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THE HORSE’S MOUTH
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‘ ‘ It was literally a match made in horse-heaven... The partnership has allowed that talent to blossom.
As she became better-known in Europe, and the winner’s podium became a regular event for her, another side to Edwina started to show itself to those around her. Always interested in fashion, her perfect turnouts, and her style gained her admirers in the fashion industry and some A-list sponsors, including Gucci, Equifit, and the Swiss watch company Jaeger-LeCoultre, for whom she’s an ambassador. In her downtime she likes nothing more than a shopping spree. “For anything,” she says. “I just like shopping!” ‘petite’, ‘determined’ – these are all adjectives that people who know Edwina have used to describe the diminutive blonde, who says, as the highest ranking female rider in the world: “I don’t feel any different as a woman rider to any male - but it does feel good to beat the boys.”
Edwina’s achievements have been consolidated with her extraordinary partnership – and marriage – to previous Olympian and renowned horse breeder and trainer Jan Tops. “She was raw talent when I first met her,” he says. “But she didn’t have a huge amount of knowledge about how to do the technical flatwork and exercises that would take a horse to the top.”
It was literally a match made in horseheaven. The couple met when Edwina first moved to Europe, but didn’t actually begin a relationship until 2000. Edwina was keen to learn, and Jan to teach her. “She tries 100 percent every single day,” he says, “and that’s what sustains her.”
In 2006 while they were at a show in Malaysia, Jan hatched a plan – the Global Champions Tour. Edwina could immediately see that the plan had
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A. Charlotte Casiraghi, Princess Caroline and Princess Alexandra all attended the red-carpet wedding of Edwina Alexander and Jan Tops.
B Edwina on her beloved stallion Vleut, bringing home the blue once more. Photography CAMILLA STEPHAN
C. The couple welcomed baby Chloe into the world in July 2017.
D. Edwina Alexander-Tops and her husband Jan Tops at the 2012 London Olympics
