OCALA, Fla.--Great Britain's' Ben Maher on Ginger-Blue won the $62,500 1.50m Speed CSI5*-W class on Saturday, Feb. 14, repeating their winning performance from Thursday, at the Winter Equestrian Center.
Ben Maher on Ginger-Blue (Photo by Andrew Ryback)Despite going very early, third in the class of 33, Maher set the early time to beat of 56.56 seconds and couldn’t be caught.
Of the 14 that jumped clean in the Speed class, Wednesday’s winners, Erynn Ballard of Canada on Her Game Ball BG placed second, just off the pace in 56.64 seconds, and Laura Kraut on Tres Bien Z placed third with a time of 57.12 seconds.
Hunter Holloway on Pepita Con Spita was fourth in 57.30, with Jordan Coyle of Ireland on For Gold fifth in 57.77 and Nina Mallevaey of France on My Clementine sixth in 58.27.
Only 1.71 seconds separated the top six placed entries, with less than eight seconds separating the top14 finishers.
“The double of verticals were early on, and I was able to really ride at them," said Maher. "It’s slightly unconventional compared to some horses where you have to be more careful, but I really trust her quality, and we know each other well. After that some of the distances were short, but I was able to just keep a little bit of outside line and keep traveling forward, which made the lines slightly quicker. They got very, very close, but luckily, it worked for us today.”
“SHE'S AMAZING,” said Maher. “She obviously likes it here in Ocala. She has a deceiving stride. One minute she can have quite a big stride, and then it can get small very quick, which is what makes her so fast.”
While Ginger-Blue is an easy horse to maintain and manage, Maher admits she does have “a little bit of attitude.”
“I mean, she knows that she's good," said Maher. "She knows her job in the ring, and we trust that. She seems to be enjoying her job and her life.”
