Steve Guerdat celebrates winning the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final with the Trophy in front of Lake Geneva, the morning after having won the competition in the Geneva Palexpo on Friday 10th December 2010.

Riding Jalisca Solier, Guerdat won the two-round event featuring the World’s Top 10 riders as based on the Rolex Rankings, ahead of 2nd place Denis Lynch (IRL) riding Lantinus and 3rd place Eric Lamaze (CAN) riding Hickstead.

The results of the 10th Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final:

1. Steve Guerdat (SUI), Jalisca Solier
2. Denis Lynch (IRL), Lantinus
3. Eric Lamaze (CAN), Hickstead
4. Marcus Ehning (GER), Plot Bleu
5. Penelope Leprevost (FRA), Mylord Carthago
6. McLain Ward (USA), Sapphire
7. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (SWE), Casall La Silla
8. Kevin Staut (FRA), Silvana de Hus
9. Edwina Alexander (AUS), Cevo Itot du Chateau
10. Pius Schwizer (SUI), Ulysse

Ellerstina defeated La Dolfina 14-13 in the 117th Argentine Open Final on Sunday 12th December 2010, and thereby completed the final leg of the coveted Triple Crown in Argentina. Ellerstina won the Final in dramatic style, which was delayed a day after just one chukka due to heavy rain with Ellerstina holding an overnight lead of 2-1. Ellerstina’s Juan Martin Nero was named MVP.

The Triple Crown, 2010

The Argentine Open is the third tournament of the Triple Crown in Argentina, which was concluded on Sunday 12 December 2010 in Palermo.

Tournament: Tortugas Open, Argentina
Place: Tortuguitas
Club: Tortugas CC
Date: September 28 – October 16, 2010

Tournament: Hurlingham Open
Place: Hurlingham
Club: Hurlingham Club
Date: October 19 – November 6, 2010

Tournament: 117th Argentine Open, Argentina
Place: Palermo
Club: Palermo
Date: November 20 – December 11, 2010

Teams playing in the 2010 Triple Crown

Ellerstina: Facundo Pieres 10, Gonzalo Pieres (h) 10, Pablo Mac Donough 10 y Juan Martín Nero 10. Total: 40.
LA Dolfina: Adolfo Cambiaso (h) 10, Lucas Monteverof (h) 10, David Stirling (h) 9 y Bartolomé CastagnoLA 10. Total: 39.
LA Aguada: Javier Novillo Astrada 9, Eduardo Novillo Astrada (h) 9, Miguel Novillo Astrada 10 e Ignacio Novillo Astrada 9. Total: 37.
Pilará: Agustín Merlos 9, Santiago Chavanne 8, Sebastián Merlos 9 y Marcos Heguy 10. Total: 36.
Chapa Uno: Bautista Heguy 9, HiLArio Ulloa 9, Juan Ignacio Merlos 9 y Matías Mac Donough 8. Total: 35.
Indios Chapaleufú II: Alberto Heguy (h) 8, Ignacio Heguy 9, Matías Magrini 8 y Eduardo Heguy 9. Total: 34.

For more information visit www.aapolo.com.

Rolex and Polo

Rolex are proud sponsors of four of the most illustrious events on the polo calendar:

• the Argentine Polo Open Championship
• the Hurlingham Club Open Championship
• the Tortugas Country Club Open Championship
• the Buenos Aires Jockey Club Open Championship

Renowned Polo player, Gonzalo Pieres Jr, is a 10-goal handicapper and a Rolex Testimonee.

Edwina Alexander is writing her final diary for horsesinthesouth.com following her performance at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Here is Edwina’s final entry…

Since the WEG…

I’ve been to Helsinki, Oslo Lyon and Verona since returning from Kentucky, and the horses have all been fine, but it involved a lot of travelling. Itot will have only a few more shows left this year, and then he might do one or two in January, and then I’ll give him a break before the outdoor season starts. I have a pretty hectic schedule between now and Christmas and have only had one free weekend lately, which I spent in Abu Dhabi for the Formula One Grand Prix. I have a good bunch of horses at the moment to cope with this busy schedule; Socrates is back and was in Lyon, and Kisby has been fantastic, and I think she might be a horse that could surprise a few people. Ciske hasn’t been the easiest of horses but she is getting better show by show and I’m very happy with the progress that she’s making.

