Australia has achieved its aim of qualifying a showjumping team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by topping its region at the World Equestrian Games in Germany.

The team finished 16th, two places above Japan – the only other Group G nation to field a team at WEG.

“Our first goal was to make sure that we qualified a team for Beijing,” showjumping coach Jamie Coman said.

“That saves us a lot of money in not having to come back [to qualify at a later date], which we can now invest in more training.”

Holland-based Edwina Alexander was outstanding for Australia, jumping a fast clear round in the first part of the Nations Cup Wednesday to be lying 5th going into the second round.

“She jumped amazingly, she’s really in form,” Alexander said of her 15-year-old bay mare, Isovlas Pialotta.

Alexander, currently 39th in the FEI world jumping rankings, was ably supported by NSW-based Rod Brown and Queensland’s Peter McMahon, who each had just two rails down and a time fault for nine penalties to finish 74th and 81st respectively.

“Both our horses have jumped it very well. It’s a big step up from yesterday over a much tougher track,” said 57-year-old Brown, in his return to the world stage for the first time since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The youngest team member, 21-year-old Victorian Jamie Kermond, who was eliminated yesterday after two refusals from Stylish King, put together a much improved performance, with four fences down and a foot in the water plus a time fault for 21 penalties and 105th place.

Thirty-two-year-old Alexander, originally from Glossodia, NSW, moved to Belgium in 1998 with a horse called Mr Dundee to see whether she could make a success of showjumping.

“I really liked the sport a lot and I just kind of thought I should go to Europe and see if I could be good enough because … if I was no good I’d rather put my effort into doing something else. I don’t like half doing things,” Alexander said.

“It’s taken a long time – seven years, and in that time I’ve ridden a lot of bad horses – but in the last year and a half I’ve had the most success I’ve ever had.”

Australia did not qualify a full showjumping team for Athens 2004. WEG is the biggest event on the equestrian calendar outside the Olympic Games.

Equestrian Federation of Australia