respect. Like so many of the obstacles on the tricky track, it came up quickly off a corner, and both horses and riders need quick thinking and good reflexes to make it clear to the end of the track.

There were some notable absentees from the jump-off, including The Netherlands' Gerco Schroder who lowered two fences on his tour with Eurocommerce New Orleans, Ireland's on-form Billy Twomey whose mare, Tinka's Serenade, fell victim to the vertical three from home and Britain's Nick Skelton whose round with the promising eight-year-old Big Star unravelled with a mistake at the triple-bar at fence nine. With 11 world-class partnerships, including four from the host nation, through to the race against time however, the stage was set for a great jump-off which went right down to the wire.

Dermott Lennon riding Hallmark Elite Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI

Anon set the pace with a single error at the first element of the double, now the fourth fence from home. The turn to this one would prove crucial in the final analysis, as Bob the Course-Builder tempted riders to gallop down to the previous oxer before turning sharp-right. Belgium's Ludo Philippaerts followed with an eight-fault result with Kassini Jack who lowered both the second-last and last, so it was Ireland's Dermott Lennon, a man in flying form right now, who set the first standard with a quick but careful clear from Hallmark Elite in 42.43 seconds. "With my horse, you need to ride him in a good rhythm and I was fairly early to go - I was glad I went in before Marcus (Ehning) and Ben (Maher) though, because otherwise I might have gone completely mad!" said the 2002 World Champion. Britain's Robert Whitaker was next to go, but his chances disappeared when the 10-year-old USA Today clipped the FEI vertical, now third on the track. And Laura Kraut's speedy effort with her Olympic team gold medal winning ride, Cedric, was hampered by a mistake at the double. Well up on time coming down to the previous oxer, the American turned extremely tight on landing and, although her brave little grey gave it everything he had, he lost his momentum over the first element of the double and hit the second part for four faults in the fast time of 41.02 seconds. Ehning showed however that there was still some considerable room for improvement when shaving almost two seconds off that with a superb run from the 12-year-old mare Sabrina whom he steered like a cruise missile to break the beam in 39.05 seconds. Britain's Guy Williams missed his strike at the third with Titus, and when Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson tried to angle the oxer before the double he paid the price as Ninja La Silla brought down the whole fence when his rider caught the upright with his leg.

Marcus Ehning riding Sabrina 327 Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI

With only three left to go, it seemed Ehning had stretched the rest a little too far, and his colleague Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum was no threat when lowering the FEI vertical, although her lovely eight-year-old Bella Donna was one of the most spectacular performers of the afternoon. Now only two of the home runners stood between Ehning and victory, and Maher's intentions didn't seem likely to upset the German.

"I planned to just do what I could do and see what happened" said the Englishman - but it all came up just right for him. The big, bold Tripple X never looked under any pressure as he soared over the oxer before turning to the double. "I took a small chance there and he reached it very well" the rider said. Coming down to the penultimate vertical Maher seemed almost too cautious, but such is the natural speed of his big horse that they were well up on the clock and they raced across the line in 38.71 seconds to shatter Ehning's target-time. And when his British team-mate, Laura Renwick, hit the very first fence, Maher had the win in the bag.

"Tripple X is a very special and talented horse - he makes it all really easy" he said afterwards "He's a pleasure to ride, and he always fights for me which is what you need at this level of the sport" he added. The British rider has had mixed fortunes this season and this horse never really enjoyed a good sequence of shows. "After the European Championships in Madrid I gave him a break for six weeks. I started him again in the World Cup qualifier at Lyon but we didn't make the cut there, and then we didn't get to jump in Verona - but finally we got a chance to show what we could do today and it's great to produce the win in front of the home crowd!" he pointed out.

At Olympia this week the British have made something of a statement in both Dressage and Jumping. They mean business ahead of next year's Olympic Games on their home turf in London. And Maher is now more convinced than ever that Tripple X is the horse that will take him there. He has nurtured this stallion from the outset - "I broke him, I put the saddle on him for the first time and I gave him his first jump - we've had our moments over the last nine years and I often wondered how he would turn out. He has had to move up a gear this season because he was really my only top horse, but he's shown today what he can do", he said. From young riders to slightly older ones......John Whitaker, the most experienced rider at Olympia, raised the roof when he produced a round of daring brilliance to snatch the H&M Ivy Stakes from his younger rivals. “The horse has been jumping well all week, and I’ve just been biding my time patiently,” said John “I got a good draw in this class so I saw it as my chance. Pius (Schwizer, third) went fast enough early on, and then Robert (Smith, second) is always quick in these situations, but I knew I could get the time as long as the fences stayed up. Dazzle hasn’t got a long stride, but she is really fast.” The vociferous nature of the crowd’s response to John’s victory reflected the enormous popularity of this brilliant, yet modest, horseman. “The crowd here is unbelievable,” he said. “I travel the world jumping, but you don’t get crowd enthusiasm like this anywhere else.”   Afraid the commentary is in French but still fun to watch the jump off of the Santa Stakes thanks to csodress.blogspot.com