Thoughts on the WEG…

The arena was fantastic and the ground was very good, but I was disappointed with a few aspects, and I know that a lot of the other riders feel the same. The huge scale of the event meant that everything was quite far away and generally inconvenient (stabling from the arena), which wasn’t ideal. The way that the warm-up was organised was not very well thought out at all. We (the riders) had high expectations of the Games as American competitions are usually so well organised, but compared to Aachen we felt frustrated.

I was happy but also disappointed with Itot. He felt in really good form and was sharp, almost too sharp, as though he was bursting out of his skin. When he came out of the ring he wasn’t sweating or blowing at all, and he felt top fit. I had a few unlucky faults, for example, on the first day in the speed class when I put the last fence down. In the second round I felt that Itot got a bit strong with me and he was quite aggressive, but maybe that was my fault for not getting him back quickly enough.

I felt that the courses weren’t as big or as difficult as Aachen, that’s for sure. The first day and the Nation’s Cup weren’t very big; however, a lot of riders were saying that the semi-final was quite big and was a huge difference in comparison to the other rounds. I was disappointed at how many double-clear rounds there were, which meant that those with just one fault finished so low down the leader board.

Team-wise it was a great result by Australia in the Nation’s Cup to finish in seventh place and to also qualify for the Olympics. Considering the countries (USA, Holland and Spain) that we finished ahead of, we had reason to be extremely satisfied with our performances.

The 2010/2011 season…

I’m hoping to make the Top 10 in Geneva in December, and of course to qualify for the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final in Leipzig in April. I don’t necessarily think I will take Itot as I’d like to give him that time off, but you never know how things might change. Fortunately for me I don’t have a championship next year so that will make my schedule a bit less demanding, and I can also make an easier programme for the horses. Other than that, I will be focusing on the Global Champions Tour.

It’s going to be interesting to see which riders perform well this season, and which make it to the Final. Christian (Ahlmann) had a great start and I expect him to be joined by a pretty big German contingent in Leipzig. Christian’s a great rider with a fabulous horse. I’m very happy for him as he’s had a lot of tough times with the FEI, so it’s great to see someone like that coming back on to the scene.

Overall, this season is going to be quite different compared to 2009/2010 in the way that I approach it and the number of competitions that I take part in. I have these two new eight-year-olds (Ciske and Kisby) and some horses that have had a good season who are turning nine soon, so I hope to have a really strong team next year. This season will give me valuable time to prepare all of my younger horses for next season rather than purely focusing on competitions with Itot and Socrates.

Edwina Alexander, Olympic and World Equestrian Games Jumper, is a friend of Rolex.

Isabell Werth is writing her final diary for horsesinthesouth.com following her performance at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Here is Isabell’s final entry…

Since the WEG…

I’ve been very pleased with how everything has gone since the WEG, notably my wins in Odense (with Satchmo), in Lyon (with Hannes) and in Stuttgart (with El Santo). Each competition went very well and my horses are in great form. When we were in Stuttgart, I rode El Santo in the Freestyle to music by Roberto Blanco – the one from Aachen. It’s fun, and it’s different to other music and that made it exciting! Then for the last qualifier in Frankfurt I’m actually not sure which horse I will take – Satchmo or Hannes.

Hannes was in good shape when he got back to Germany from the WEG, and I was surprised he had no problems and how fit he was. Quite soon after he arrived home he was back to his normal fitness. He wasn’t necessarily as supple as he should have been but in general I was really happy.

However, I could tell that Hannes was getting bored and that he was desperate to compete, which is why I took him to Lyon. He can be really awkward sometimes – he’s biting, he’s kicking, he’s running around – he ignores me, and he just does his own thing doesn’t really listen to me! Then it’s as if he is shaking his head and he’s running away – so it’s quite funny when he starts to become bored. He’s a real character in the respect that he can be really strong, and it’s something that’s completely out of my control.

Thoughts on the WEG…

I was really impressed with the showground in Lexington and it was amazing to see all of the different disciplines, horses and riders together in the Horse Park. But, I think because of the size of the event and the venue, it was difficult for the organisers to get everything under control and please everyone involved. But that’s a question of experience, I think. They also had a hard time as everyone compared Kentucky to Aachen four years ago. Aachen was just outstanding so it was a tough act for them to follow. There were lot of positives to take from the event and overall I was happy with my experience there.

