Ben Maher: ‘My mare needs “Diva” space.’

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In our video above, Rhi chats with Ben Maher after getting placed second riding Diva II in the Longines FEI World Cup leg at Olympia.

Despite being beaten by Scott Brash by just 0.12 seconds, Ben was reflective about the result. “It was one of those rounds where I felt I couldn’t do any more. I knew if I finished first or if I finished sixth, that was going to be down to the luck of the day.”

Discussing the quirky nature of Diva II, Ben describes how he needs to warm her up in a very specific way. “She needs “Diva” space. Any horse that comes too close to her, she throws her head around. I never jump too big in the warm up with her; it takes too much out of her.”

Watch the video to learn how Ben manages Diva’s workload at home and exactly what happened in the warm up that nearly cost him second place.