equestrian jumping - 4 athletes

27/07/2016 Scott Keach | AUS Team | Rio 2016

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Scott Keach

Athlete Biography

Scott Keach competed in Eventing at the Seoul 1988 Olympics and the 28 year gap between being

selected for the Rio 2016 Team as a show jumper is an Australian record. He made his Games debut

in the Eventing Team alongside Andrew Hoy, Barry Roycroft and David Green.

He had a big break from the sport to do other things in life and got back involved with show

jumping when he moved to Florida in 2009. He loved show jumping when he was young so he got

back involved and in the past four years he has had great results on the American circuit.

He helped qualify Australia the Team spot for Rio in 2015 and won a 4 star event in Florida in

February 2016

Keach bought the horse Fedor in Belgium as an eight year old in 2013.

Keach was born in Tasmania, grew up in Western Australia, and lived in South Australia where he

went to high school and university. He started riding on sheep and cattle farm in south west WA.

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Equestrian - Jumping

Fast Facts

Sport Equestrian - Jumping Status Selected

Event/s Individual Open Age 51

Oʪcial Home of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team

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Born Launceston, TAS, Australia Lives Ocala, Florida, United States

James Paterson-Robinson

Matthew Williams

Edwina Tops-Alexander

Career Highlights

Winning the 4 star Grand Prix in Ocala in Feb 2016

Member of the Australian Team =2nd in the Challenge Cup, Barcelona Sept 2015,

Other wins and placings in US National Grand Prix.

Education

Primary Amaroo Primary School, Boyup Brook (WA, Australia)

Secondary St Peter’s College, Adelaide and Christies Beach High School (SA, Australia)

Tertiary Bachelor of Health Sciences, Adelaide (University South Australia)

Training

Primary Training Base Ocala, Florida, USA

Secondary Training Base Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Q&A

Star Sign Taurus

I would spend my last $10 on Too hard to say

If I could try another Olympic sport it would be Downhill Skiing

Most Inspiring Olympic Performance? Kieren Perkins 1500m freestyle both in Barcelona and

Atlanta, both times had everyone in the stands supporting him, I think maybe Atlanta tops it for

the courage shown.

First Olympic Memory? Opening Ceremony Montreal 1976

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Most In℀uential person in your career/life Too many, parents a good start though

27/07/2016 James PatersonRobinson | AUS Team | Rio 2016

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Athlete Biography

James Paterson-Robinson has earned selection on his second Olympic Team after making his debut

at the London 2012 Olympics, where he placed 43rd for the Individual and 10th in the Team event.

Paterson-Robinson was born in Melbourne and did a lot of his early riding in Victoria for his club at

Barwon Heads, near Geelong. He moved to The Netherlands in 2000 to further his jumping and

training career and had almost instant success.

He won the World Championship in 2001 and 2003 for horses in the �ve year-old division. In 2010

he broke through for the Australian Team and has been selected on every major Team since,

representing Australia at two World Equestrian Games at (2010 and 2014). His best result coming

in 2010 when the team placed seventh and he was 57th for the individual.

Amarillo is the horse he will take to Rio de Janeiro. He is part-owner of the 11 year-old bay gelding.

Leading into Rio the pair has enjoyed good results including a fourth place �nish at the Sopot

(Poland) Nations Cup CSIO5*. At two of Australia’s nomination events, Sopot and Linz, they only

incurred time penalties.



Fast Facts


O�cial Home of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team






Event/s Individual Open, Team Open Height 170

Weight 72 Age 37

Born Melbourne, VIC, Australia Lives Swolgen, Netherlands

Scott Keach

Matthew Williams


Career Highlights

Winning the Grand Prix in Bourg en Bresse in 2012.

Winning the Grand Prix in Geesteren in 2010.

Second with the Australian team in the 2014 Super League Final in Barcelona.

Education

Primary Geelong College, VIC, Australia

Tertiary Marcus Oldham College - Horses Business Management, Geelong VIC Australia

Training

Primary Training Base Putten, Netherlands

Q&A

Star Sign libra

I would spend my last $10 on on my girlfriend Jonneke scholten

First Olympic Memory? Watching the Olympics on television as a small child. I told my mum that I

was going to go to the Olympics one day.

Most Inuential person in your career/life My mother

Why this sport? Born into it

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27/07/2016 Edwina TopsAlexander | AUS Team | Rio 2016

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Athlete Biography

Edwina Tops-Alexander fell in love with horses at a young age when she began spending

afternoons and weekends at her neighbours house where she would watch them ride before she

jumped on and never looked back. She went on to be Australia's best junior as she took out the

Australian young riders championship in 1995.

Coming in to the 2006 World Championships in Aachen, Germany ranked 35th in the world, she

made history by becoming the 倀茂rst female Australian rider to make the 倀茂nal, where she eventually

claimed 4th.

