November 3, 2025 
Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli may have a crystal ball at home. When the Swedish Grand Prix rider stopped by the GCTV studio to give her pick for the winner of the 11-horse jump-off in the LGCT Grand Prix of Riyadh on November 1—Halloween weekend, appropriately enough—Madame Augustsson Zanotelli had just one combination in mind.
Despite a speedy startlist that included the likes of Simon Delestre (FRA), Gilles Thomas (BEL), and Harrie Smolders (NED), the Swedish rider gave her vote to 33-year-old Jana Wargers of Germany and Dorette OLD.
As it turned out, Augustsson Zanotelli was spot-on: Wargers and the 16-year-old Oldenburg mare didn’t just win the class, they left the rest of the field in their wake, dashing through the timers two full seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.
“I had the feeling my mare was really on it,” Wargers said of the penultimate, curving jump-off line back to a tall and delicate GC vertical, which required riders to come in on just the right angle.
“[By that point], I also had the feeling that I didn’t have that much control left,” Wargers explained, smiling. “Luckily, I got a good distance, so I had a good shot there, and she just carried me around like she always does. She is so special to me.”
Last to go in the jump-off round, Wargers hit the gas and, with the exception of a single fence, didn’t let up—her brave, chestnut mare answering every question, and then some. “I had the feeling I was on it—I had the feeling I was fast enough—so I took a little bit of a longer way to the second-last vertical just to make sure she got a good jump there,” Wargers explained.
“But I know how fast she is, in general, and I got really good [spots] everywhere, so I was pretty sure if I [kept] on it now, then that would be enough.”
Fast Dorette is, according to Jumpr Stats, where she and Wargers jump clear at 42% in 53 rounds at 1.60m+ but finish in the top 10 52% of the time. Their performance on November 1 secured not only Wargers’ career-first 1.60m 5* Grand Prix victory and the €168,300 purse, but also the coveted, final ticket to the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Prague November 20-23.
For Wargers, there was no question which horse she would select for the occasion. “Dorette is my main horse, and she’s incredible, and in such good shape,” she said. “She’s 16 years old and she feels so, so good, so she will definitely be the choice for Prague.”
Interestingly enough, while their partnership today appears nothing less than seamless, it wasn’t always that way between Wargers and Dorette, who came onto the German rider’s string three years ago. “Having a close relationship with your horse is very important and Dorette is a good example of this,” Wargers told World of Showjumping in early 2024, explaining that when the mare first came to her from Ireland, she was a challenging combination of energetic and sensitive.
“In the beginning, she didn’t trust me. I thought about it a lot; I tried to figure out what I could do to make her happy and get her to trust me. With some horses, you have a better relationship or a closer connection faster, while with others, it takes more time to build that bond.”
The solution? Giving Dorette the time she needed to settle in at horse shows while also tweaking her program at home. “With her, it is a lot about how we manage her; in the summer, she goes out in the field for almost the whole day, which she really enjoys, and I can feel how it helps her relax.”
Even back then, Wargers said, she felt that Dorette had the ability to compete at the very highest level of the sport. After Saturday’s performance, the showjumping world at large undoubtedly believes it too.
