Australian Olympian Edwina Tops-Alexander has finished fourth in the CSI5*-W World Cup qualifier at A Coruña in Spain on Sunday.
With her Paris Olympic partner Fellow Castlefield, Edwina was one of seven to jump clear in the first round of Spanish course designer Santiago Varela’s challenging track. In the jump off, they were one of four to produce a second clear round. Stopping the clock at 46.08 seconds, they were just shy of a podium finish but a strong result nevertheless in a 40-combination field.
“Fellow Castlefield was absolutely amazing today – he jumped his heart out and we finished fourth in the World Cup of La Coruña!” said Edwina via social media. “So proud of him.”
Willem Greve and Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P. claim victory
Just two weeks after their sensational triumph in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Qualifier of Stuttgart, Willem Greve of The Netherlands aboard the ten-year-old Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P. once again produced a masterclass in riding against the clock to repeat the feat in A Coruña. Greve set the game chestnut mare into a beautiful rhythm and never missed a beat around Santiago Varela’s challenging second round track to leave all the fences standing and break the beam in 42.76 seconds.
Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer of Norway, drawn ninth of the 40 starters in round one was the first athlete to navigate Varela’s first-round track without fault meaning she had the unenviable task of setting the standard in the jump-off.
Aboard the spring-healed 11-year-old mare Carabella vd Neyen Z, she set the competition alight from the outset with a sensational clear that belied her inexperience at this level. The pair glided effortlessly around the course without fault in a time of 44.70 seconds to establish an early benchmark and lay down the challenge for the six seasoned combinations waiting in the wings. This performance saw her finish in second place and take her first podium position in a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Qualifier.
Lyngvaer was visibly emotional and full of praise for her mare Carabella vd Neyen Z:
“She is everything – she’s such a fighter. I just have to try to focus on my job and be out of her way and then she’ll fight her heart out for me! I’m forever thankful for her.”
Simon Delestre of France produced a polished round with the impressive nine-year-old gelding Golden Boy DK to secure a clear in 45.16 seconds from second draw in the jump-off to secure an eventual third place. He opted to sacrifice speed in the name of educating his relatively inexperienced young horse who looks to be an incredibly exciting talent for the future.
Greve’s round not only delivered consecutive World Cup triumphs but also forced those who followed into escalating levels of risk. Risk that, for a couple of top contenders, resulted in costly mistakes down the final line.
Both Spain’s Armando Trapote (Tornado VS) and 2021 winner of this class in 2021, Germany’s Philipp Schulze Topphoff (Carla NRW) caught Greve’s time but threw caution to the wind down the final line in order to do so. The frenzy Greve’s pace had thrown them into forced both athletes into uncharacteristic errors which resulted in four faults apiece and put pay to their podium chances this evening.
Calm, calculated and utterly in command, the Dutch athlete in contrast had added an extra stride form fence two to three enabling him to pull off a sensationally tight turn back to the next vertical which gave him an edge and set the tone for a round where every fence appeared to present itself on a perfect distance.
Never appearing rushed but equally never giving an inch, the pair looked simply sublime and crossed the finish line to rapturous applause from an appreciative audience. But unlike in Stuttgart 14 days ago where they had the luxury of final draw, this time their fate was not yet sealed. An agonising wait ensued as four athletes renowned for their speed were yet to serve up their challenge to the Dutch leader.
Reflecting on the tension of the evening, Greve shared:
“It was a bit nerve-racking to be waiting until the end! But I’m thrilled with my mare. She was jumping out of her skin and she was totally with me. I couldn’t be more happy.”
“It was a bit nerve-racking to be waiting until the end! But I’m thrilled with my mare. Today she was jumping out of her skin and she was totally with me. I couldn’t be more happy.”
And with characteristic understatement, he added:
“We stopped the clock in 42.76 seconds and that was enough!”
Athletes across the field voiced strong appreciation for Santiago Varela’s thought-provoking technical track. The course demanded precision, rewarded quality, and allowed horses to jump with confidence whilst challenging riders at every stage around its 14 fences.
Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida of Portugal, who incurred just four faults early on in the class, expressed this shared opinion vividly:
“Santi is for me one of the best course designers in the world – he knows exactly where to catch us without making our horses scared. That’s the way it should be done and once again today he caught me, not my horse! So, I just have to work harder and make it better!” He joked.
Greve spoke on behalf of all in attendance at this popular addition to the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League calendar, highlighting why the venue is so popular and cherished among athletes, officials and spectators alike:
“Thanks to the family Ortega, the conditions are perfect. The footing is outstanding. Everything is top. Of course, always when you win it’s nice, but it’s just great to be here.”
His words echoed the sentiments shared throughout the show; collective appreciation for a venue that consistently delivers world-class sport in world-class conditions. A Coruña once again demonstrated why it remains one of the most admired stops on the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup tour.
The World Cup of A Coruña had everything; a fair but demanding track, a dramatic jump-off, a passionate crowd, and a podium combining established talent with rising stars – all trademarks of a venue at the heart of top-level equestrian sport.
The defining moment belonged to Greve and Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., whose early, faultless round set an unbeatable standard. In typically succinct style Greve concluded:
“We were clear, we were fast, and that made the difference today.”
Indeed, it did – decisively!
Following the completion of the fifth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League, Willem Greve has shot to the top of the league table with 40 points. Richard Vogel of Germany lies second on 36 points ahead of Yuri Mansur of Brazil and Kevin Staut of France in third and fourth positions on 29 points apiece.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League now moves onto London where the Great British capital hosts the traditionally festive sixth leg on 21 December 2025. Mechelen then takes centre stage for leg seven on 30 December before Basel welcomes the series for leg eight -the first of 2026- on 11 January.
Stay tuned for all the action!
Full results can be found here.
Source: FEI press release by Alice Watson, edited by Equestrian Life.
