Ben Maher rebounds from fall to earn 'incredible' Spruce Meadows grand prix victory

From the lowest low to the highest high. That was Ben Maher’s trajectory on the weekend at the 2026 Spruce Meadows Masters.

During Saturday’s BMO Nations’ Cup, the British rider found himself on the ground, having fallen off his horse Catelly.

On Sunday, with the stakes at their zenith, Maher not only stayed on Enjeu De Grisien, he bested all the other world-class riders and horses in the field to take the CPKC International grand prix, presented by Rolex.

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“It’s starting to sink in,” said Maher, the world’s sixth-ranked rider. “Incredible to be part of winning one of the majors, starting that journey and winning what we consider one of the biggest grand prix in the world. I really felt Enjeu had a chance here; he deserved a big win. He was close in Aachen (at the worlds in Germany), finished fourth, just knocking on the door. It’s been like that for me the last two years.”

The fall on Saturday took its physical toll on Maher, but he was able to put it somewhat behind him.

“Yeah, I hurt myself,” the 43-year-old admitted. “I’m getting too old for that. I haven’t had many falls, but when I have one they’ve been bad recently. It wasn’t a good one. I’ve had a lot of big shoulder surgeries in the past. It was OK, we did the test, I was able to hang onto Enjeu. Just getting on and off was a little bit sensitive. Not ideal circumstances.

“I did have a talk with my doctors and physio this morning, my family at home … everyone supports the decisions we make and I’m just happy we made the right decision. In the end, our health and our safety is always paramount and I got checked and passed. I rode Enjeu a lot this morning and it felt very comfortable. We decided to go for it. Maybe it helped. Maybe I was a bit distracted on those things and just went in and did my job.”

Maher was one of six four-faulters after two rounds to advance to the jump-off. American Lillie Keenan and Fasther, the final twosome up, tried their darndest to beat Maher’s time of 41.40 and came within .45 of a second to finish in second spot. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, the reigning world champ, captured third for the second straight year, this time on Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte.

“I would like to start by saying just being in a jump-off with this group of riders is massive,” noted Keenan, ranked 31st. “I have placed top 10 in a number of the majors and I haven’t made it to the podium. I knew it would be quite difficult and even more so to beat this guy (Maher). My plan was to give everything I had.

“My goal is to be sitting there (Maher’s chair) next year, but I’m that much closer.”

Guerdat, eager to get home to his five-year-old daughter, talked earlier in the week about not having anything to look toward. But a third-place finish seemed to fit the bill.

“I’m very, very happy today,” he said. “I was Iashin’s first Masters. He’s been very good all year, but the Masters is something different. He proved me right today. A little bit of me is a little disappointed, but I’m delighted with the horse.