Ben Maher is reflecting on his summer in Paris, where he earned his third gold medal, making him Britain’s most successful Olympic showjumper. And he realises as he talks, it was not exactly fun at the Games.

“I didn’t enjoy any of it to be completely honest,” he says, as he shows Telegraph Sport around his extensive stables in Hertfordshire.

“It was very stressful. I didn’t want to let the team down, or my horse’s owners down. I feel way more pressure than I do in other competitions. Not least with the new format, where there is no let-up. It’s not like tennis, where you can have a bad set and come back and win. With us, it’s one mistake and you’re out.”

Fortunately Maher, and his team-mates Scott Brash and Harry Charles, did not make any mistakes in the spectacular arena in Versailles, as they outflanked the American and French riders to take the team gold at the last. All three were close to perfection. Which, given the circumstances, was remarkable. Because there was something else beyond the increased jeopardy of Olympic competition for all the GB riders to negotiate: the damage done to their sport by a video circulated just before the Games of their team-mate Charlotte Dujardin striking a horse.

Dujardin’s discipline, dressage, may be different from Maher’s showjumping. But for those who berate any sport involving a horse, here was proof positive: equestrianism is unnatural and cruel. And the fallout was extensive.

“What Dujardin did was unacceptable. Simple as that. Unacceptable,” Maher says. “As riders at that level, showcasing our sport comes with the job. That’s our responsibility, to do things correctly. But, while we can’t be held responsible for other people’s actions, while it didn’t change our attitude or the way we went about our work, what she did cast a great big cloud of negativity over everything and everybody.”

As he takes his visitor round his stables, pointing out the spotless tack room, the row of washing machines that keep all the kit clean, the up-to-the-minute technology that monitors everything from a horse’s blood pressure to its workload, it is not hard to believe Maher when he insists his mounts are treated like royalty. Even the Shetland pony, which his two-year-old son likes to ride around the place, enjoys the kind of extensive, plush accommodation that can only be described as luxurious. This, though, is not some public relations exercise, a sheen of gloss to divert attention from Dujardin’s unhappy practice. There is good reason behind the benevolent circumstances.

“You only win with a happy horse,” he says, as he strokes the nose of Explosion W, the gelding on which he won the individual gold medal in Tokyo, who is currently in the process of slow recovery from injury. “Simple as that.”

And the fact is, for 20 years at the apex of his sport, encompassing five Olympic cycles, Maher’s purpose has been straightforward: he is in it to win.

“I’ve always been a little selfish, always wanted to be better, never happy with what it is or where I am,” he says. “When I was younger I would dwell on defeat for weeks. It would bring my other results down because I would let defeat get to me. I think I’m better at that now. But as a sportsperson I want to improve myself all the time. If I sit here saying, well I’ve won three gold medals I must know what I’m doing, then I’ll be overtaken by 50 other riders in the next year. You have to keep improving. We’re a moving target. I’m never willing to sit still.”

His refusal to remain static is reflected in a ferocious workload of training and competing. It is one exacerbated by the fact he is not simply a competitor, he is chief executive of a substantial business that oversees the preparation of more than 40 showjumping horses. While runners, swimmers, cyclists and most other Olympic competitors can concentrate just on themselves and their fitness, he manages a workforce of several dozen coordinating thoroughbreds worth millions of pounds.

“I do sometimes wish it’s just me and a horse jumping over a fence,” he says. “But I’m also very lucky. I have a business that allows me to do what I want. There are many benefits from how we are now.”

Not least being able in the new year, when things become a little inclement in Hertfordshire, to decamp much of his operation to Florida for a couple of months of warm weather training and competition. Though even there, the schedule will be relentless.

“No, I can’t escape,” he smiles. “It’s maybe something I need to learn now that I have a family.”

Before he heads to sub-tropical climes, however, he will provide an opportunity for the British fans of his sport to watch him in action. He will be taking part in the London International Horse Show at ExCeL London later this month. This is an event, he says, that gives him a rare opportunity to let his hair down.

“Maybe sometimes you need to take a step back and enjoy the moments. I’m not the best at that,” he says. “But I love that show. It has such special meaning for me.”

Not least, he says, because it was the event – then held at Olympia – that first fuelled his ambition as a youngster.

“I’m not from a horsey family, so I didn’t grow up surrounded by the sport,” he says. “But every year my mum would buy us tickets to the show as a Christmas treat. I have amazing memories of going there as a kid, the lights, the sounds, everything was just magical. I’ve grown into being lucky enough to be there now as a competitor.”

He smiles for a moment, then adds: “I’d still like to win there, though.”

To book your tickets to London International Horse Show 2024 and see three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher in action from Wed 18 to Sun Dec 22, visit londonhorseshow.com