The second five-star class at Madrid Horse Week, Friday night's UAX Trophy, went to Great Britain's Ben Maher on Diva II (Kannan x Berlioz) with a narrow margin.

The 1.55m class with a jump-off had 48 starters in it, and at first it seemed like there would not be many clears. Anyhow, in the end there turned out to be eleven riders joining in for the jump-off. Maher was the last to go in the jump-off, and took the win with a time of 33,77 seconds. Close behind in second place followed Germany's Ludger Beerbaum on Chiara (Contender x Coronado 3) with a time of 33,99 seconds. Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS) on Lintea Tequila (Campbell x Corrado II) took the third place with a time of 34,67 seconds. 

"It is a great win for my whole team," the happy winner said after the class. "My team works really hard and we haven't got the best results lately. Diva had a break last summer and she seems fresh now. I thought the course was big today and I also thought it would not suit her - the way the jump-off went suited us better. I was lucky to be fast enough to beat Ludger tonight," Maher said. 

Text and picture © World of Showjumping by Nanna Nieminen