Edwina tops-alexander biography

BIOGRAPHY

Edwina Tops-Alexander (born March 29, 1974, in Sydney, Australia), is Australia's leading show jumper and one of the highest ranked female riders in the world.

From a grounded background, Edwina has gone on to become not only the most decorated Australian female equestrian athlete of all time but one of the highest-ranking female riders in the world - with millions of Euros in prizes earned throughout her lengthy and impressive career.

Moving Halfway Around The World
In 1998, only three years after winning the highest honours available to a young Australian rider, Edwina decided to move halfway around the world in order to further her career and open up the opportunity to compete against more world-class riders.

Upon landing in Europe, she hit the ground running, working and competing for the Belgian rider Ludo Phillippaerts for several years before branching out on her own.

Olympic and WEG Success
Moving to Europe was clearly a good move for Edwina, as she has since gone on to have incredible success, representing Australia in the Olympics on three occasions, in Hong Kong in 2008, London in 2012, and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 - with two top ten placings.

She was the first Australian not only to qualify for the Final of the World Equestrian Games in 2006, she also won the semifinal, and while that would be impressive enough in itself - she then went on to finish in 4th place, proving that her belief that everything is possible as long as you keep believing in yourself will ring true - as long as you put the work in it.

Global Champions Tour

Competing in the Global Champions Tour (LGCT) since its inception back in 2006, Edwina has won the overall ranking in both 2011 and 2012.

She was the first rider to win over €1 million in prize money on the LGCT circuit, and in 2018 won the first-ever Super Grand Prix worth over €2 million in prize money.

Career Highlights
Edwina has consistently competed at some of the most significant even

Edwina Tops-Alexander is known as one of Australia's leading showjumpers and one of the highest-ranked female riders in the world. Her journey into the equestrian world was sparked by her neighbours, they owned a barn and would ride their horses on the weekend.

This caught Edwina’s interest and by eight-years-old she was riding in her local pony club.

Growing up in the north shore in Sydney, Edwina attended Pymble Ladies' College which instilled a solid education for her. However, her family always supported and believed in her riding and gave her every opportunity to further her career.

Once her competition career had started, it was clear that Edwina was destined for great things from her first forays in the sport. Her young career saw her win the coveted Australian Young Rider Championship in 1995.

In 1998, only three years after winning the highest honours available to a young Australian rider, Edwina decided to move halfway around the world to Europe. She began working and competing for the Belgian rider Ludo Phillippaerts. After several years of working with Ludo, and competing against world-class riders, she decided to branch out and work on her own.

At the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games, Edwina’s career took off when she became the Australian first rider to qualify for the jumping final, narrowly missing a medal and finishing fourth. Edwina also won the overall ranking at both the 2011 and 2012 Global Champions Tour (LGCT).

She has represented Australia at the Olympics on five occasions, at Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She has accumulated two top 10 placings from her Olympics appearances.

Another remarkable achievement held by Edwina was becoming the first rider to win more than €1 million in prize money on the LGCT circuit, and in 2018 she won the first-ever Super Grand Prix worth over €2 million in prizemoney.

In July 2023, Edwina, riding 14-year-old gelding Fellow Castlefi

Australian equestrian

Edwina Tops-Alexander (born 29 March 1974) is an Australian showjumper known for her participation in three Olympics, finishing in the top ten twice. She is the first Australian to place in the top 10 at the World Equestrian Games and the first rider to earn more than €1 million in prize money on the Global Champions Tour. She is Australia's most decorated female equestrian.

Tops-Alexander began riding at age eight through her local Pony Club. In 1995, she won the Australian Young Rider's Championship. She made her debut representing Australia in 1998, the same year that she moved to Europe. In 2000, Tops-Alexander met Dutch rider Jan Tops, who became her coach and later, her husband. In 2002, Tops-Alexander competed at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), hosted that year in Jerez, for the first time. In 2006, she placed fourth at WEG Aachen. That year, she also competed on the Global Champions Tour for the first time. She rode at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing ninth individually and helping Team Australia to a seventh-place finish. In 2010, she was the overall winner of the Global Champions Tour. In 2012 she competed at the London Olympics. In 2014 she became the first rider to earn more than €1 million in prize money on the Global Champions Tour. She competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, captaining the Australian showjumping team and finishing ninth individually. Tops-Alexander finished second, after Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, on the 2016 Longines Global Champions Tour.

Career

1982–1997: Young rider

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.

1998–2005: Move to Europe and professional beginnings

In 1998, wantin