Text © World of Showjumping

Iron Dames Dubai du Cedre (Baloubet du Rouet x Diamant de Semilly, bred by Perrine Cateline and Sylvain Pitot) has been sold to Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation now listed as the owner in FEI's database.

Germany’s Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann took over the reins on Dubai du Cedre from France’s Julien Epaillard in September 2024, when the now 12-year-old mare was sold to Deborah Mayer’s Iron Dames equestrian team. 

“Thank you Dubai,” Meyer-Zimmermann wrote on social media. “I wish our time together would have been longer but unfortunately now we have to say goodbye. We only got to know each other for less than one year but I will keep you in my heart as a true queen! You are brave like a lion with the biggest heart and fighting spirit but still the kindness of a little pony. Together we won the Global Champions League in Doha, have been clear at the Nations Cup in Rome and placed in the Grand Prix‘s of Doha, Arezzo, Rome, Valkenswaard and Gijón. Thank you Deborah @irondameseq for the trust and the time you gave us!” 

Before Meyer-Zimmermann took over the ride on Dubai du Cedre, the mare was hugely successful with Epaillard. In 2023, Dubai du Cedre and Epaillard topped the CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix in Prague, as well as the CSI5*-W Longines Grand Prix in Lyon and claimed individual bronze at the FEI European Championships in Milan. The pair then started 2024 by winning the CSI5*-W 1.60m Grand Prix in Amsterdam, and in August the two were part of the French team that claimed bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – to mention just a few of the many successes they enjoyed during their time together, before the mare was sold.