Above: Edwina Tops-Alexander and Fellow Castlefield.

The big question coming into the Individual Jumping Qualifying round here in Paris today was could we get at least one of the three Australian combinations into the top 30 (out of 73 starters) and thereby earn a ticket to the big show tomorrow where the top 30 competitors would vie for medals. The answer to that question is, unfortunately, to use a little of the local language – ‘non’. Although they certainly all put in a showing which we can be very proud of.

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Perfectly clear skies and warm conditions greeted the first of the competitors when the competition started at 2:00pm local time. The course was set to challenge the best in the world. A total of 17 efforts with heights ranging between 1.50m and 1.65m and spreads up to 1.70m were the challenge and the time allowed was 79 seconds.

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By the time the first of the three Australian combinations hit the course at 18^th on the start list, there had already been seven clear rounds and Hilary Scott and Milky Way were hoping to add to that number. They started off well and looked confident, however, a rail at the first of the double at five, then another rail at the first of the treble at 10, but finishing with a time over four seconds faster than required, saw them finish with a total of 8 penalties. This slotted them into 13^th place on the current standings and the long wait started for them to see if that performance was good enough to make the top 30.

Above: Hilary Scott and Milky Way

We had to wait for a while for the appearance of the second Australian combination of Thaisa Erwin and Hialita B, who were listed at 41 on the start list. They had a very strong start to their round getting three-quarters of the way around the course fault free, however, their round took a turn for the worse with rails at 11 and 13. Their total of eight penalties, when combined with a time of 78.12 seconds, meant that they did not place in the top 30. At this stage Hilary and “Milky” were hanging on to their place in the top 30, however, with still more than 30 combinations to come, they were living in hope rather than expectation.

Above: Thaisa Erwin and Hialita B.

By the time Edwina Tops-Alexander and Fellow Castlefield entered the arena at 67th on the start list, they were our only hope for an Australian representative in tomorrow’s final. Our first and second combinations, each with eight penalties had slipped down the results list to 40th and 46th respectively, so our hopes rested with Edwina and Fellow Castlefield. With 19 combinations already clear, they needed either, a clear round to guarantee a spot tomorrow, or a fast four which would probably see then scrape into the top 30. Unfortunately, it was not to be. They looked great during the first part of the course, collecting just a single rail on the way to approaching the end of the course. Just when we thought they were about to do it, sadly, a second rail at the last fence gave them a total of eight and no place in the final.

Above: Edwina Tops-Alexander and Fellow Castlefield

In the end, the final results saw Hilary Scott and Milky Way finish 44th, Thaisa Erwin and Hialita B finish 51st and Edwina Tops-Alexander and Fellow Castlefield come in at 47th. The ladies were valiant in representing us with professionalism and expertise and we are proud of them all.

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The good news is that the Olympics will be on again in just another four short years and the start of the qualification process will be much closer. Hopefully we qualify as a team next time and give it our best shot again. Bring on Los Angeles 2028!