Brash is best in Geneva as he lands the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final
Monday 15 December 2025
Displaying his signature ice-cool demeanour, Scott Brash scored victory with Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham’s Hello Chadora Lady in the Rolex International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) Top 10 Final in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final was unveiled in 2001, bringing together the top 10 riders of the world to recognise the achievements of the 10 finest showjumpers of the world. The traditional two round competition format is contended over two different 1.60m courses, and in a tense showdown, it came down to only two riders – the World’s top two – who provided flawless rounds to make the clock count every tenth of a second, World Number 2 Scott pitted against World Number 1, The USA’s Kent Farrington – both previous winners of this title.
Kent – winner in 2015 (Voyeur) and 2019 (Austria 2) is a formidable opponent against the clock and was out for his third win on Toulayna and looked to be on target to achieve his aim with the fastest clear round in round one. And, with the riders drawn in reverse order of merit in round two, Kent had bagged the favoured final draw.
Nevertheless, only the time in round two counted, and penultimate drawn Scott set the target with the first double clear. It was not without an anxious hold-your-breath moment, as on negotiating the rollback from the wall to a vertical, the feisty but athletic 12-year-old Chadora Lady (Chacco-Blue x Nintender) locked on to the double. But Scott remained calm and steered her onto the correct route and, although they were a little deep, she did everything to clear the tall vertical and gallop onto the next.
There was only Kent between Scott and victory. Had Scott left the door open with the error on the rollback turn?
Kent’s plan was to go smooth and rely on Toulayna’s natural quick pace, but caution and one extra stride to the final fence paid the price and victory slipped away. It left Rolex testimonee Scott to take the crown by 0.16 seconds, marking his second win after taking the title in 2014 aboard Helo Sanctos.
The classy Chadora Lady expressed her nature over every fence, hitting top speeds and flicking her heels away with each jump.
“She’s a really energetic horse and so quick and eager. The turn was my fault, but she was great, I’m delighted with her,” said Scott.
Donald Whitaker made his debut at CHI Geneva a winning one with Millfield Colette. Donald’s very first appearance at the Concours Hippique International De Geneve in the initial 1.60m Grand Prix qualifier will hold precious memories as he used his final draw to maximum effect to land victory in the Trophee De Geneve.
"I'm a little overwhelmed by my emotions," said Donald, "but yes, it's incredible. I've dreamed of a victory like this for a long time, and to achieve it on my first day here is unbelievable, fantastic.”
Forty-nine came forward to face the challenging 13-fence, 16-effort 1.60m course designed by Gerard Lachat (SUI and Gregory Bodo (FRA), but only nine found the key to return for the jump-off, although seven left all the fences intact but collected time faults. Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z early effort still held the lead when Donald entered the ring. As last to go, he gave it his all with the 12-year-old Cornet Obolensky x Clearway mare – bred in Britain by Sue Jaggar – and wiped an impressive 1.58 seconds off the leading time to take the win.
“When I walked the course, I found it very difficult, especially for a competition on the first day, to be honest,” added Donald. “This is my first time in Geneva. I've always dreamed of coming here. Of course, it's a very prestigious competition. It's a Grand Slam tournament, so you know it's important and difficult, but when I arrived, I was a little shocked; I realised that I was really here with the best riders and horses in the world!
"In the jump-off," he continued, "there were only nine of us. That meant we all had to give it our all! I was perhaps a little slow at the start, but then I had a very good turn towards the wall, and my mare just flew over it. The start of the tournament couldn't have been better. My mare is incredible. Whenever it counts, she seems to be successful, and sometimes I don't know how she does it!”
Jess Mendoza notched up a winning double. Jess topped Friday’s feature class of the day, the 5* 1.55m speed, with the 12-year-old Air Jordan Z x Indoctro mare In The Air tackling the 13-fence course – containing three doubles – with gusto to take a handsome 0.65 second win.
I-Cap CL Z came to the fore for Jess in an early, competitive 5* 1.40m speed, the I’m Special De Muze x Air Jordan 13-year-old outpacing their 86 rivals to edge into a win by 0.19 seconds.
Rachel Proudley jumped Guess Du Mont into third in the Under 25 Grand Prix. Twelve of the original 31 starters returned initial clears to access the jump-off, Rachel guiding the nine-year-old Chellano Alpha Z daughter to a podium third place 1.33 seconds behind the winner, Ireland’s Tim Brennan on Diadema Della Cacia.
