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Peter Charles – Principal Rider for Team Murka


Born: 18 January 1960
British Rank: 10 on BS List 355 1 December 2010 – 30 November 2011
World Rank:103 on Rolex List 132 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011
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Peter Charles has committed his life to the business of show jumping and the management of world class championship horses. As a double European show jumping champion and triple winner of the British Jumping Derby, Peter’s dedication and professionalism is legendary.

Born in Liverpool, England, Peter debuted at the early age of 21 at the Hickstead Derby. After three decades of international competition, Peter’s desire for success is still as strong as it was at the beginning of his career and he has now won over 50 grands prix to date.

Peter began competing for Ireland in 1992 and had a spectacular year in 1995. He was on the winning team at three of the most prestigious Nations Cups in the world at Aachen, Dublin and the Spruce Meadows. His crowning moment was when he won Individual Gold at the European Championships at St Gallen, Switzerland, where he rode La Ina. This was Ireland’s first equestrian medal in over 30 years at senior level and the country’s first equestrian gold medal.

He finished eighth in the individual competition at Atlanta Olympic Games with Beneton in 1996, and went on to Calgary to win one of show jumping’s most coveted of prizes, the 230,000 Canadian Dollars Du Maurier Grand Prix. To win this Grand Prix, he was the only rider to jump a double clear round in front of a record attendance of 52,000 with La Ina. He also took the Leading Rider of the Show Award, to make it his biggest ever pay day in show jumping.

In 2001, Peter won the La Baule and Hickstead Derbys with Corrada before winning European team gold at Arnhem, the Netherlands, with the mare. The pair retained their Hickstead Derby title in 2002 and 2003, becoming part of an elite group of multiple winners of one of the toughest show jumping classes in the world.

Peter became Team Murka principal rider in 2005. His horses can be easily identified by their Murka prefix.

During his recovery from a broken vertebrae sustained during a fall at a British national competition in 2007, Peter reverted back to British nationality.

Throughout 2008 and 2009 he was one of Britain’s strongest performers on Super League/Meydan Nations Cup teams, consistently jumping clear rounds. As a result, he was selected to represent Britain at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor with Murka’s Pom D’Ami. In 2010, the pair have been the strongest British performers in the Meydan Nations Cup series.

In 2009, Peter also won Hickstead’s £50,000-to-the-winner King George V Gold Cup with Murka’s Pall Mall. This made him the only winner of both of Britain’s richest grands prix, having won the Glasgow International feature class in 1994 with La Ina.

When out of the saddle, Peter enjoys spending time with his family and remains a loyal supporter of Liverpool Football Club “the only team for him”.
Peter’s son Harry, 11, also supports The Reds, and along with his sister Scarlett, 10, is now enjoying a successful pony show jumper.

When time permits, Peter also indulges in the occasional game of golf. in 2009, he won the Portuguese Pro/Am championship with professional golfer David Howell and Stephen Penny, a former Northern Ireland international footballer.
“We won by a whopping 23 under par,” says Peter. “It was a great experience and something I look forward to doing again.”

Nations Cup appearances: 111
Championship gold medals: 2
Olympic appearances: 2
World championships appearances: 3
European championship appearances: 3

Major Achievements:

2011

  • Olympia, Britain CSI*****W: 3rd Grand Prix (Murka’s Nevada)
  • Hartpury, Britain CSIN: 1st Grand Prix (Murka’s Nevada)
  • Spruce Meadows, Canada CSIO*****: 3rd Finning Welcome (Murka’s Vindicat W)
  • Spruce Meadows, Canada CSI**W: 1st Table A (Murka’s Nevada IV)
  • Falsterbo, Sweden CSIO****NC: 1st SEB Cup (Murka’s Vindicat W)
  • Hickstead, Britain CSI****: 1st Derby Trophy (Murka’s Nevada IV)
  • Hickstead, Britain CSI****: 1st Derby Trial (Murka’s Vindicat W)
  • Hartpury, Britain CSN: 2nd – GP (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Vejer de la Frontera, Spain CSI***: 1st – GP (Murka’s Pom d’Ami)
  • Vejer de la Frontera, Spain CSI***: 4th – two phase (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Top League Nations Cup team member (Murka’s Nevada VI), La Baule 4th (5/5), Rome 4th (5/5), Falsterbo 7th (8/4)
  • Nations Cup team member (Murka’s Nevada VI), Spruce Meadows 4th (1/1)