Tops-Alexander made her Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games where she claimed 9th position

in the individual event and 7th in the team event for a best Australian result. Her double clear at

the competition in Hong Kong was a career highlight.

In 2011, she became the 倀茂rst rider to win one million Euros on the Global Champions Tour, which

was set up in 2006 by her husband Jan Tops. She won the Global Champions Tour 倀茂nal in 2011 and

2012. She was the top ranked female rider in the world for over two years.

Tops-Alexander competed at her second Olympic Games in London where she placed equal 20th in

the individual and equal 10th in the team jumping competitions, riding Itot du Chateau. She has

continued to excel since London and competes in over 40 competitions a year. She has decided to

ride Lintea Tequila at the Games and has high hopes for Rio 2016. She is a very popular athlete

globally and has 200,000 fans on social media.



O倀ऄcial Home of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team





Fast Facts


Event/s Individual Open Nickname Weenie

Height 164 Weight 50

Age 42 Born Sydney, NSW, Australia

Lives Monte Carlo, Monaco

Olympic Information

London 20th Individual,10th Team Beijing 9th Individual, 7th Team

Recent Performances

2nd – 2016 Cascais, Estoril CSI5* Global Champions Tour Grand Prix (Estoril, Portugal)

2nd – 2016 Cannes CSI5* Global Champions Tour Grand Prix (Cannes, France)

8th – 2016 Saint Tropez CSI5* Global Champions Tour Grand Prix (Saint Tropez, France)

2nd – 2016 Mexico City CSI5* Global Champions Tour Table A (Mexico City, Mexico)

1st – 2016 Miami CSI5* Global Champions Tour Grand Prix (Miami, Florida)

Career Highlights

Winning the Global Champions Tour 倀茂nal two years in a row (2011, 2012).

Winning the 5 star GP in Miami (2016)

Finishing 4th in the World Championships in 2006

Education

Primary Pymble Ladies College (NSW, Australia)

Secondary Pymble Ladies College (NSW, Australia)

Tertiary Bachelor of Physical Education - ACPE (1992-1995)

Training




Coach Jan Tops (2002 - current)

Club Stal Tops Valkenswaard, Netherlands

Primary Training Base Netherlands

Q&A

Personal Motto Never give up

Most In倀霂uential person in your career/life My husband and my parents.

Why this sport? I love animals and I'm very competitive so it was a great way to communicate and

compete at the same time. It's a very unique sport like no other. Getting into the mind of a horse is

very special and requires a lot of feeling and intuition.

27/07/2016 Matthew Williams | AUS Team | Rio 2016

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Matthew Williams

Athlete Biography

Matthew Williams will compete as his third Olympic Games in Rio riding Valinksi S. He had a

wonderful Olympic debut aged just 23 in 2008 where he was 20th in the Individual and 7th in the

Team. Four years later in London the Team 翿�nished tenth and he did not ride as well individually.

Matthew Williams will compete as his third Olympic Games in Rio riding Valinksi S. He had a

wonderful Olympic debut aged just 23 in 2008 where he was 20th in the Individual and 7th in the

Team. Four years later in London the Team 翿�nished tenth and he did not ride as well individually.

He will use the great atmosphere of the Grand Prix events in the US and the hot conditions to

acclimatise Valinski for Rio. Valinksi S is a 14 year-old, which he part owns, and they have only been

a combination for less than a year by the time of the Olympics

Williams competed at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and helped Australia to 7th for the Team

event and he was 63rd individually. He missed the 2014 World Equestrian Games after enduring an

up and down period after the London Games.

Growing up in rural Victoria, Williams began riding horses when he was three. In 2003 he won the

Australian Junior Jumping title and was also named the Junior Rider of the Year. The following year

he was named the Young Rider of the Year for jumping and then moved to England to further his

equestrian career. He also spent time in Belgium and Switzerland before moving to Florida, USA.



OŽcial Home of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team





Fast Facts


Event/s Individual Open, Team Open Height 178

Weight 72 Age 31

Born Melbourne, VIC, Australia Lives Florida, United States


Scott Keach


Career Highlights

Reaching top 20 翿�nal individually at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

7th team 翿�nal in Beijing

Winning $200k Grand Prix in Ocala this winter (2015/16)

Education

Secondary Marist-Sion College (VIC, Australia)

Training

Primary Training Base Wellington, USA

Q&A

Star Sign Aries

First Olympic Memory? Watching Atlanta on the TV, seeing Jus De Pomme 翿�nish the whole

Olympics with out a fault

Most In灵埀uential person in your career/life My father and Duncan Ingles


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Why this sport? I grew up in a farm with both parents riding, it's all I've ever wanted

equestrian jumping - 4 athletes

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