Doha, Qatar—March 3   

For the last three weeks Hans-Dieter Dreher hasn’t been able to get in the tack, but you’d never be able to tell watching him tonight. He trounced the competition in the 1.50-meter speed class at the CHI Al Shaqab, aboard Colore, cutting strides out of lines to win the $70,141 CSI***** class in Doha, Qatar.

“I was showing in Germany and I had a round with a young horse and I pulled a muscle through a turn,” said the German team veteran. “For three weeks I had that problem with my adductor, and I just started riding yesterday for the first time.”

Hans-Dieter Dreher and Colore won big in Doha. Photo by Mollie Bailey.

Twelfth in the order of go, Dreher sent the rest of the field chasing after him. Gregory Wathelet came closest on Oh d’Eole (that’s the horse McLain Ward was riding when he broke his knee back in 2012), and Portugal’s Luciana Diniz took third on Fit For Fun 13.

Gregory Wathelet and Oh d’Eole finished second in the $70,141 1.50-meter class today. Photo by Mollie Bailey.

“It was a great round,” said Dreher, who made his fourth trip to Doha for this win. “I had a really good rhythm I could always keep going. He felt fantastic. He has a really big stride and I could let him go everywhere. I was really forward and really fast—from Fence 7 to 8 I had one stride less and a really good distance to the last one.”

Luciana Diniz and Fit For Furn 13 galloped hard for third in the $70,141 1.50-meter CSI***** at Al Shaqab. Photo by Mollie Bailey.

Dreher plans to ride Colore, a Holsteiner stallion by Contender, again tomorrow, and Cool And Easy will compete in Saturday’s $548,069 grand prix.

Earlier in the day Laura Renwick led the victory gallop after winning the €25,000 1.45-meter speed class aboard Rembrandt Blue. The British rider said that mount specializes in just this type of competition—speed classes—and she brought him here specifically for this class. That stood as a major contrast to many riders who used the class as more of a warm-up for bigger prize-money competitions later in the competition.

Speed demon Laura Renwick topped the $27,403 1.45-meter Table C class today. Photo by Mollie Bailey.

“This is his forte; this is where he’s really comfortable,” she said. “Yesterday he was great and just had one fence down. I’m really happy. This is what I brought him here for and he did the job. He jumped well here last year and won the derby in [at the Dinard CSI***** (France)].”

Putting The CHI Al Shaqab In Context

The deadline for individual Olympic qualification ends March 6, and the CSI***** competition in Doha offers one last chance for riders from countries who aren’t already qualified to move up in the world rankings to earn an individual slot. So some riders—like Irishmen Bertram Allen and Denis Lynch—brought their top mounts in an effort to try to earn a ticket to Rio. Learn more about the qualification system for the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games here. 

Want more photos from the competition and around the showgrounds? Click here.