Global Champions Arabians Tour 2026: Venue Guide
2026 is only the second full season of the Global Champions Arabians Tour (GCAT), the Arabian horse beauty-show circuit unveiled on 7 December 2023 by Global Champions Group founder and president Jan Tops, alongside GCAT Chairman Faleh Al-Nasr. Modelled loosely on the travelling-tour format that built the Longines Global Champions Tour into show jumping's most recognised circuit, GCAT brings elite halter Arabian competition to a rotating slate of international host cities rather than staging it as a single fixed championship. The 2026 calendar runs across ten confirmed events split between two parallel circuits — GCAT Europe & Middle East and GCAT Americas — and culminates in the World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme, the season's title event, staged this year under the glass roof of the Grand Palais in Paris.
History
GCAT's inaugural 2024 season opened in Doha in February and went on to span seven countries across Europe and the Middle East — including Abu Dhabi and Muscat — with a prize pool in excess of €17 million, the highest ever offered in Arabian horse competition at the time. AJ Kayya (AJ Kafu x AJA Caprice) was crowned the season's top female, competing at all seven events and finishing on 140 points.
The 2025 season expanded to eight stages, adding Ajman, London and Prague to the calendar and increasing prize money across the European leg. That year also saw GCAT launch its Americas circuit for the first time, opening in Scottsdale, Arizona, before making its debut in Miami Beach. December 2025 brought the first-ever World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme, held in Doha with sold-out attendance and a €4,000,000 prize pool, bringing together the Gold, Silver and Bronze champions from both circuits for a season-ending title event.
For 2026, the Supreme moves to the Grand Palais in Paris, while the regular season consolidates to ten events — six in the Europe & Middle East circuit and three in the Americas — ahead of the November finale.
How Judging Works
Horses are judged on five criteria: type, head and neck, body, legs, and movement, assessed by an international panel of judges at each stage. Horses compete by gender and age group across six championship categories — yearling female, yearling male, junior female, junior male, senior female and senior male — with a winning horse and handler selected in each class at every event.
Points are awarded to the top ten horses in each category, plus the top ten handlers, accumulated across every GCAT event a combination enters through the season. Owners may register an unlimited number of owned horses per event, though leased horses are capped at one per participant per season. The Gold, Silver and Bronze champions from each of the six categories at every stage qualify directly to the World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme, where champions from both circuits compete head-to-head for the season's title.
Point System: Placing 1st – 20 points, Placing 2nd – 17 points, Placing 3rd – 15 points, Placing 4th – 13 points, Placing 5th – 12 points, Placing 6th – 11 points, Placing 7th – 10 points, Placing 8th – 9 points, Placing 9th – 8 points, and Placing 10th – 7 points.
The 2026 Calendar — Full Breakdown
GCAT Europe & Middle East
Abu Dhabi (UAE)
15–18 January 2026 | Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: The official four-day curtain-raiser for the 2026 season, staged at one of the region's most established equestrian venues.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
Doha (Qatar)
4–7 February 2026 | Katara Cultural Village | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: GCAT's Qatar leg, drawing a packed grandstand and a field of over 220 competitors.
● Official backing: Held under the patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Doha also hosted the inaugural World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme in December 2025, before the title event moved to Paris for 2026.
● Notable horses/owners: Gold Senior Male Champion D Shahhar, owned by Dubai Arabian Horse Stud and handled by Paolo Capecci.
Muscat (Oman)
31 March – 2 April 2026 | Venue not publicly confirmed | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: GCAT's Oman leg, extending the Europe & Middle East circuit into a third GCC market alongside Abu Dhabi and Doha.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
Monaco
9–10 July 2026 | Venue not publicly confirmed | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: A short two-day fixture on the Mediterranean, positioned midway through the European season.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
London (UK)
14–16 August 2026 | Royal Hospital Chelsea | Prize money: $636,000 total (approximately £472,000)
● The event: The fifth of six Europe & Middle East stages, drawing more than 90 pure-bred Arabians from around the world.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Gold Senior Stallion Champion D Shahhar (Dubai Arabian Horse Stud, handled by Paolo Capecci) — the same horse that topped the equivalent class in Doha earlier in the season.
Aachen (Germany)
26–27 September 2026 | Venue not publicly confirmed | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: The final Europe & Middle East leg before the Paris Supreme, staged in Germany's traditional home of elite equestrian sport.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
GCAT Americas
Scottsdale (United States)
13–15 February 2026 | WestWorld of Scottsdale | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: The Americas circuit's opener, staged under a dedicated show tent with an expanded arena and paddock footprint for 2026. Close to 150 horses competed across nine classes, with Scottsdale serving as an official qualifier toward the Paris Supreme.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
Miami Beach (United States)
9–11 April 2026 | 2100 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach | Prize money: share of $2.7 million across the full GCAT Americas circuit
● The event: The second GCAT Americas leg, run directly on the Miami Beach shoreline and welcoming over 80 horses and handlers from across the globe.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing. Event partners included Richard Mille, Doha Bank and Alex Nichols Agency (Official Horse Logistics Partner).
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
Las Vegas (United States)
2–4 October 2026 | Venue not publicly confirmed | Prize money not publicly confirmed
● The event: Closes out the Americas circuit ahead of the season-ending Supreme in Paris.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
World Arabian Horse Championship Supreme
Paris (France)
25–27 November 2026 | Grand Palais | Prize money not separately confirmed (2025 Doha edition: €4,000,000)
● The event: The season finale and the pinnacle of the GCAT calendar, staged inside the Grand Palais's historic glass-roofed hall. Gold, Silver and Bronze champions from both the Americas and Europe & Middle East circuits qualify directly.
● Official backing: Not publicly confirmed at the time of writing.
● Notable horses/owners: Not yet confirmed — to be updated once entries and results are published.
Why It Matters for the Gulf
Three of the ten 2026 legs sit inside the GCC — Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat — reflecting the Gulf's position as both a founding market and a home base for GCAT's leadership; Chairman Faleh Al-Nasr is Doha-based, and the Tour's inaugural World Championship Supreme was staged in Qatar under the patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. For GCC breeders and owners, GCAT offers a second major international points circuit alongside the long-established ECAHO show calendar, with the Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat legs doubling as home fixtures ahead of the Tour's move into Europe and the America.