Edwina Tops-Alexander

Edwina Tops-Alexander

Edwina Tops-Alexander riding in 2013
Born (1974-03-29) March 29, 1974
Sydney, Australia
Nationality Australian
Alma mater Pymble Ladies College Australian College of Physical Education
Occupation Professional Showjumper
Years active 1998-Present
Known for 2016 Summer Olympics and winning The Global Champions Tour in 2011 and 2012
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 110 lb (50 kg)
Spouse(s) Jan Tops

Edwina Tops-Alexander (born 29 March 1974 in Sydney) is an Olympic-level equestrian rider, who competes for Australia. Her coach and husband is former Dutch champion Jan Tops. Originating from the Suburbs of Sydney, Australia, Edwina started riding when she was 8 years old. By 1995 she had won the Australian Young Riders Championship. Edwina Debuted for Equestrian Australia in Hong Kong, in 1996. She moved to Europe in 1998. She met Jan Tops in 2000. She uses the Netherlands as her base for most of the year at Stal Tops Valkenswaard. Starting from 2016, Edwina is also contracted with the Shanghai Swans Global Champions League Team. Edwina is regarded as the best Australian Showjumper to compete on the global stage ever, and is also one of the best riders competing on the Global Champions Tour. Edwina has broken many records, including being the first Australian to place inside the top 10 in the World Equestrian Games, and Edwina holds the record for the most money earned by a rider on the Global Champions Tour. Edwina has been competing in the Gct since 2006 and is a veteran of the series. Edwina was selected for Rio 2016, her third Summer Olympics. Edwina is the captain of the Australian Showjumping Team. Tops-Alexander came Second in the 2016 Longines Global Champions Tour, being beaten by Rölf Goran-Bengstonn.

Early riding

Alexander began riding at the age of eight. She became interested in horses because her neighbor had a barn and she watched them ride on the weekends. The Avondale Pony Club in North Turramurra, New South Wales was where she first began riding. In 1995 she won the Australian Young Rider Championships.[1] In 1998, wanting to ride against the top riders in the world, she moved to Europe, taking her horse, Mr. Dundee, with her to Belgium.[1] In 1999, before beginning her own company, she competed for Ludo Philippaerts, a famous show jumper, for about three years.[2]

Career

In 2006 in Aachen Germany, she became the first Australian to make the final of the individual jumping competition at the World Equestrian Games, where she finished fourth despite entering the competition as 35th in world show jumping rankings. Brussels, Valkenswaard, London, Zurich, Cannes, Geneva, Vigo, and Doha are just few of the places where Edwina has won Grand Prix shows. She was selected for the jumping events at the 2008 Summer Olympics where she rode Isovlas Itot du Chateau. She placed 9th in the individuals and 9th in the team competition.[2] She was the overall champion of the Global Champions Tour in both 2011 and 2012. Not only did she win twice in a row but she was the very first rider to win a total of one million euros of prize money on the tour.[3] Also in 2012, at the age of 38, she rode in the individual show jumping for Australia at the Summer Olympics. She rode Itot Du Chateau and finished in a time of 81.77s with 4 faults. This put her in 20th place for the individual competition and for them team competition Australia was 10th.[4] The current horses she rides and competes with are Guccio,an eleven-year-old dark bay stallion, Ego van Orti, a nine-year-old bay gelding, Erenice Horta, a nice year old grey BWP mare, Mel d'Argences, a 13-year-old bay Selle Francais mare by Quick Star and Vienna Olympic, a futhure star, an eight-year-old Holstein mare. In 2014 she retired Itot du Chateau in the global championships in Paris, he was the most successful of all her horses. Since retiring Toti in 2014, Edwina didn't have a successful season in 2014, failing to win one Gct Grand Prix. In 2015 she had a far better season, with consistent results. In 2016 Edwina won the Miami Beach Grand Prix, the first Gct round of the season. Edwina placed ninth in the Individual Showjumping during the 2016 Summer Olympics, with Lintea Tequila.

Team career

The Global Champions League team Shanghai Swans announced late February 2016, that they had acquired Edwina Tops-Alexander to ride in the team during the 2016 Global Champions League Season, alongside Ben Maher, Alexandra Thornton, Janne-Friederike Meyer, and Jessica Springsteen. Edwina and Janne won the Gcl round in Mexico City, 2016, the teams best result. Maher left the team in August 2016, and has been replaced by Samantha Mcltosh.

Personal life

Alexander attended Pymble Ladies College, in Sydney. She attained a Bachelor of Physical Education at the Australian College of Physical Education in 1995.[3] In September 2011 she married Jan Tops who was also her trainer.[5] Edwina is a dual citizen of Australia and the Netherlands and speaks some Dutch, but primarily speaks English and has retained her Australian accent. Edwina still competes for Australia even though she has been living in the Netherlands for 20 years. She is openly proud of her roots in the Suburbs of Sydney.

She suffered a serious fall in 2007 during a Grand Prix in Estoril, Porutgal, and split her lip. In 2012 she suffered a broken wrist and a concussion after falling, during a show in France.

Tops-Alexander is the most successful Female and Australian Showjumper. Edwina is also a strong advocate for Women in Sport, and was the Magic Millions Racing Women ambassador for 2014. In an interview in 2015, Edwina states that she does not see Showjumping as "Men against Women". She says she sees it as "Horses against Horses".

Endorsements

The well-known designer label, Gucci, formerly sponsored Edwina until ceasing Sponsorship with all the brands riders in 2016. Tops-Alexander is sponsored by Equifit inc. and is endorsed by Adidas during the Summer Olympics. Connoly's Red Mills sponsors Edwina, And all her horses will be fed by this company for each of their individual needs. Edwina is also an ambassador for Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Swiss watch company.[6]

Style and public impact

Tops-Alexander has a strong interest in fashion and has made a permanent mark on Equestrian Style. She has also become one of the most recognisable athletes competing in Professional Showjumping.

Representing Australia

Edwina has represented Australia at the 2008,2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. She also represented Australia at the 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Equestrian Games. Since April 2016, Edwina has ceased wearing Gucci clothing during competition and wears the Australian flag on her Jacket and Saddle Pad. Edwina was selected for the Rio 2016, her third Olympics. Even though Edwina doesn't compete in Australia, she has a huge Australian and International fan base.

References

  1. 1 2 Rotterdam, Yuna,. "Edwina Alexander". Edwinaalexander.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Edwina Alexander". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Australian Olympic Committee: London 2012". London2012.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
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