Chad Fellows adds another win in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Credited with wins on the previous two weeks, Chad Fellows added another victory to his tally on his trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, winning the 4* 1.45m in Riyadh with Continent 7.
Fourteen riders came forward over German course-designer Peter Schumacher’s 12-fence, 14-effort 1.45m speed track but no-one could match Chad’s mid-draw effort on the Cordess 2 x Contendro I nine-year-old as they raced ahead to score an impressive win with more than nine seconds in hand.
However, Chad had to settle for second and third places in the 4* 1.45m Accumulator with Joker, the eight-year-old NPS Klooney (NPS Super Nova x Toulon) finishing 0.38 seconds behind the winning time. Chad eased Continent 7 into third, 1.02 seconds separating the two.
Millie Allen is a Grand Prix winner in Peelbergen
Millie Allen featured in two Grands Prix in Peelbergen, The Netherlands, winning the concluding 2* Grand Prix on Karel Cox Horses BV’s Quickly D VH Ijzerenlindehof.
A total entry of 68 started over Belgian course-designer Bart Vonck’s 13-fence, 16-effort 1.45m Grand Prix track but challenging questions reduced them to only six for the jump-off. Millie maxed on her final draw advantage with the Quint VH Maarlo Z x Nevado Van De Rostal nine-year-old mare to cut 0.18 seconds off the leading time, pushing The Netherlands’ Marc Houtzager (Loeca N.D.) and Germany’s Marcus Ehning (Stargold) into second and third respectively.
Millie missed out on a victory double and finished second in the Van Mossel Super Grand Prix with Viarca PS. The two-round competition was contended over a 13-fence 1.45m course with all 14 starters competing over both rounds, Millie and the nine-year-old Vivant x Diarado mare finishing in the runner-up position 0.59 seconds behind the winner, The Netherlands’ Kevin Jochems on Casquetto Van De Helle.
Luke Hill topped a 2* 1.40m two-phase with the seven-year-old stallion VDL Sambucci De Muze (Hunter’s Scendro x Vigo D’Arsouilles) beating 112 rivals to take the top spot by 0.17 seconds. Josh Hutchins was also a winner, heading the 63-strong Five and Six-year-old 1.20/1.30m two-phase by only 0.03 seconds on the six-year-old Oploo (Zambesi TN x Numero Uno).
Anna Edwards takes another win in Oliva Nova despite the weather affecting play
Atrocious weather marred play on the final week of the MET III Autumn tour in Oliva Nova, Spain, and the show finished on an anticlimax with the final day’s classes cancelled, but Anna Edwards notched up another earlier win to add to her exciting tally.
Fifty-six riders contended the Gold 1.40m speed but Anna outpaced the lot on Bina Ford’s Oxford V/D Witte Driesendijk, the 11-year-old Emerald x Echo Van Het Neerenbosch stallion racing ahead to win by 0.14 seconds.
Charlotte Walker also added victory to round off her successful three-week tour, winning the 28-strong Bronze 1.35m two-phase on the eight-year-old Masterpiece F (Harley x Burggraaf NV) with 1.12 seconds to spare.
Izac Ketteridge notched up a winning double on the Silver tour with the consistent seven-year-old Billy Du Montois daughter Billy Limelight, topping the 44-entry 1.25m speed with 1.03 seconds in hand. The pair stepped up to the 1.30m speed to beat 31 rivals by 0.58 seconds and pushed fellow Brit Tom Harrison into second on Ti Amo Van’t Elshout.
Lauren Edwards scored victory in the Bronze 1.30m Accumulator on Andrew Doswell’s seven-year-old Deputy (Diamant De Semilly x Sir Corland), winning by the narrow margin of 0.05 seconds.
Nick Channing-Williams and Harry Wainwright score wins
Elsewhere, in Kuwait, Nick Channing-Williams won the Kuwait Airlines Medium Tour 1.35m Final on the Grand Pilot I 10-year-old Gandalf by 0.71 seconds in a seven-horse decider, and Harry Wainwright topped a 76-strong 1* 1.30m speed in Lier, Belgium, with the It’s the Business x Cantero 16-year-old Pinheiro Beech by 0.10 seconds.
Image: Jenny A for World of Showjumping
