Harry Charles wins the Doha Grand Prix

It was to be expected that the two British Olympic team champions Harry Charles and Scott Brash would have a major say in the Grand Prix of the CSI4* in Doha. Third place was more surprising, even though a rider with Olympic experience also came in here: Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj from Thailand. She was the first representative of her country to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Show Jumping Games. How she managed to do this – even though the ground jury in Paris had to ring her off “in the interests of the safety of rider and horse” – could be seen today in Doha.

Only six of the 33 pairs in the Grand Prix made it into the jump-off, four of them went clear twice. Others were doomed by time. This included US rider Eve Jobs, the newlywed wife of Harry Charles. The US rider was a key member of the US squad in 2018/19, but then took around three years off to model. She did not return to the big sport until 2024, when she acquired Philipp Weishaupt’s European Championship silver medal winner and Olympic partner Zineday. Contrary to popular belief, she wants to ride the powerful Zinedream son herself. He was not intended for her husband, even though he initially presented him in a few competitions. Last year, the twelve-year-old Westphalian was placed several times with Jobs at the fall show series in Oliva Nova. Today, however, she was on the 15-year-old OS gelding Canto Bruno by Cantoblanco, who she rode clear but with one time fault to seventh place.

Things went better for Jobs’ man. Harry Charles had put his money on the now 16-year-old Casquo Blue, who had competed for Sweden at the 2021 European Championships in Riesenbeck with Douglas Lindelöw before Charles took over. Scott Brash rode his exceptional European Championship silver medal winner Hello Folie. The two of them decided the jumping between themselves. Charles and his experienced Chacco Blue son, bred in Lewitz, crossed the finish line after 38.20 seconds. The now eleven-year-old Guidam daughter Hello Folie was only slightly slower in 38.48 seconds.

Two outsiders on the rise

Closest to the two Brits, currently number 2 (Brash) and 40 (Charles) in the world rankings, was the number 889 in the world rankings, Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj. The 28-year-old Thai rider, who grew up in France, had saddled the eleven-year-old Irish rider Kinmar Bespoke by O-Piloth for this show jumping competition, a horse she took over just over a year ago. Dermott Lennon had brought the gelding into the sport. The Irishman is, so to speak, the discoverer of Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj. He has turned her into an international show jumper, who jumped to third place today in Doha in a clear 40.14 seconds.

She left the Monegasque rider Anastasia Nielsen behind on the Stakkato Gold son ESI Rocky, who is also Irish-registered. This 19-year-old – world number 184 – has also made the headlines. Last October, at the Global Champions Tour tournament in Rabat, she not only completed a 1.60 meter jumping competition without any faults for the first time, but also won it outright. She thus went down in history as the youngest Global Tour winner of all time. However, she had a different horse under the saddle at the time. Shortly after her great success, she took over the eleven-year-old Rocky from Ireland’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy, who had already competed in 5* Nations Cups with him.

Reunion with old acquaintances

Among the participants, who also placed thanks to fast four-fault rounds, were two riders with horses that were otherwise known with other partners in the saddle. Abdullah Alsharbatly took over the Selle Français mare Dubai du Cedre from Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann in October 2025. The Baloubet du Rouet daughter, now 13 years old, was brought into the sport by France’s Julien Epaillard and won him bronze at the 2023 European Championships. Iron Dames GCL team manager Deborah Mayer then acquired the mare for Meyer-Zimmermann, who also had quite good success with her until Deborah Mayer had to part with her. Now the chestnut mare jumps under the Saudi flag and has a new name: Diriyah. With one knockdown in the normal course, Diriyah ex Dubai du Cedre carried Abdullah Al Sharbatly to tenth place.

Two places behind was Max Kühner on the Holstein mare Greece. The twelve-year-old daughter of Mylord Carthago was brought into the sport by Teike Carstensen, and the pair grew into the higher echelons of show jumping together, winning the CSI4* Grand Prix of Hohen Wieschendorf and the final of Germany’s U25 Jumping Cup at the CHIO Aachen 2023, among others. However, in November it became known that the mare’s owner, Stephan Johannsen, had given Greece to Max Kühner to ride. He has already performed well with the mare on several occasions, including in Geneva. Today they also collected a knockdown in the first round, but the time was still good enough for a ribbon, which was enough for twelfth place.

Australian rider Edwina Tops-Alexander also presented Cydello, who was first successful under Richard Vogel and then under Katrin Eckermann. The twelve-year-old Hanoverian Cascadello son had also been purchased by Doborah Mayer for her Iron Dames team. He is still owned in part by Pegase Equestrian BV, but also by Edwina Tops-Alexander, who also placed fifth with him in a 1.55 meter jumping competition at the World Cup tournament in Verona, but came out of the course today with 13 penalty points.

Four-fault day for Germany

Philipp Weishaupt competed under the German flag on the twelve-year-old Belgian Kannan son Oreo D.R. and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann with the DSP stallion Cascais by Colestus. Both had one down and were not fast enough to place.

You can find all the results here.