Equestrian star Edwina eyes Doha glory

Australian equestrian star Edwina Tops-Alexander (pictured) will be eyeing her third Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) title this week at Al Shaqab Arena. 
The 42-year-old Australian is set to ride with her trusted partner Lintea Tequila in an attempt to chase down points leader Rolf-Göran Bengtsson who has a tally of 272.00 going into the final round.  
Edwina, married to creator of LGCT Jan Tops, has 267.00 points. 
"I feel good. My horse is in good shape and that makes me happy. She's in very good running shape. She was at the Olympic Games as well. She is only a few points away from where we could win here," Edwina said yesterday. 
"Rolf (is relatively) in easy position. What I feel is that I have to be on podium. Actually I have pressure (laughs). But when the competition starts I know I have to do my best," she added. 
Edwina, known for her meticulous planning before a competition, said she won't change her tactics for the season finale. 
"I think you have to continue to work on your original plan. She had an amazing year. She won here last year. I won't change her. It won't help, I know. She will do her warm-up class on Friday," she said. 
"I have a great team with me and I have a good groom as well. I have everything on call. As far as preparations go, she must have fluids. You need to know all. She shouldn't sweat too much. I am just going to go day by day," the Australian said.
Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani, who carried Qatar's flag at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August, said he would be looking at 'positive results' after a back-breaking journey of 18 months in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Brazil.
"For the Olympic Games, we prepared with great detail for the qualifying events. There were 18 countries - from Africa and Asia and only one country could go to Rio. We were the only the one to qualify. Thank God we managed," Sheikh Ali said ahead of this week's season finale. 
"We deserved to qualify with a big gap between us and the second-place team. After that (February 2015) we started training straight away so we did well at the Games. Although we were not expected to do well in our Games debut but we went there full of confidence. We did really well. We missed the podium clash narrowly. We were not far from medals. I would say it was satisfying," he added.
"I have the same horse that featured at the Olympic Games. In this sport you are dealing with tough riders. I know that our Games preparation was fairly long. I had some rest after the Olympic Games. 
"It will be hard to come to same level of preparation that we had for the Olympic Games. It is hard to reach the same level more than once a year. This is the final of the season. It Is in my country. Last year we finished in 4th spot. But I would say we look forward to better results," Sheikh Ali said.
Tops, who launched the LGCT in 2006, said the Tour could expand provided there was 'strategic planning'. 
"We started in 2006 with 6 events. We always ride with quality. At the moment we have 15 events in a year. With the growth of the sport, we could extend the calendar. But we need strategic planning before we could adopt such plans," Tops, who guided Qatar's equestrian squad, said.
"I have had the privilege to work with Qatari people. I have great friends here. When I say that I speak for all equestrian world. When they come here, we get looked after in this beautiful arena. It is special to have the final in Qatar," Tops said.
"The Qatar team is here. Sheikh Ali is joined by a young team. This was an important year for Qatari riders. They did really good. The contested at the Olympic Games for first time. They were very close to a medal by finishing at 6th spot. They can be very good in times to come," he said. 
The former Dutch rider said the season finale could force a thrilling end to 2016
"To have two riders who can win is an exciting proposition. It's not often that you have this situation. The suspense is there. The fans will be watching till the last moment," he said. 
"We are looking forward to another finale. It's going to be a great final. Just a few points separate the two top two riders," Tops said. 
Marco Danese, the LGCT sports director, said: "The fans will see the best riders in the world this week. We have the Olympic standard of competition here with the top names present in Doha. I am sure pretty sure will have exciting finals here. A lot of suspense since one of two names could emerge at the overall winner. We have three teams that could win in rankings. It is very interesting. We have a lot of people following on social media."