2010

  • Salzburg, Austria CSI****: 2nd – GP (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Salzburg, Austria CSI****: 1st – Amedia Hotel Masters (Murka’s Nevada)
  • HOYS, Britain CSI***: 2nd – Zinc Management Trophy (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Meydan Nations Cup team member (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), La Baule 2nd (0/0), Rome 3rd (0/4), St Gallen 3rd (1/4), Rotterdam 2nd (0/1), Aachen 8th (4/4), Hickstead 1st (1/1), Dublin 5th (8/12))
  • Winter Equestrian Festival, Florida USA, 1st Suncast 1.50m Challenege (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)

2009

  • London Olympia, Britain CSI*****W: 1st – six-bar (Murka’s Midnightlady), 3rd Ivy Stakes (Murka’s Nevada)
  • Liege, Belgium CSI**: 3rd Grand Prix (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Hickstead, Britain CSIO***** (TL NC): 1st King George V Gold Cup (Murka’s Pall Mall)
  • Hickstead, Britain: 2nd Queen Elizabeth Cup (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Wellington, Florida CSI**: 1st & 3rd Grand Prix (Pall Mall & Pom’d’Ami), 1st Grand Prix (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • Wellington WEF, Florida: leading rider
  • Birmingham, Britain CSI***: 1st Philip Billington Memorial stakes (Murka’s Nevada)
  • Dublin, Ireland CSIO***** (TL NC): 1st six-bar (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Calgary, Canada CSIO*****: 1st six-bar (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Meydan Nations Cup team member: La Baule 9th, St Gallen 5th, Hickstead 7th, Dublin 2nd= (Murka’s Pom D’Ami); Falsterbo 5th
  • Aachen 10th (Murka’s Pall Mall)
  • Nations Cup team member: Wellington 2nd, Calgary 7th (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • South of England: 1st & 3rd International Stairway (Murka’s Pall Mall & Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Hartpury: 2nd Gold Tour final (Murka’s Rubert R)

2008

  • Arezzo, Italy CSI*****/**: 2nd Class 7 (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), 2nd Class 16 (Murka’s Nevada)
  • Dublin, Ireland CSIO***** (SSL): 1st Dublin Stakes (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • Estoril, Portugal CSI*****: 2nd Class 5 (Murka’s Pall Mall)
  • Madrid, Spain CSIO***** (NC): 1st Class 5 (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), 1st Class 11 (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Windsor, Britain CSI***: 1st Class 83 (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • Wellington, Florida CSI***: 2nd WEF Challenge (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • Nations Cup team member: Madrid 3rd (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Samsung Super League Nations Cup team member: St Gallen 5th, Aachen 3rd, Dublin 1st, Barcelona final 6th (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Vicarage Farm: 2nd 1.40m Open (Murka’s Rubert R)
  • Bolesworth Castle: 3rd Small Grand Prix (Murka’s Pall Mall)

2007

  • Vimeiro, Portugal CSI***: 2nd Banco ESP (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Lisbon, Portugal CSIO**** (NC): 1st TAP (Murka’s Johhny Jumper)
  • 1st Barclays class (Murka’s Idle Dice), 2nd Duarte Silva (Murka’s Pom D’Ami)
  • Comporta, Portugal CSI***: 1st Class 4 (Murka’s Idle Dice), 1st Class 12 (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), 2nd Grand Prix (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), 3rd Class 4 (Murka’s Johnny Jumper), 3rd Class 14 (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Gijon, Spain CSIO*****(NC): 1st Class 12 (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Hickstead Derby, Britain CSI****: 2nd Class 1 (Murka’s Pom D’Ami), 3rd Class 8 (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Aldershot Horse Show: 3rd 1.40m (Murka’s Rock Star)
  • Royal Windsor: 2nd Speed Stakes (Murka’s Rock Star), 2nd Grand Prix (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • South of England: 3rd Renault Jump (Murka’s Pom’d’Ami)
  • Oxford Area Show: 1st & 3rd Area Trial (Murka’s Johnny Jumper & Murka’s Idle Dice)

2006

  • Vejer De La Frontera, Spain CSI***: 3rd Class 73 (Murka’s Cairo), 1st Class 80 (Murka’s Rockstar), 1st Class 62 (Murka’s Sandokan), 1st Class 62 (Murka’s Angel), 1st Class 63 (Murka’s Cairo), 1st Cadena Ser B (Murka’s Rockstar)
  • Hickstead Derby, Britain CSI****: 2nd Derby Tankard (Murka’s Panthera)
  • Berkshire Area Show: 3rd Area Trial (Murka’s Rockstar)
  • New Forest & Hants Country: 2nd Grand Prix (Murka’s Rockstar)
  • Royal Lancashire Show: 2nd Open Championship (Murka’s Johnny Jumper), 2nd Grand Prix (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)
  • Arena UK Festival: 2nd Star of the Future final (Murka’s Sandokan), 3rd Grand Prix (Murka’s Johnny Jumper)

Major international results pre-2006

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