Performance-wise, we were happy to get the team bronze medal, although we were hoping to get the silver, but Laura (Bechtolsheimer) was so strong and we were happy with the overall result. Next was the Special and for me there was no real chance for an individual medal but I said ok, I will give everything I have. I was faultless for the whole week and then I made a few mistakes but that’s the game – at the end it doesn’t matter if you are fifth or tenth.

To be honest, the scoring was a bit strange. I don’t think that’s a secret and I don’t think it’s impolite to say that differences of 8-10 % between the judges are not acceptable. No one was happy about it. But ok, it happens. The problem that we, the riders, have with these inconsistencies is when the judge or the judgement makes a difference to the medal standings, and this isn’t fair at all – something has to be done.

I really didn’t expect to get the bronze medal but when I saw the mistakes of the other riders, I said ok, it’s not the time to be angry or worry about it. The most frustrating thing is that I can’t see a solution to this (the judges scoring). I was really pleased for Edward (Gal), which was the most important emotion in the end – joy for fellow riders.

Laura Bechtolsheimer and Edward Gal…

Laura was super in the Grand Prix with one of the best tests I have ever seen. I thought she was going to win and I don’t think I was the only one thinking that. It shows that it’s not always one horse that is going to win, and this ultimately makes the sport exciting.

I don’t think she was as good in the Special as in the Grand Prix. I didn’t see him (Mistral Hojris) in the Freestyle, but the horse is super. He and Laura grew up together, they are very close now – a great partnership. In the past, they had a lot of good competitions but they were never as close as they are now – I think with the experience and confidence they have gained from the WEG, they will be the top favourites for the World Cup and then we’ll see what happens further into the future.

As for Edward, I was very disappointed by the sale of Totilas and I felt very sad for him to lose an incredible partner. No rider wants to lose his horse, especially such an iconic horse such as Totilas. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had to sell Satchmo – it’s not even worth thinking about.

Other news…

The transition from outdoor to indoor competitions has been quite easy. Odense was a very big showground with a lot of space, so it’s easy for the horses to start there. Satchmo went quite well but he was a bit tense in the Grand Prix. However, in the Freestyle he was relaxed and put in a very encouraging performance. Don Johnson was easy – I worked him in the morning and he was a bit spooky, but then I competed him in the St. George and he was very good there.

We have also just bought a six-year-old – Laurenti (Oldenburger) – who I think is a super horse, just brilliant – very huge, very powerful and with a lot of energy and presence. With my horses in good form and an exciting season ahead of me, I am thoroughly focussed and full of confidence.

Isabell Werth, multiple Olympic Games gold medal winning dressage rider, is a Rolex equestrian sports Testimonee.

Edwina Alexander is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Global Champions Tour (GCT) and the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Here is Edwina’s fifth entry…

Events since Aachen…

Since the CHIO Aachen, I have been focusing on getting my horses more organised. I took my new mare (Ciske van Overis) to Valkenswaard to compete in the CSI2*. She was very good, placing third in the first Grand Prix and in the second Grand Prix, she had one fence down. I also took my new six-year-old horse (Quimono de la Roque) to Valkenswaard and I’m now preparing him for Lanaken. He did exceptionally well there, placing in every class over the two shows. Itot has also been on a programme – in Chantilly, straight after Aachen, he jumped very well with three clear rounds but I slipped a bit in the jump-off and we ended up third. In Valkenswaard, I went for a good time and unfortunately, he knocked a couple down in the second round.

I’ve just come back from Rio (de Janeiro) where I took two horses; my eight-year-old (Kisby) and Itot. They both travelled very well, arriving a few days before the show. Itot had one class on the first day and then, after a rest day, he took part in the Grand Prix. He was very good – he jumped three clear rounds and finished third in the Grand Prix which lifted me to third in the overall Global Champions Tour standings which meant I won €170,000, so I was pretty happy.

It was a very good result and I couldn’t have gotten any higher with the way things stood. It was a very exciting event, with a lot of tension. Had I finished in sixth place in the Grand Prix, I don’t think I would have ended up third overall. My eight-year-old was also very good on the first day, coming fourth. She had a couple down but overall, I was very happy as it was a strong competition.

