USEF Network

Beezie Madden

Born: November 20, 1963
Hometown: Cazenovia, New York

 

Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Beezie Madden has been riding since the age of three and made her Grand Prix debut in 1985. Four years of continued success followed, including participation on winning U.S. Nations Cup teams, leading to her being named the 1989 United States Olympic Committee’s Female Equestrian of the Year.

Madden was the first woman—and the first U.S. rider—to reach the top three in the Gandini Show Jumping World Ranking list (achieved in 2004), and she was the first woman to pass the $1 million mark in earnings for jumping. Additionally, she has won back-to-back honors as USEF Equestrian of the Year— the first rider ever to do so.

In 2004, she breezed through the Olympic Selection Trials, finishing in first place on Authentic. With her contribution of double-clear rounds in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, she helped the U.S. team win the Gold medal. Her success on U.S. soil that same year earned her the American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year title that year.

Madden added Team and Individual Silver medals to her resume at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

Her greatest accomplishment in 2007 was winning the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen, in Germany, in July. Madden again rode Authentic for this prestigious win over 40 of the world’s best. To add to this honor she was named leading rider in Aachen.

Madden enjoyed another incredible year in 2008 with Authentic. She won her second consecutive Team Gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games where they won an unbelievable jump-off to pick up Individual Bronze as well.

In 2010, Madden teamed up with Coral Reef Via Volo to win the $75,000 Equine Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix in Florida. In the summer they traveled to Europe, where they won the Grand Prix of Aachen and placed third in the Grand Prix of Dublin. At the Spruce Meadows Masters, the pair won the $50,000 CANA Cup and were part of the winning U.S. Team in the Nations Cup in September. That same month they picked up wins at the American Gold Cup. 

2011 saw Madden win at home and on foreign soil. In March, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo were part of the winning U.S. team in the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. In April, Madden travelled to Leipzig, Germany to compete in the 2011 Rolex/FEI World Cup Finals, where she tied for fourth-place honors overall. 

Madden kept up her strong form throughout the summer of 2011. With Cortes ‘C’, Madden claimed her first victory on the Global Champions Tour winning the VDL Groep sponsored Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Valkenswaard. Later that month, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo won the Longines International Grand Prix of Rotterdam (CHIO).

2011 ended on a high note for Madden. After collecting third place in the $75,000 Grand Prix de Penn National with Cortes ‘C’, she travelled to Guadalajara, Mexico to represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games. Riding Coral Reef Via Volo, she won Team Gold and Individual Silver medals.

Madden has started 2012 on a tear competing at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. During the first week, she and new partner Simon won the $30,000 Adequan Grand Prix. During week four, she collected a second-place finish with Cortes ‘C’ in the WEF Challenge Cup series. For a second straight year, Madden and Prima won the $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby during week six.

In the 2012 USEF Selection Trials Madden finished eighth with Cortes 'C', with a clear round in trial four. At the Observation Event for the U.S. Show Jumping Team held at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show, Madden took home top honors in the $50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and finished third in the $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix with Simon. Madden also finished fourth with Cortes ‘C’ in the $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix.

At the Old Salem Farm Spring Horses Show, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo finished fifth in the $75,000 Empire State Grand Prix. Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo then competed in the U.S. Show Jumping Team Observation Events at Alberta’s Spruce Meadows. The pair had a clear first round in the Husky Energy Classic, sending them to a jump-off where the team would ultimately end the night finishing second. Madden returned to Spruce Meadows two weeks later for their "Canada One" event where she had five Top 4 finishes, highlighted by a victory in the Akita Drilling Cup. Later that summer, Madden traveled to Europe where she placed second in a CSI5* class aboard Simon in Chantilly, France and third in a CSI2* class aboard Vanilla in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands. That August, Madden also represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Married since 1998, Madden and her husband, horseman John Madden, reside in Cazenovia, NY.