September 17, 2026 
When it comes to making history, the most groundbreaking events often occur with the flick of a pen. In show jumping, a more apt analogy would be the click of a stopwatch.
On Sunday, September 13, in Spruce Meadows, the World’s No. 6-ranked rider, Ben Maher, dashed through the jump-off timers of the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, just ahead of the rest of the field. In doing so, the British rider became not just the new Live Contender, but the runner-up for prize money earned in 2026, with more than €2 million in total, just behind Richard Vogel’s (GER) €2.5 (Jumpr).
For his part, Enjeu de Grisien—as so often happens after this particular class—is, for the moment, the winningest horse in show jumping, having swept past United Touch S with his nearly €942,000 paycheck in the CPKC ‘International.’ But if you, like many others, were scratching your head watching him, wondering, Exactly who is this big-jumping horse? You’re not alone.
Despite his fearless, star-making performance in Calgary this month, this is only the second, 5* 1.60m Grand Prix win of the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding’s career. The first was his victory in the FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier in London, way back in 2023, when he was just 9 years old.
After six years together, it’s clear from watching them that Maher fully trusts the versatile gelding’s impressive array of buttons on the jump-off course (he gallops! he turns on a dime! he jumps clear from underneath the liverpool!)—injured shoulder and all. But it hasn’t always been that way.
In fact, Maher says, there was a time when he thought Enjeu, despite his obvious gifts, might be better suited for another rider.
“We bought [Enjeu] when he was seven and he was a difficult young horse; very active and almost too much power for the body that he has,” Maher told Wellington International back in 2024, after the pair won the Week 1, 3* Grand Prix in January.
“I struggled to get him under control, and we were on a different path for a while. He didn’t really understand me, and I didn’t really understand him,” Maher added of the gelding owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.
“He was always a talented, great horse, but I just wasn’t sure that I was the right rider for him.”
Thankfully, the former Olympic champion decided to hang in there, putting the time in to get to know the gelding on his own terms. “As rider, we have to adapt, we have to understand our horses, and change to what they like,” Maher said. “We made those changes and one day to the next, it worked.”
Though Maher is the first to admit Enjeu isn’t the quickest horse in the world in the first round, jump-offs are another story. There, Maher says, he is able to open the gelding up, using Enjeu’s stride length and speed to his advantage.
In 2025, the pair were part of the winning British squad at the Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona (pictured), jumping 4/0 for the team. And this winter marked a turning point for the partnership, with two runner-up placings in both 5* Grands Prix in Wellington, and a win in the 1.55m 5* WEF Challenge Round 9 in early March.
“He’s an amazing horse, but he has been in the shadows of some of my own horses,” Maher said after that victory. “As those horses [Dallas Vegas Batilly, Point Break] have had a break, he’s had to hold court on his own, and he’s really shone in that No. 1 spot, and had some great results.
“He’s been an amazing horse for the team. He’s so versatile in every kind of arena, and every kind of grand prix or speed class. It’s pretty hard to find a special horse like that.”
And now that Enjeu de Grisien has proven that versatility on the sport’s biggest stage—in its most lucrative and challenging Grand Prix—there’s no doubt that fans of the sport will be watching him carefully, each and every time he walks into an arena.
Even if, on account of the French-bred gelding’s laissez-faire personality, it takes Enjeu a while to actually get there.
“Walking up to the ring, you have to kind of drag him up here, because he’s sunbathing half the time,” Maher joked in March. “He’s very sharp in the ring and very energetic, but he’s the sweetest, kindest horse.”
