Harry Charles (Athlete)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Harry Charles

• Harry Charles grew up in Liverpool, Great Britain.

• Harry started his professional equestrian career at the age of 14.

  

• Harry Charles was born into a showjumping family. His parents, Peter and Tara Charles, are both involved in the sport, and his sisters, Scarlett and Sienna, also compete in equestrian show jumping.

• His father, Peter Charles, represented Ireland in the jumping events at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and also won a gold medal as a member of the British team and two of Peter’s team-mates, Scott Brash and Ben Maher, jumped alongside Harry to win gold in Paris in 2024.

  

• At the age of 16, Harry beat his father Peter Charles to win the Welsh Masters and became the youngest rider to take the title.

• Harry made his five-star debut at the world-famous Aachen in Germany at the age of 18. Since then, he has broken into the world’s top 100 in the FEI rankings and has played a crucial role in the Miami Celtics team on the Global Champions Tour.

• In 2018, Harry Charles was awarded the Young Rider of the Year Award by the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, presented by the British Equestrian Writers Association.

• In that same year, he participated in his first Global Champions Tour team in London and jumped clear rounds against the world’s best riders.

  

• In an interview, Harry Charles mentioned that since starting his professional equestrian career, his favourite horses have been Romeo 88 and Sherlock. Since then, both have become his top partners for major championships.

  

•  In 2019, Harry was appointed a Rolex Testimonee, becoming their youngest ambassador in the sport.

• In 2020, Charles represented Great Britain at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, competing in both individual and team jumping events. He replaced Holly Smith at the last minute in the individual competition.

• In 2021, he had an incredible show at the London International Horse Show, where he achieved three 5-star wins, including the World Cup competition with Stardust and the Grand Prix with Borsato.

• At the 2022 International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) World Cup Final, Charles finished at number 4, which is rare for a rider at this age. He also won a bronze medal for Great Britain.

• In 2022, Harry joined the New York Empire as their U25 rider alongside superstars such as Scott Brash and Denis Lynch, Georgina Bloomberg and Spencer Smith. That same year, he was selected to represent the British team at the FEI European Championship in Milano.

• Harry played a key role in Great Britain’s bronze medal win at the World Showjumping Championships in Denmark in 2022, marking the country’s first global podium finish in the event since 1998.

• Harry is a regular participant in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup circuit, having helped the British team secure a win on home soil at Hickstead in 2023.

• In 2024, he was part of the British team that won the gold medal in show jumping at the Paris Summer Olympics, where he rode one of his favourite horses, Romeo 88.

  

• Two of his teammates, Scott Brash and Ben Maher, jumped alongside Harry to secure the gold medal in Paris. Interestingly, both Scott and Ben were also teammates of his father, Peter Charles, in the 2012 London Olympics.

  

• Harry Charles and his father, Peter Charles, are the first father-son combination to win Olympic gold for Team GB since 1948; rowers Dickie and Charles Burnell were the last to achieve this in 1908.

• Despite suffering a fractured arm after a fall at Aachen in July 2024, just four weeks before the Olympics. Charles competed with his arm strapped.

• Soon after the Paris Olympics, Harry won the London leg of the five-star Longines Global Champions Tour.

• In September 2024, Charles got engaged to his girlfriend Eva Jobs. Eva is the youngest daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. She is a heiress, model and showjumper.

• On 26 July 2025, Harry got married to Eva Jobs at the St Michael and All Angels Church in Great Tew, England. Their marriage was being planned like a military operation with an estimated cost of about $6.7 million (around ₹58 crore), making it one of the biggest celebrity weddings this year.

• Many famous guests were invited to their wedding, like former US Vice President Kamala Harris, Microsoft heirs Jennifer Gates and Phoebe Gates, Princess Beatrice, and Jessica Springsteen. Music legend Elton John also performed at the wedding.
• In an interview, Harry Charles mentioned that his father wanted him to play golf before he began to take showjumping seriously.

  

• Harry is an avid dog lover.

• He enjoys alcoholic drinks occasionally.