Countdown to the WEG…

Itot was looking quite tired when he returned so he had a few quiet days in the field and in the woods. For the moment, I am going to give him a few easy weeks and then I’ll build him up again. We’ll work on fitness, do some work on the racetrack – he’ll probably only jump a few times before the WEG. The Australian team will also come here (to Stal Tops) for a week’s preparation from the 20th – 24th September and the horses will fly out on the 25th of September.

As for myself, I’ve been trying to balance rest and work. The weekend before Rio, I took four days off and went to Monaco which was nice. This weekend past, I had a wedding to attend and I rode the other horses a little but it was a really relaxing weekend. I will be attending the Venice Film Festival which is so exciting and then I’ll go to Madrid with my two eight-year-olds (Ciske and Kisby). I’ll be back here for a few days and then I’ll go to Barcelona. After that, I’ll be preparing with the other members of the Australian team and I’ll go to Lanaken but I’ll base myself at home and drive back and forth. I’ll then fly out to Kentucky on the 27th of September.

I’ve given myself a week there to settle in and I’ve actually booked myself into a really nice hotel there, away from the other riders. I wanted something a little quieter so I can relax. I have the entire week off so I’ll probably watch some DVDs and bring books to read otherwise I will go crazy!

Expectations for the WEG…

I’m feeling quite confident as I think it’s always important to go into a Championship on the back of some form and to be mentally strong. I’d love for the Australian team to get a medal and personally, I want to get into the Final, obviously that is my goal, I’d love to become World Champion as I think that is something that everyone dreams about.

The first day (of competition) is the Table C and if you’ve seen the results from past WEGs, you’ll see that you don’t necessarily have to win on the first day to have a good chance. It’s more important to be consistent over the several days of competition to have a good chance of going through to the Rolex Top Four. The Final is tricky as it really depends a lot on which horses also take part and I’m also thinking about how the WEG will affect what happens afterwards. A lot can change with your horse and the amount you have to jump them at the WEG can impact what will happen post-WEG.

I’m not worried about how Itot will handle being ridden by other riders if we make it into the Rolex Top Four. He’s very small so he doesn’t have the same striding as the other horses. He’s quite sensitive but I’m not too worried about him as he has a great mind. A lot rests on which other horses are in the Top Four and their temperaments, I mean the last WEG (in Aachen) went very well but I was a little bit unlucky timing-wise with Shutterfly.

I’ve never competed in Kentucky before, although I have competed in the States – in Las Vegas and down in Florida so I’m really looking forward to it.

Plans post-WEG…

I will be leaving on Sunday, the 10th October and the following Thursday, I will be in Oslo for the start of the new Rolex FEI World Cup season. So I’ll be back in the swing of things right away. I’ve got a very heavy season coming up – I will be competing virtually every weekend, except one. It’s going to be pretty hard. I have a new eight-year-old stallion who I will probably start in Oslo. My focus for the rest of the year will be on the World Cup and the Rolex Top Ten Final in Geneva.

My parents will also come out for Christmas so they will attend the Geneva and London legs of the World Cup. It’s the first Christmas I’ve spent with them in 12 years so I’m really looking forward to that. They’ve never been to any indoor shows in Europe so I said they should definitely come to the Geneva and London ones. After that, we’ll spend Christmas in Monaco and I will try to get some much-needed rest.

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.

Isabell Werth is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games from 25 September – 10 October. Here is Isabell’s third entry…

Preparations for the WEG since Aachen…

After Aachen, we had the German Championships (Münster) where I took Hannes, my second horse after Satchmo, to compete. He did very well, winning twice and then one week later, Satchmo competed in Cappeln in the Grand Prix. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes in the Grand Prix but we had a good Grand Prix Special which was very encouraging.

I won’t be competing again until WEG, but from the 12–15 September we will have our last team training session, and on the 16th of September the horses will fly out to Kentucky via Cincinnati. This is a really important week for me as the time has come for me to decide which horse (Satchmo or Hannes) I’ll take to Kentucky. It’s quite exciting as both horses are in great shape, although to be honest, Hannes is more consistent at the moment. It’s a wonderful luxury to have as they were so good in Aachen but it will be a difficult decision to choose only one.

