Wellington, Fla. – March 6, 2026—British Olympic champion Ben Maher and Enjeu de Grisien earned their first international victory of the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) season in Friday’s $116,100 Adequan® CSI5* WEF Challenge Round 9. Hosting 12 weeks of FEI competition, WEF runs at Wellington International through March 29 in Wellington, FL.
“We’ve been knocking at the door,” admitted Maher of his season with the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Toulon x Andiamo) owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.
Ben Maher & Enjeu de Grisien. Photo ©Sportfot
Maher was last to go among the eight that returned for course designer Alan Wade’s (IRL) jump-off track. Sticking to a carefully crafted plan, Maher pushed Nayel Nassar (EGY) and American Mimi Gochman to their respective second and third finishes with a time of 36.39 seconds.
Riding his own and Evergate Stables’ ESI Ali, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Nassar (EGY) stopped the clock at a perfect 37 seconds. Rounding out the podium at 37.89 seconds, Gochman (USA) and Iron Maiden, an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Rocking Basilisk Farms, took home third.
Watch The Winning Round
With a goal to work on riding his own plan and not fixating on what others in the jump-off were doing, Maher–World No. 3–said of his round, “It was great to go at the end of the jump-off with an experienced horse. I got to see a little bit of what the others were doing. Enjeu is not the fastest horse in the first round, but in the jump-off, you can use his stride and let him go quick.”
“He’s an amazing horse, but he has been in the shadows of some of my own horses,” Maher continued of Enjeu de Grisien, the horse that most recently carried him to second in the Fidelity Investments® CSI5* Grand Prix during WEF 5. “As those horses have had a break, he’s had to hold court on his own, and he’s really shone in that number-one spot and had some great results.”
Hear From Ben
While sharp in the ring, Enjeu de Grisien is anything but on the ground. “He’s the sweetest, calmest horse,” enthused Maher. “We’ve had him since he was 7 years old, so we know him well, and he’s been an amazing horse for the team. He’s so versatile in every kind of grand prix or speed class on any surface, and it’s hard to find a special horse like that.”
Enjeu de Grisien will now step aside as Maher’s Paris Olympic mount Dallas Vegas Batilly comes out for the first time this season in the $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix during Saturday Night Lights on March 7.
Ben Maher & Enjeu de Grisien are presented as winners of the $116,100 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 9 by Valerie Arcuri American Regent Animal Health Key Accounts Manager – Southeast. Photo ©Sportfot
For full results from the $116,100 Adequan® CSI5* WEF Challenge Round 9, click HERE.
Marking the start of competition Thursday morning was Sydney Shulman Desiderio (ISR) and Max van de Marijenhoeve, a nine-year-old Dutch-bred gelding, taking the win in the $32,000 Coastal Steel Structures CSI2* 1.45m. The pair had nailed the jump-off with a speedy 30.91 seconds with Isabelle Ehman (USA) and Darra Du Soleil, a 13-year-old Selle Français mare taking second place at a time of 33.72 seconds. Rounding the podium off at 33.83 seconds was Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) and Feeling Chance, a 11-year-old Selle Français mare.
For full results from the $32,000 Coastal Steel Structures CSI2* 1.45m, click HERE.
For full results of WEF 9, click HERE.
