Casual DV Z confirms top form in Doha

People could once again enjoy a particularly busy weekend at the very highest level, with no fewer than four five-star competitions scheduled worldwide. In Doha, for instance, it was looking forward to the CHI Al Shaqab presented by Longines Doha 2026, which traditionally takes place the week before the start of the new Longines Global Champions Tour season. For the second week in a row in the Qatari capital, the mare Casual DV Z was a shining star, once again confirming her excellent form of the past weeks and months.

The second five-star Grand Prix in a row was the closing round of CHI Al Shaqab in Doha on Saturday evening and brought a total of forty-two top combinations to the start. Italian course designer Uliano Vezzani and his team had once again put together a dazzling display for this CSI5* Grand Prix, with 11 combinations jumping to a place in the decisive jump-off. One of those 11 were Belgian rider Pieter Devos and his home-bred mare Casual DV Z, an 11-year-old daughter of Cornet Obolensky out of a Cicero Z dam. Devos and Casual DV Z already showed their class last week with a ^3rd place in the CSI5* Grand Prix and confirmed their excellent form again this time. As the fifth combination to reappear in the ring, they again managed to keep all the bars neatly in the scoops and with a finishing time of 37.84 seconds they secured a superb^2nd place this time.

Pieter Devos: "I am very happy with my horse again. Last week she already jumped three clear rounds in the Grand Prix and today she was double clear again. I'm really pleased with how well she jumped. It is only the beginning of the season and she has already learned so much here. This venue is the ideal setting for good horses to develop week by week. She jumped even better than last week!"

In addition to the five-star competition, Doha's Al Shaqab Arena has also seen three-star showjumping over the past few days, in which several Z-horses also jumped into the limelight. So on Wednesday during the opening day we could immediately enjoy a blue/yellow victory thanks to Turkish rider Hasan Senturk and the 14-year-old stallion Diams Brimbelles Z, a son of Darco and Dimenos bred in France by Christel Schumacher. Senturk and Diams Brimbelles Z became the final laureates of the 1.40m class there, where they were more than half a second ahead of the competition with a clear^2nd phase in 27.37 seconds.

In the CSI3* Grand Prix on Saturday, Sienna Charles' older brother Harry provided a top ranking with the 9-year-old grey gelding Fighting Phil, a son of Cornet Obolensky and Contender who was born to breeder Edel Fitzpatrick as Couer de Cornet Z. In a jump-off for which seven combinations managed to qualify, Charles and Fighting Phil again kept it neatly clear, finishing in ^5th place.

Also in the top ten we saw French rider Megane Moissonnier and the 10-year-old stallion Kandoo Z (Kannan x Level Z - breeder: Hilary Parren), with whom she also gained ^4th place in the 1.45m speed class the day before. Moissonnier and Kandoo Z ran into 4 penalties in the basic round, but by posting the fastest finishing time on the scoreboard they secured ^8th place.

There were also two top 10 placings for Portuguese rider Duarte Seabra and the 9-year-old stallion Nalasko Z (Equitron Naxcel C x Zidane IV) from the Puck stud farm. They made a first appearance on Thursday with ^8th place in the 1.40m class, while they took ^5th place in the 1.45m speed & handiness class on Saturday.

Finally, during that 1.40m class on Thursday, there was also a podium place for Egyptian rider Ismail Osama El Borai and the 8-year-old mare Gin Lady Tivoli Z (Gaillard de la Pomme x Gino H), bred in the Netherlands by the Zwartjens family. In a class against the clock, they jumped to^2nd place after a flawless round.