TORONTO, Canada--Mark Bluman of Colombia on Ubiluc won the $170,000 Mad Barn Big Ben Challenge on Thursday evening, Nov. 13, at the CSI5*-W Royal Horse Show, a part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
Mark Bluman on Ubiluc (Photo by Shelley Higgins for MacMillan Photography)This was Bluman's second win in as many evenings after winning the McKee Family International Speed Wednesday night.
Over a course set by Olaf Petersen, Jr. of Germany, Bluman was clean in 35.62 seconds.
Nina Mallevaey, 25, of France, on Nikka vd Bisschop finished three tenths of a second slower in 35.93 to place second, and Brian Moggre, 24, on MTM Vivre le Reves was third in 36.42 seconds.
The German-bred Ubiluc has been a part of the Bluman Equestrian program since the 13-year-old gelding was 6.
Ridden by Mark as a 6 and 7-year-old, his cousin, Daniel, then took over the ride and developed the horse to the international level.
He gave the ride back to Mark in 2023 and, since then, the pair have collected an astounding 44 top 10 international finishes.
“I told Daniel to watch the jump-off because I wanted to concentrate on warming up the horse correctly,” said Mark, 34, who is competing at the Royal Horse Show for the first time. “He told me exactly what I needed to do to make it happen and it paid off. He’s a very fast horse so I had that to my advantage.”
“WINNING the Big Ben, named after a legend in the sport, here at The Royal, a very prestigious horse show, is one of my biggest wins with him," said Bluman. "I came with big expectations and wanted to make a statement and try to be top five in every class.”
Nina Mallevaey on Destine To be (Photo by Ben Radvanyl)“This is an unbelievable horse show,” he said. “It’s not only a horse show, but also an event and one of the best shows I’ve ever been to in my life. The crowd is so involved, and the atmosphere when the crowd is cheering for you is the most amazing feeling. It’s what I have enjoyed the most about being here.”
On Thursday afternoon, Mallevaey, the reigning French national champion, on Destine To be won the $45,000 CSI5*-W Brickenden Trophy, w
Maallevaey won by more than a second oversecond placed Daniel Bluman on Rebelline de Kwakenbeek.
“I really like indoor shows, especially indoor shows on the World Cup circuit,” said Mallevaey, who had never competed at the Royal Horse Show before. “There's so much atmosphere here; it is amazing to ride when there are so many people around who cheer for everyone. It’s real sport and I am happy to be here."
“The whole Rein family is here and it’s their country so it’s nice to do well for them here,” said Mallevaey, who got the ride on the Rein Family’s 9-year-old Diamant de Semilly son at the end of the gelding’s eight-year-old year. “We've been producing him slowly and he is doing his few first five-star shows now. He still needs to get experience, but I think he is a good horse for the future; he has scope, is smart, and very fast.”
