Edwina Alexander’s road to WEG: a disappointing World Cup final

The past month has been a real rollercoaster with quite a few shows and the Rolex FEI World Cup Final. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good in myself and I’m trying to get as much rest as possible, but not doing too much isn’t the easiest thing in the world at the moment!

I was up at 4am last Wednesday morning to go to Copenhagen for a photo shoot and got back home at about 1am the following morning. I was then up very early to jump five horses ahead of the four-day show in Mannheim, so I haven’t had as much rest as I would have hoped for!

Itot (Cevo Itot Du Château)

Itot was a completely different horse when he arrived in Geneva for the Rolex Final compared to how he was in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Paris. I’m not quite sure what happened but his back was causing him a lot of discomfort; maybe he rolled in his box, but I really didn’t know what the problem was at the time.

In hindsight I shouldn’t have jumped Itot on the second day of the Final, and I was thinking that before I went into the ring; sometimes you should trust your instincts. After the round my osteopath took a look and said that one of his joints was a little bit out, so it was just a case of putting that back in. Thankfully, after one week of just walking, being on the lunge and some massage, he’s much better. I did some small jumps with him this morning and he’s feeling like his old self again.

Rolex FEI World Cup Final

The Rolex FEI World Cup Final was a fantastic experience and in my opinion it’s one of the most beautiful indoor shows in the world. I stayed at a fantastic hotel which was right opposite the showground, which was lovely and also extremely convenient when I needed to practice or get to my classes!

I was typically doing some light riding every morning between 7 – 8.00am to get the horses loose and relaxed, and I think I rode once at lunchtime as the classes weren’t until the evening. Outside of that I watched a little bit of the other classes, did a bit of reading and went for a few walks to try and stay as relaxed as I possibly could.

I was obviously disappointed with my result in the Rolex FEI World Cup, but Socrates’ (Cevo Socrates) performance and second place in the Grand Prix was a great consolation; he always seems to pull something out when it matters.

What’s next…?

This weekend I’m taking out four horses, including one that I’ve only ridden once and don’t know at all! It will give some of my younger, less experienced horses a chance to step up another level, and I aim to do that at least once every three weeks with those horses at that stage of their education. My focus now is very much on the Global Champions Tour.

Edwina Alexander, Olympic and World Equestrian Games Jumper, is a friend of Rolex. Edwina will be competing at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

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