A flash Volvo FH weaves its way through Europe hauling some particularly special cargo – two of Aussie Olympian Edwina Tops-Alexander’s priceless horses. ROADBOSS’s Harrison Hunkin found his way on the adventure.
Jan Tops, the former Olympic gold medal-winning equestrian rider, stands aloft a viewing platform, attentively watching the action before him. It seems – despite a camera clicking away over his shoulder – that he is totally unaware of our existence behind him.
The well-dressed man wriggles and writhes, anxiousness evident. His reasoning is captured live through our telescopic lens – his wife, Edwina Tops-Alexander, one of Australia’s most esteemed athletes, is jumping her way around the idyllic sand arena atop her noble steed.
Edwina, with her horse ‘Fellow Castlefield’, launches herself over the final jump measuring in around 1.6 metres high, and lands together in one piece.
A clear round, Jan lets out a sigh of relief, and the crowd politely applauds – as you’d assume, if you’d seen the immaculately presented type of people in attendance.
This certainly isn’t the Bathurst 1000. Singlets and stubbies, replaced with Gucci and Prada. This is the Longines Global Champions Tour event in Rome – the elite professional show jumping tour which sees the world’s equestrian riders compete around the globe.
“Not a bad backdrop,” I catch myself saying out loud when I arrive at the venue – a reasonable statement, methinks; this week’s show is held among the stunning ruins of the Circus Maximus in the centre of Rome, a fitting venue considering chariots raced here in front of emperors thousands of years ago.
It’s what the Longines Global Champions Tour does best – hosting premier events in the most stunning of venues. A previous event was set against the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the next event will find its way to Morocco.
The headquarters of Edwina and Jan’s equestrian empire in the Netherlands boasts a world-class facility of stables, indoor arenas and a stadium. Images: Alastair Brook
The event is a logistical feat, a luxurious expression, an entertainment spectacle, with much of the heavy lifting done by trucks.
After all, this is a trucking publication. You can see where this is going, can’t you? Immaculate horses, driven in immaculate trucks, to immaculate parts of the world, and my journey to Rome began a week earlier.
Euro trip
Beautiful manor-style gates open automatically on my arrival at Stal Tops – the headquarters of Edwina and Jan’s equestrian empire in Valkenswaard, Netherlands. Inside, a world-class facility of stables, indoor arenas and a stadium that looks bigger than Brookvale Oval.
Failing to keep my cool, I whip out my phone to snap a few pictures for my mum, the horse-loving lady who’d kill to be in my position at this moment.
I guess, much of this adventure is thanks to mum – I’ve made it across the globe watching horses due to the fact that my parents met as youths through their shared passion for horses. This passion admittingly skipped me, infecting instead my sisters, and consequently forcing me to spend a good chunk of my life touring around the Australian countryside to horse events in the other constant of my life… trucks, and through those years touring with the family, led to friends and connections that provided us with this opportunity to meet Edwina.
But this feels different from my childhood…perhaps it’s the fact we’re on our way to Italy?
We’re greeted by Katarina, Edwina’s chief groom, and Manuel, who’s preparing the striking blue and silver 2020 Volvo FH for the road to Rome.
For Edwina’s team, the role of transporting the horses now lands in the job description of her grooms, Manuel and Katarina. Keeping in mind that they are hauling priceless horses that are essentially elite athletes, the role of getting them from A to B isn’t as simple as it seems. They require time, the right program, and careful transportation. Instead of temperature checks of the wheel bearings, team Stal Tops must check horse temperatures. “It’s a crazy amount of logistics,” Edwina reminds me.
Transporting the horses from HQ to Rome is the job of Edwina’s grooms Manuel and Katarina and their striking blue and silver 2020 Volvo FH. Images: Alastair Brook
This week, Manuel has the honour of driving and will be joined by Thio, a retired former truck driver.
For the longer trips like from home base in Valkenswaard to Rome, the grooms have a second professional driver with them – an opportunity Thio relishes.
“My wife pushes me out the door when I’m asked to help out,” the 72-year-old says with a big smile. His Dutch accent is thick, but his English is great.
Manuel, some 40 years younger, hails from Spain and has spent almost his entire life and career riding, working and tending to horses. He’s recently arrived at Stal Tops after working for another prominent European equestrian rider and is keen to impress his new employer.
It’s an easy enough drive, according to Manuel, but he admits he hasn’t done this route before – Thio assures it will be fun.
If all goes swimmingly, the Volvo and our limited-edition Ford Focus will hit the autobahn in Germany, criss-cross through a few countries, weave through the Dolomites and find ourselves in Rome for a pasta dinner in approximately 30 hours. ROADBOSS photographer Alastair Brook looks chuffed.
And with no time to lose, the Stal Tops Volvo FH loaded with its precious cargo – ‘Caetlin vd Heffinck Z’ and ‘Fellow Castlefield’ (Edwina’s two horses for the weekend) – rolls out through those manor-style gates. Rome its destination.
The full story appears in the Summer Issue of ROADBOSS Magazine, out now. To ensure you don’t miss another edition click here to subscribe.
