We meet four-time Aussie Olympian Edwina Tops-Alexander for a chat about the Paris Olympics and her horses at Doha’s Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines.
“I would love to go to another Olympics. I would love to do two more Olympics. I really hope these horses that I have now, these two very good horses, could be in contention,” says Edwina Tops-Alexander.
Watching Edwina compete with her 12-year-old mare Catenda at Qatar’s expansive Longines Arena, it’s mind-blowing to realise that next year she could be on her way to her fifth consecutive Olympic Games.
Twice finishing in the top ten for individual show jumping – at Hong Kong in 2008 and Rio in 2016 – she is one of the best known faces on the international circuit and one of the most celebrated Australian female equestrians ever, with a list of career highlights as long as Catenda’s tail, including being the first rider to win over €1 million on the Longines Global Champions Tour and, in 2018, winning the first ever LGCT Super Grand Prix Champion of Champions.
Not bad going for the former Sydneysider who took the leap of leaving our shores for Europe to further her career 25 years ago.
We sit down with Edwina during a break from competition at the 2023 Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab to discuss her Olympic preparations and her relationship with her horses, including her beloved “wonder horse” Itot du Chateau, the inspiration behind her new equestrian fine jewellery line and equine therapy foundation.
EQ LIFE: Great to see you again, Edwina. Tell us a little about the horses that you are working with this year.
EDWINA: Corelli [De Mies] is a new horse for me – I have only had him for five or six shows, but I am very excited about him. He is a very big horse, but with a lot of quality and a great mind. And I have been riding Fellow Castlefield for a year and a half now. He is a special horse but needs to be in gear. Those are the two I am focusing on for the season. They weren’t ready to come here to Doha, which is a shame, but it’s a long season.
My mare that I jump now, Catenda, has recently been very good [Edwina and Catenda won the Trophy Grand Prix Qualifier CSI3* in Oliva, Spain, in January] but she came to Qatar and her body is tense and she is not jumping as well as she probably can jump because she’s quite stressed in the ring.
EQ LIFE: How are you feeling about the build-up to the Paris Olympics, both as an individual competitor and for the Australian team?
EDWINA: We’ve got to qualify first, so that’s the number one goal. It’s honestly really hard to say because so much can happen. Horses can get injured or horses can develop quicker or horses can be on a really good path. I couldn’t say that I would have any kind of real understanding until a week to two weeks before, because it also depends on who we are competing against. It’s really important for us to get a grip on how the other horses and riders are performing, and to have the strongest team possible.
EQ LIFE: How does it feel to be preparing for your fifth Olympic Games?
EDWINA: Amazing! I would love to go to another Olympics. I would love to do two more Olympics. I really hope these horses that I have now, these two very good horses, could be in contention.
Tokyo was a real struggle, with a lot happening, and my horse wasn’t really in gear. I had a lot of shoeing problems, I was in hospital two weeks before with a very bad reaction from the Covid vaccination, so I was on heart pills for three months. [Edwina and Identity Vitseroel finished just outside the top 30 riders who went through to the final]. But you have to move on, go forward, stay strong and try to put our best foot forward. I think that’s very important for Paris.
EQ LIFE: You’ve recently launched an equestrian jewellery line, for which a percentage of revenue will go towards your new ITOT Foundation to support equine therapy projects for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. Both projects were inspired by your “horse of a lifetime” Itot du Chateau, or Toti, who overcame a serious accident when he was young to become a world-class champion show jumper. Tell us more.
EDWINA: It’s been something I have been thinking about doing for quite some time and have been working on for a couple of years now. I first wanted to create an equestrian fashion brand, but I felt there were so many, and this is a market where I can really express my stories and values around the sport a bit more, to give inspiration and connect the brand with the foundation.
Nobody had wanted to buy Itot at auction after his accident, but he became an amazing horse who gave me so much hope, inspiration and courage. It is important to me to give back, so I decided to create the ITOT Foundation, honouring Itot’s resilience and helping people with disabilities through equine therapy. The therapeutic benefits of simply being around horses are amazing and when experienced by people of all ages with physical or mental impairments the outcomes are life changing. It’s been fascinating and I have enjoyed every minute of starting this project.
We have only recently launched, so at the moment we are busy with one particular place in Belgium, not far from Valkenswaard, called Sint Oda, a live-in facility for around 250 people, ranging from 1 to 90. It’s an incredible facility with a lot of different activities, and the number one activity is equestrian. Their small equine therapy centre, which the foundation supports, has developed some great ideas which I think would be fantastic for other facilities to build. They have a walker which enables people who can’t ride to lay on a bed on top of the horse and feel the movement. You can see by the reactions how soothing it is.
EQ LIFE: Would you consider supporting equine therapy projects in Australia?
EDWINA: I am very open to look into other places. I would be more than happy to be involved in somewhere in Australia, that would make sense for me.
I am also really proud we are supporting the Young Riders’ Series and to see that growing [Edwina and her husband Jan Tops, the founder of the Longines Global Champions Tour, started the national series to encourage and inspire young Australian riders in 2018].
EQ LIFE: Your five-year-old daughter Chloe has been travelling to shows with you since she was a baby. Would you be happy if she decides to follow you into the ring?
EDWINA: I would be very happy if she does, and I wouldn’t mind at whatever level, but I would also be very happy if she doesn’t. Chloe’s here with me in Doha and has been riding every day and having lessons. She’s horse crazy. She follows, she watches, she knows all the riders, she knows what teams they are on, and the names of all the horses.
But I don’t want to put pressure on her: I know how tough this sport is and what it takes and that, if you want to do it, you have to give 200%. It’s important to me that she understands and gets a taste for it, and then she can decide. I would also be happy if she just wants to ride for fun.
EQ LIFE: You were back in Australia for a short visit in January, when you attended Magic Millions. Any plans to return again soon?
EDWINA: I would love to go back for Christmas and go up to Magic Millions for three to four days, but there’s no definite plans yet.
“Smoothness is generally faster.”
EDWINA’S TOP JUMP-OFF TIPS
Start with a very good rhythm and aim to keep the same rhythm the whole way around.
Smooth and slick is very important, because smoothness is generally faster; you cover the ground and give the horse more time to jump and stay focused.
Take out strides when you can.
Think ahead about turns where you may have to go a bit wider or where you can make up the time and turn shorter.
Try to watch horses that are similar to yours. If you have the opportunity, see where the fast ones are going, stay on that line and try to be a little slicker. EQ
Dawn Gibson-Fawcett was flown to Doha by Qatar Airways as a guest of The Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines.
