November 2, 2025 
Olivier Perreau plays the long game.
The French breeder, 39, solves for a “good mind and good heart” with the 12 foals he produces each year. His homebred mare GL Events Dorai d’Aiguilly possesses both—and then some.
“I always knew she had championship qualify,” Perreau told World of Showjumping in 2024. “I have ridden her since she was four, and every jump she did in her life has been with me. She is a fantastic horse, she is very intelligent, has a slot of scope and when you jump a big class with her, it all feels easy for her. In addition, she is careful… in my opinion she is a crack of a mare.”
Perreau put in the work, too. Produced slowly by the Frenchman, the mare did not compete at young horse finals from ages four to seven in order keep her in good form for her peak career at ages 10 to 16.
That early investment is paying dividends.
In 2023, Dorai d’Aiguilly took Perreau to his senior team debut at the European Championships. One year later, they represented France at the Paris Olympics. On Sunday, they claimed their first five-star title with the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup of Lyon, the second leg of the 2025/2026 Western European League.
Topping an eight-horse jump off and all French podium, Perreau and his homebred Selle Français (Kannan x Toulon) mare bested the ever speedy Julien Epaillard by eight hundredths of a second.
“I’m very happy to finally win the Grand Prix here in Lyon. It was one of my main objectives. I didn’t do the jump-off like I had initially planned but luck was on my side. I tried to give it my best shot by going as fast as I could and staying calm at the end,” said Perreau.
“Winning here with a mare that I bred myself makes the victory even more special. It’s true that breeding horses is still my main job. I won my first 5* Grand Prix with [homebred] GL Events Venizia d’Aiguilly. It’s fantastic, now I’m going to think about trying with my third horse,” he laughed.
“Looking to the future, the World Cup is not an objective for me. After two intense seasons leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, things have slowed down a bit. I may not have made the best choices in my schedule, but now my horse is back in great form. I’ll try to manage her as best I can.”
The World Cup next heads to Verona (ITA) for leg three on November 9th.
