Sensational success for Christopher Kläsener at the CSI5* Doha

Christopher Kläsener is known as a stylist in the saddle, a sensitive rider with a special knack for young horses. But in the saddle of the eleven-year-old Belgian Popeye van de Bisschop, he can also do much more, as he showed today. The highlight of the day at the CSI5* in Doha was a 1.55 meter jumping competition with jump-off. The list of starters included team Olympic champions Harry Charles and Scott Brash, Max Kühner, Edwina Tops-Alexander, Marlon Zanotelli, Wilma Hellström and many others. And Christopher Kläsener.

Kläsener had already ridden the Lector van de Bisschop son Popeye several times in Doha last February. The gelding was brought into the sport by Oliver Lazarus and Georgina Harvey-Lazarus. He then went under Kamal Abdullah Bahamdan for Saudi Arabia. After Kläsener, Philipp Weishaupt was also in the saddle for a short time. Kläsener then took over again in the fall of last year. The two seem to go together like cartoon Popeye and a can of spinach. During the autumn and winter months in Riyadh, they collected one ribbon after another and crowned the season with a third place in the CSI5* Grand Prix on December 20, also over 1.55 meters – albeit against much less top-class competition.

Today they showed that they can also take on completely different calibers. 13 pairs made it into the jump-off, seven remained clear. But none of them could even come close to Kläsener and Popeye’s time: 35.92 seconds.

None other than the top ten winners from Geneva, the British world number two Scott Brash with the magnificent Chadora Lady, were left out in the cold. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried. At 36.53 seconds, they were also fast. But not fast enough to deny Kläsener his first victory in a five-star show jumping competition. Brash came second, with third place going to the Swiss rider Nadja Peter Steiner on the Comme il faut son Clearround Il Mondo (38.46).

Incidentally, Doha is the first show at which Marlon Zanotelli will be presenting Jana Wargers’ top horse Dorette. He is, so to speak, the pregnancy replacement for the World Championship rider. Yesterday the pair were double clear in a 1.35 meter jumping competition. Today they came out of a 1.40 meter course with five penalty points.

You can find all the results here.