I have never competed in Kentucky before, but I am excited as I have heard so many positive stories about the facilities and the big showground there. However, I have previously competed in the USA, in Las Vegas and Wellington (Florida), so it isn’t completely alien to me.

Atmosphere in the German Dressage team…

The atmosphere in the team is really relaxed and the situation we have is interesting as we have two very young horses with less experience and two new riders – Anabel Balkenhol and Christoph Koschel. Of course, Anabel and Christoph are not completely inexperienced but this is the first time that they have made the German team so I’m sure it’s a proud moment for them. It’s a good mixture with Matthias (Alexander Rath) and me as the two experienced riders.

It’s also the first big championship for Anabel’s and Christoph’s horses (Dablino and Donnperignon), but to be fair, they probably need a bit more experience in order to compete at the highest level. They both have potential so we just have to hope that the experienced horses (Satchmo or Hannes and Sterntaler-Unicef) will show them how to act.

For the moment, everything has gone to plan and over the five or six days that we are all together, we will train, analyse our performances, as well as speak about our tactics and expectations for Kentucky. This year, I’m actually the oldest member of the team so I consider myself to be the ‘mother’.

Preparations for the horses…

Hannes had a rest after the German Championships, which was then extended as he needed to get three more inoculations against the special flu in the States, and that took up quite a lot of time. At the moment we are trying to be totally focused on the finer details needed to prepare the horses for this event, especially the horses’ suppleness so that they will be as fit and relaxed as possible.

My horses are all good travellers and after they arrive in the USA on 16 September, they will spend about 72 hours in Cincinnati before travelling on to Kentucky. Then there will be about a week’s break before the competition begins.

Looking forward to the 2010/11 FEI World Cup Dressage season…

After the WEG we plan to fly whichever horse has competed back to Germany on 2 October, and once back they will have a well deserved rest. The challenge will be to bring the horse back fit and healthy, and they will then have the whole of October to take a break. At this stage we will prepare them for competition towards the middle to end of November.

I, on the other hand, will continue to be very busy, but I love to compete, especially with so many horses. It’s so exciting for me to see how my young horses manage to deal with everything, and to ultimately see and help develop their talent.

While my WEG partner is resting, it will give me an opportunity to compete with my younger horses, El Santo and Don Johnson, in the Grand Prix schedule. This will be crucial for me to see how they are both progressing and to decide which horses will compete in which shows. The aim will be to expose both horses to the 9-10 year old classes and to see how they both react.

I am really looking forward to the 2010/11 FEI World Cup Dressage season and feel a lot stronger than I did last season. Satchmo will be 17 years old so we will be looking for some nice competitions for him, but we are also aware that he won’t be the horse for the major competitions. Hannes will be 15 years old – the best age to show dressage horses – so we will put a lot of emphasis on him. I think that there is an extra 2-3% more that he has to show so my personal challenge will be to realise that potential.

Isabell Werth, multiple Olympic Games gold medal winning dressage rider, is a Rolex equestrian sports Testimonee.

Edwina Alexander is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Here are Edwina’s third and fourth entries.

The last couple of months…

Itot has recovered well from his slight injury and we have both been very busy over the last couple of months on the Global Champions Tour (GCT), and have competed in Cannes (which I won with Itot, and was the only rider with three clear rounds), Monte Carlo, Estoril and Chantilly (I came third and was beaten by two ladies – Laura Kraut (1st) and Pénélope Leprevost (2nd). He really feels back to his normal self which is great and he’s been jumping extremely well.

I went to the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco where we stayed with some friends and had a spectacular view as the cars came out of the tunnel. It was great to see a fellow Aussie (Mark Webber) win, although it was disappointing that the National Anthem was played a day late and not in Hamburg!

After the GCT round in Turin I went to Wiesbaden where I had a really good show, and on the first day I was second with Socrates (Cevo Socrates), and my young horse, Kisby (8-y-o), was second in the young horses. The following day I won the final of the youngster tour and Socrates was fourth in one of the other classes. Zorro rode in the Grand Prix and he was clear, but he just got a little bit green in the jump off and he had a couple down, which was a shame.

Younger horses making progress…

May and June were great months as I was able to concentrate on some younger horses while Itot had some time off. Kisby has stood out from the rest and has been very impressive; I’ve had her for four shows and she’s only had one fence down overall, and in every class that I’ve had her in she’s been placed – I’m very happy with that horse. I don’t know if she’ll ever be as good as Itot but she’ll definitely be a very good second horse. We’ve both clicked really fast and it seems to be a good fit.

