Trailblazing Olympic veteran to join USA’s Showjumping Hall of Fame

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This year's Hall of Fame inductee Beezie Madden is still competing - pictured at the Winter Equestrian Festival this season
Hall of Fame inductee Beezie Madden in action this month with Kick Start II at the Winter Equestrian Festival in the 7-year-old young jumper
(Image credit: Trevor Meeks)

Olympic veteran Beezie Madden, who blazed a trail for female showjumpers worldwide in the course of her longstanding career, has been elected for induction into the USA’s Showjumping Hall of Fame. She will be honored by her peers at the Hall of Fame Gala on 6 March held in the middle of the Winter Equestrian Festival, in which Madden is also competing.

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Madden, 57, received her first pony as a Christmas gift at the age of four and competed at grand prix level 18 years later. Fortune followed and she was the first woman to pass the $1million mark in showjumping earnings. In 2004 she entered the history books again becoming the first woman and the first American rider to reach the top three in showjumping’s world rankings – and broke new ground once again in 2014 as the first woman to win the King George Gold Cup at Hickstead, riding Cortes ‘C’. She repeated the win in 2015 – the first woman and one of few riders to achieve back to back victories.

Sarah Eakin
Sarah Eakin
Freelance journalist

Sarah Eakin is an international equestrian journalist who writes for publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including Horse & Hound, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph in the UK. A former Pony Club team member for dressage, showjumping and eventing, Sarah’s mother trained National Hunt horses and she and her three brothers also played polo. Formerly married to a US professional polo player, Sarah is currently based in Wellington, Florida.