March 30, 2026 
No rider forgets where they were when they earned their first 5* 1.60m victory. But for France’s Cyrine Cherif, you can bet that memory will carry some extra-special weight.
After jumping in her first-ever 5* 1.60m ranking classes just last winter at Al Shaqab, Cherif made good this season, taking a hometown win in the Al Shaqab Cup Grand Prix on Sunday, March 29 in Doha. Competition resumed in Al Shaqab last week after the war in Iran forced the cancellation of major show jumping events in the country, including the Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha, two weeks earlier.
On Sunday, Cherif piloted the 10-year-old OS gelding Triple T Calamando Blue to victory three years after she began campaigning him in Young Horse classes in Valkenswaard. The pair was one of only two combinations including Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (QAT) to jump clear on Yousif Al Mahmoudi’s 13-obstacle, first-round track.
In the jump off, Cherif put in a second, fault-free performance, stopping the clock at 42.51 seconds. Al Ajami was faster (40.99 seconds) but pulled a rail with the 10-year-old Belgian gelding, Wathnan Quatro. The USA’s Kristen Vanderveen finished third on the podium with a single time fault aboard Bull Run’s Jireh.
“There were a lot of great riders today. It was still a tough competition,” Cherif, who is sponsored by the Ajwad Equestrian Team, said after the class. “You could see that some also had the chance to win, but they had an unlucky rail or a time fault. So it was competitive.”
Cherif, 33, typically competes in Europe during the summer months but has been based in Doha for more than 15 years. She came up the ranks under the tutelage of French rider, Cedric Triolet.
As a FEI Level 2 Coach, herself, Cherif has worked as a show jumping instructor at Al Shaqab and regularly shares jumping exercises, industry expertise, and access to her instructional E-books on her sister-page, The Show Jumping Blog, which has more than 62,000 followers.
“Winning my first 5* Grand Prix with this incredible horse feels so special. What makes it even more special is that I’ve been riding him since he was 7, building him step by step to this level. Watching him grow, believing in him, and now sharing this together… it means everything,” Cherif wrote on Instagram after her victory.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who’s been part of this journey—my team, my grooms, my trainer … and all the people working behind the scenes every single day. This victory is yours as much as it is mine.”