I have a new mare called Ciske Van Overis (8-y-o) who was in the GCT with Guy Williams, and I think she could be a very interesting new horse for me. She was in Cannes with me and I also took her to a small three star show in San Remo, so all-in-all a great new addition to the team.

My behind the scenes team…

Getting my horses to and from shows and deciding which ones need to go to which show is very much down to Jan (Tops) and I, and it can be quite an episode!

We’ve got a permanent full-time vet based in Holland who will check all of the horses before they travel on to shows, or before they travel back to Stal Tops in Holland. We have an osteopath, but he is required only when there is an urgent need for him, and he’s based in Switzerland.

I have one groom who is always with Itot and another groom who travels around and does bit and pieces with the rest of the horses. Finally, I have a third groom at Stal Tops who will look after my other horses while I am away travelling, which is a lot of the time!

The Rolex FEI World Cup…

I’ve been concentrating on spacing out my time and have been resting whenever possible over the last couple of months, making sure that I don’t do too much. The real aim has been to focus on the big competitions, but to get results we have to pay special attention to the horses, to make sure that they get enough electrolytes and don’t get dehydrated, which is all too easy in the heat. It’s a balancing act of not doing too much, but enough!

It’s very important for me to get enough good results to stay in the top-10 of the Rolex

Rankings during the month of August as that’s when the decisions are made with regards to

pre-qualifications for the Rolex FEI World Cup Series, so my focus, apart from on the WEG,

is going to be very much on that.

Plans beyond the CHIO Aachen and towards Kentucky (The WEG)…

Itot (Cevo Itot Du Château) will have three more shows after Aachen – Chantilly, Valkenswaard and Rio de Janeiro – and then he will have a month’s break. He feels in really great shape and has been jumping well.

I’ve received an email from my Federation (Equestrian Australia) confirming that I am on the team for the WEG, and they also confirmed that if I have another horse which qualifies then I am able to take it as well. I’m pretty set up for WEG and I don’t really want to take another horse if it’s not 100% ready.

I recently sold four of my horses, including two that had qualified for WEG. On the back of those sales I have just received a new eight year old (Ciske Van Overis) that has already qualified; she was seventh in the Grand Prix in Hamburg with Guy Williams, and fifth with me in La Coruña. It’s not my plan to take her to WEG but she will be a back-up in the meantime while Itot is doing his preparations.

Overall, I’m looking forward to going to WEG and I fully appreciate how tough a competition it is. I personally think that WEG is the most difficult championship that we have in comparison to The Olympics as I feel that it takes a lot more out of the horse.

Looking back to the WEG in Aachen, 2006…

I have some fond memories of the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006, above all finishing in the top four. My goal then was to get into the top 25 so I thought I did pretty well to get to that point. My Federation is a very strong supporter of whichever programme and direction I choose, but at the same time I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. Everyone has their aim and their goal, so I’ll try to do my best this year and my goal is to finish in the top four again.

It’s very important to create a good programme for your horse afterwards as the championships take a lot out of them; they have to be very fit as we found out after the last WEG in Aachen.

The WEG in the USA for the first time…

My horses are used to travelling and are incredibly fit, so I don’t see this being a problem. They are booked to go and will arrive in Kentucky a week before the competition starts, which I think is plenty of time for them to acclimatise. The travelling aspect won’t be a problem, and funnily enough it will actually involve less travelling than if they were to go to somewhere like Portugal, within Europe.

The WEG – an individual or a team performance?

I think that Australia has a pretty good team and that this year is absolutely our strongest ever; we have two other strong riders (Chris Chugg and James Patterson Robinson) and their horses, and the fourth partnership will be selected following competitions in Hachenburg and Paderborn.

I would like to think that realistically we could finish in the first five, and of course a medal would be fantastic. However, for me it is difficult to think of WEG as a team competition; I have to focus on myself, and I know that might sound a little bit selfish but that’s how it is, and how it’s been since I’ve been competing in Europe, especially over the last five or six years.

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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Isabell Werth is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games from 25 September – 10 October. Here is Isabell’s second entry.

