Edwina Alexander

Birthdate: Mar 29, 1974
Weight: 50kg
Height: 164cm
Age: 35

Athlete Results

Equestrian

22/08	Individual Final Ranking	8 (10th)
19/08	Team Final Ranking	41 (9th)
18/08	Individual Qualifier	4 (2nd)

Athlete Profile

Profile

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Residence: Valkenswaard, Netherlands

Most influential person in career: Her partner Jan Tops and her parents.

Memorable sporting achievement: Finishing first at the 2005 Valkenswaard Grand Prix in the Netherlands, as it was on her home ground.

Hero / Idol: Her parents because they gave her every opportunity in life.

Awards and honours: In January 2008 she became the first woman to win the prestigious Zurich Grand Prix. Named Australian Rider of the Year for 1997, 2006 and 2007. At the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Achen, Germany she became the first Australian rider to appear in an individual showjumping final at the world championships.

Injuries: At the 2007 Estoril Grand Prix in Portugal she was thrown headfirst into a fence. She split her upper lip and her teeth sliced through her lower lip. In 2005 she broke her foot during a show in Arezzo, Italy and was out for three weeks.

Notes

Highlights

PINNED

During the 2005 Arezzo Grand Prix in Italy, her horse was startled by someone in the crowd opening an umbrella, reared and slipped on the wet concrete surrounding the show ring. She was pinned under the 500kg-horse and took its full weight every time it tried to regain its footing. She remained calm and took her partner's advice to climb on another horse and finish the competition despite breaking her foot.

FROM AUSTRALIA TO THE NETHERLANDS

In 1998 she moved to from Australia to Belgium to see if she could be a successful showjumper. She originally intended to stay in Europe for only six months, but returned in 1999 and rode for Belgian showjumper Ludo Philippaerts - who won an individual silver medal at the 2001 European Championships, for three years. Then in 2003 she moved to Stal Tops in Valkenswaard, Netherlands.