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Rotterdam saved the suspense for the final lap. This Sunday, Ben Maher won the 5* Grand Prix of CHIO Rotterdam with Point Break, his 12-year-old SWB stallion. Eleven riders in the jump-off, a podium covered by less than a second, and a Brit leaving with the full package: the Grand Prix trophy in his right hand and the Nations League one in his left. Almost insolent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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There were 49 starters. No fewer than 11 came back for the jump-off. Almost the perfect ratio. And then Rotterdam rolled out its best script: the one where nobody breathes, where every stride costs, where a green oxer becomes a small collective heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben Maher<\/strong> and Point Break<\/strong> stopped the clock in 42.98<\/strong>Behind them, Luke Dee<\/strong> and Gangster WW<\/strong> ont \u00e9chou\u00e9 \u00e0 16 centi\u00e8mes. Willem Greve<\/strong>, on home soil, completed the podium with Grandorado TN<\/strong> in 43.97 seconds.<\/strong>. Three riders, less than a second. The kind of Grand Prix decided more with a scalpel than a hammer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maher did not try to sell it as a walk in the park. \u201c La barrage ne s\u2019est pas vraiment pass\u00e9 comme pr\u00e9vu<\/em> \u201d he explained, referring to that hot moment over the green oxer. But the video was kinder than the feeling. And the result even more so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Brit mainly paid tribute to Point Break, a son ofAction Breaker<\/strong> and grandson of Balou du Rouet<\/strong> : \u00ab One of the best horses I have ever ridden.<\/em> \u00bb Not bad, coming from a man who did not exactly discover the top level last month. Maher describes a horse with a slightly short stride, but intelligent, athletic and supple enough to give the impression he jumps \u201c with no bones in his body <\/em>\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sporting translation: Point Break does not suffer through a course. He reads it, cuts it up and makes it look simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The symbolism is neat. Maher was already coming off a golden Friday with the British team in the Nations League. Two days later, he pockets the Grand Prix. The Dutch weekend, English breakfast full-option version. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The rider admitted it: second places had been stacking up recently. This time, everything fell on the right side. The course, the rhythm, the luck, the horse. And above all, those 16 hundredths that turn a good Sunday into a 5* victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nPoint Break, the horse with no bones<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Maher puts another 5* Grand Prix in his pocket<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Luke Dee grows, Greve applauds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n