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Individual Qualifier Disappointment for Australian Jumpers

 

Individual Qualifier Disappointment for Australian Jumpers

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AOC
Tokyo 2020 - Jumping

EQUESTRIAN: On the first day of the Jumping competition, our two Australian individual riders competed against the world's finest at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park.

The discipline of Jumping is an impressive test of precision, athletic ability and speed, with combinations tackling a course of 12-15 knock-able obstacles.

Seventy-three combinations lined up to contest the individual qualifier with only the top 30 advancing to the final on Wednesday night.

Edwina Tops-Alexander led the charge for Australia riding her horse Identity Vitseroel, competing in a record fourth Olympic Games in Tokyo, the only Australian Jumping athlete to achieve the milestone.

However, luck was not on Tops-Alexanders side as she knocked down one rail to incur a costly 4 penalties, finishing outside the qualification quota.

“To be honest I didn’t have the greatest warm up, she is a bit horse shy and she spotted another horse coming behind the fence and we had a little bit of a crash at the paddock.

“I have had a little bit of an issue with my thumb so I have got a cast on there, I was losing my reins all the time and it just felt a bit messy and to be quite honest considering the circumstances I was very happy with the way she jumped. She tried vey, very, very hard. It was a really, really light touch, really delicate,” explained Tops-Alexander.

Teammate, Katie Laurie riding Casebrook Lomond, who is making her Australian Olympic debut in Tokyo, elected to retire on course following a series of uncharacteristic rails.

“It wasn’t our best day. He just felt like he got a little bit stuck to the ground and he just wasn’t himself,” said Laurie.

Kirsty Pasto

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