As you read this, Edwina Tops-Alexander is probably opening a second bottle of champagne, but after all she did just win the Miami Grand Prix.
This was the first round of the Global Champions Tour, and she hasn’t won since Monaco 2014. It’s good to see an Australian rider back on top again, but we can’t blame her for her lack of GCT wins in the last two seasons.
Edwina retired Itot in 2014, her most decorated horse, and the mental stress of that must have had a toll on Edwina, which is completely understandable.
Ending a partnership with your horse that has carried you to GCT season wins and two Olympic Games is extremely tough. That’s why her win at Miami is so special and will cherish in the minds of Australian showjumping and Edwina Tops-Alexander fans forever.
On the Thursday the first 5* classes were contested, setting the benchmark for the rest of the weekend. The first 5* class was a two phase competition, against the clock.
England’s Ben Maher took home the win of the first class, on the gelding Aristo Z with a time of 25.39.
The second class was won by Italian rider Emanuele Gaudiano, setting a time of 60.25.
On Friday the third class was won by German David Will On Mic Mac, with a time of 51.43.
The second class was won by another German, Daniel Deusser riding Clintop 2, with a time of 38.02.
Many big names didn’t make it in, including Kent Farrington (USA), Scott Brash (Eng) and others.
In the end of the second phase the six fastest riders made it in. It was a quick and extremely challenging course. In the final minutes McLain Ward set a fast time of 35.78 on HH Azur. The only contender left was Tops-Alexander.
With the spotlight set on Edwina and her mare Tequila, she did the unbelievable and set a time of 34.59, and beat McLain Ward and won the Grand Prix, her first GCT Grand Prix win since 2014.
As she stood on the podium, with the Australian flag displayed behind her, one could feel the emotion, even if it was behind the pixels of a led screen. As mentioned before, it’s great to see an Australian rider winning again.
Congratulations Edwina, let’s hope you can repeat 2012.
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