Harry CharlesOlympian

About Harry Charles

Harry Charles (born 15 July 1999) is a British showjumper from Alton, Hampshire, and one of the defining riders of his generation. The son and pupil of London 2012 Olympic team champion Peter Charles, he grew up riding at the family's Heathcroft Farm with his sisters Scarlett and Sienna, both international riders, and was taken through the youth ranks by his father, who remains his principal trainer.

Between 2015 and 2017 he won five official European youth medals with Vivaldi du Dom - two individual silvers, a team silver and two team bronzes. The golds he won on the field at the 2018 Young Rider Europeans were later annulled after both of Vivaldi du Dom's samples tested positive for lidocaine, a controlled medication under FEI rules; Charles accepted the FEI's administrative procedure, which carried automatic disqualification from the event, a fine and no suspension. His family attributed the positive to accidental transfer from a human skin cream, an explanation that was not separately adjudicated because no Tribunal hearing was requested.

His senior rise was rapid: a five-star debut at Aachen at 19, Rolex Testimonee at 20 - the youngest in equestrianism - and an Olympic debut at Tokyo in 2021 with Romeo 88, reaching the individual final. A breakthrough London International in December 2021 brought the World Cup and the Grand Prix in the same week on different horses, and by January 2022 he was world No. 1 under 25. With Romeo 88 he finished fourth at the 2022 World Cup Final in Leipzig and won team bronze at the Herning World Championships - Britain's first world team jumping medal since 1998.

At Paris 2024, riding with two fractures in his wrist and arm sustained in a fall at Aachen a month earlier, he jumped clear in the team final as Britain took Olympic gold - twelve years after his father won the same medal alongside two of the same teammates. Ranked 11th into the individual final, he withdrew when Romeo 88 showed a small overreach, saying he would not take a risk with a horse who was not fully fit. Romeo 88 was retired in April 2025.

After a quieter rebuilding year - during which he married Eve Jobs in the Cotswolds in July 2025 and helped Britain win the 2025 League of Nations Final in Barcelona with Sherlock - his 2026 season has revived strongly: a Grand Prix win in Doha with Casquo Blue, a four-win streak with Bandit, and a triple-clear League of Nations victory at Rotterdam with new ride LT Holst Freda, with whom he was named in Britain's definite squad for the World Championships in Aachen in August 2026.