PrintAustralian show jumper Edwina Alexander is preparing for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and she's agreed to a series of interviews and updates. Read about how her experiences on the Global Champions Tour and her thoughts on this year’s WEG.
Q. How have the past few months gone?
A. Cevo Itot du Château has recovered well from his slight injury, and we have both been very busy over the last couple of months on the Global Champions Tour and have competed in Cannes, France, (where I won with Itot, and was the only rider with three clear rounds), Monte Carlo, Monaco, Estoril, Portugal, and Chantilly, France. In Chantilly I came third and was beaten by two ladies—Laura Kraut of the United States and Pénélope Leprevost of France. He really feels back to his normal self, which is great, and he’s been jumping extremely well.
I went to the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco where we stayed with some friends and had a spectacular view as the cars came out of the tunnel. It was great to see a fellow Aussie (Mark Webber) win, although it was disappointing that the National Anthem was played a day late and not in Hamburg!
After the GCT round in Turin, Italy, I went to Wiesbaden in Germany where I had a really good show. On the first day I was second with Socrates (Cevo Socrates), and my young horse, Kisby (he’s an 8-year-old), was second in the young horses. The following day I won the final of the youngster tour, and Socrates was fourth in one of the other classes. Zorro rode in the grand prix and he was clear, but he just got a little bit green in the jump-off and he had a couple down, which was a shame.
Q. What are your plans coming up to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games?
A. Itot will have a month’s break after finishing up the GCT. He feels in really great shape and has been jumping well.
I’ve received an email from my Federation (Equestrian Australia) confirming that I am on the team for the WEG, and they also confirmed that if I have another horse that qualifies, then I am able to take it as well. I’m pretty set up for WEG, and I don’t really want to take another horse if it’s not 100 percent ready.
I recently sold four of my horses, including two that had qualified for WEG. On the back of those sales I just received a new 8-year-old (Ciske Van Overis) that has already qualified; she was seventh in the Grand Prix in Hamburg, Germany, with Guy Williams, and fifth with me in La Coruña, Spain. It’s not my plan to take her to WEG, but she will be a back-up in the meantime while Itot is doing his preparations.
Overall, I’m looking forward to going to WEG, and I fully appreciate how tough a competition it is. I personally think that WEG is the most difficult championship that we have in comparison to the Olympics, as I feel that it takes a lot more out of the horse.
Q. Tell us about the 2006 WEG In Aachen.
A. I have some fond memories of the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006, above all finishing in the top four. My goal then was to get into the top 25, so I thought I did pretty well to get to that point. My Federation is a very strong supporter of whichever program and direction I choose, but at the same time I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. Everyone has their aim and their goal, so I’ll try to do my best this year, and my goal is to finish in the top four again.
