Competing under pressure makes Edwina Alxander-Tops a better rider. At least that's how the Australian show jumping star feels going into this week's season finale of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT).
"I think in any sport there is pressure involved. For me, I work well under pressure. I like pressure," Edwina, 42, said.
"I think it wouldn't be exciting if there wasn't any pressure. Of course at the end of the day, it is not about just winning the prize money it is also about prestige.
"At the end of the day you cannot buy that. There's a lot of work that goes into it," the popular Australian rider said.
"This whole year has been a busy. It has been a priority to focus on the Global Tour. Like I said my horse is in fantastic shape. I think - like I said before - it is going to be a very exciting time this week," she explained.
Edwina is chasing points leader Rolf-Göran Bengtsson of Swedne. Bengtsson has a tally of 272.00 points whereas Edwina is behind at 267.00
"Either one of us will be first or second. The last event we had in Vienna was quite exciting. But the points haven't changed at all," Edwina said.
"I think some people perform better under pressure. Hopefully that day will be coming on Saturday," she said.
Winner of the LGCT titles in 2011 and 2012, Edwina feels she is part of an elite group of riders doing what they do best.
"I compete 46 weekends a year. Ninety percent of this events are five-star. I have been competing like this almost 10 years now," Edwina said.
"When you are fortunate enough to compete always at the highest level, then it too takes your level up. You also know that these events are exciting." On the Global Champions Tour, you have the top 30 riders competing in the world. So it is not easy to win. Everybody is going faster and finding quicker turns. That what makes our events very exciting and it makes the rider continuously pushing for better results.
"I am trying to be better than everybody. Of course everybody has good days and bad days and at the end of the day the horse is the athlete. But you have to know the horse really well. It never gets boring. It's a passion. That's what keeps us going. If it was too easy and then we wouldn't have so many riders in our sport. Our sport has grown over the years, it has pushed the envelope. At the end of the day, most of the riders want to be in the top 30," she said.
Sheilkh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani, Qatar's premier rider, said he will be hoping to reach the Games in Tokyo in 2020.
"After Rio we are targetting the next Olympics. We are preparing for it," Sheikh Ali said. "We will keep enhancing our preparations and we will adopt new ways of doing it. We always want to compete with the best.
"We aspire to reach new heights. We will be ready as individual riders and as teams for the next Games," he said.
When asked about being asked to carry the national flag of Qatar at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at Rio 2016, he said: "That was a great moment of pride for me. I carried a huge responsibility. I was even more excited in the equestrian field as a result of that responsibility."