Plans beyond the CHIO Aachen and towards Kentucky (WEG)…

I was back in the saddle very quickly after the birth of my son, Frederik, and I’m feeling really well. My plan is to get in the best shape possible before Kentucky, and it’s encouraging that Satchmo and I have become more and more consistent in our performances as the months have gone by.

I was really pleased with how both horses (Satchmo and Hannes) performed at the Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen, and with a score of more than 75% I feel we can be quite satisfied and happy. However, we have higher expectations over the coming weeks and months, and the plan is to sort out the mistakes and concentrate on the finer details of our programme.

Between now and WEG we will go to the German Championships in Münster and following that the nominations will be announced, so I’m hoping that we can find our best form for that performance. We now know that the Dutch riders are very strong and so is Laura Bechtolsheimer, so we will be hoping to finish closer and closer to Laura and Adelinde (Cornelissen). Edward (Gal) seems to be in a league of his own but the other two riders are definitely within our reach.

Satchmo, Hannes, El Santo & Don Johnson…

As it stands Satchmo has qualified as my number one A, and Hannes as my number one B, although four years ago in Aachen it was the other was round. I am happy to have both horses on this level, and it is pleasing that Hannes has been so consistent and is not as spooky as he used to be.

Over the next two years we will see what happens to my two big hopes – El Santo (9-y-o) and Don Johnson (8-y-o) – who have both improved a lot. El Santo has already shown his talent in Grands Prix; however, Don Johnson still has to show his, so at the moment he will only compete in the small shows before he is ready for the Grand Prix circuit.

A new partner – Roberto Blanco…

I have some new freestyle music, which I am really excited about; it is mixed by Roberto Blanco and is really different to my old style. My thinking is that if we can’t win, we want to have fun; the music just really inspires me, and I hope it inspires the crowd, and of course the judges!

We had a meeting in the studio and Roberto was singing his famous song “Ein bisschen Spass muss sein”, and the Tom Jones song “She’s a Lady”. His music creates a real party atmosphere, which I think suits Satchmo really well. It was surprising how great Roberto was; he was really positive and motivated and he even met Satchmo! It will now be interesting for me to see how the music works in a competition environment and how the crowd will react, so I’m looking forward to it very much.

The German Dressage team at the WEG…

I am sure that Christoph (Koschel) and Annabel (Balkenhol) will do a really good job, and it’s normal that they will both need a bit more experience. Christoph surprised everybody with the improvements that he has made over the last few months, and his horse has huge potential. He had extra pressure on his shoulders at CHIO Aachen when he was the first team rider, but he performed well and he will now just grow in confidence.

Annabel and Christoph’s horses are both young and inexperienced so it will be a few more years until they reach their best form. This year and next will therefore be difficult for the German team and I don’t think it will be possible to beat the Dutch, but give us a couple of years and we will be competing with the best.

Isabell Werth, multiple Olympic Games gold medal winning dressage rider, is a Rolex equestrian sports Testimonee.

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Riding Hicktead, Lamaze won the third, and final, leg of the Rolex Grand Prix in a four horse jump-off. In 2nd place was Pius Schwizer (SUI) riding Carlina, 3rd place Sergio Alvarez Moya (ESP) riding Action-Breaker  and 4th Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) riding Shutterfly.

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Edwina Alexander is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Global Champions Tour (GCT) and the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Here is Edwina’s second entry.

The last month

The last month has been a real rollercoaster with quite a few shows and then 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 listen to your own instinct.  After the round my osteopath took a look at Itot 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, Geneva

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 go to Mannheim and I’ll take four horses, one who I’ve only ridden once and who I 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 kinds of horses. My focus now is very much on the GCT, which starts in Valencia and runs from 7 – 9 May.

Summer 2010’s schedule

I’m going to be playing this summer a lot by ear but Itot is very much at the forefront of my plans as, being the number one horse, he is going to have the best and busiest programme. I’m conscious not to give him too much work as I want him to fully recover from his back injury. Itot will go to Valencia and then on to Hamburg, and then I have a pretty heavy programme with my other horses. I go to the Turin leg of the GCT and after that to the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco, which I’m really excited about. Following Turin I go to Wiesbaden for a couple of days, then back home for a day or so, and then to the Rome CSIO – so a busy schedule coming up.

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.