In The Life Of Beezie Madden: Olympic Gold Medalist Show Jumping

Namita Nayyar (WF Team)

8 years ago

Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic winner from Cazenovia, New York. She won the 2013 World Cup of Show Jumping with Simon in Gothenburg, Sweden and she has been 3 time USEF Equestrian of the Year.

Madden was born Elizabeth Patton in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Kathleen “Kathy” McGregor/Schlesinger and Joseph “Joe” Patton. Madden has been asked, if she could start her life over again what would she do, and she admitted she would do the same thing. She began riding at the age of three and her first horse was called Flicka.

She is coached by her husband, John Madden, who also runs his business, John Madden Sales, from their farm in Cazenovia. She frequently shows horses owned by John Madden Sales, but she also rides for other owners. Two of her most popular horses, Authentic and Judgement (who is now retired from the sport), are owned by Abigail Wexner and Iron Spring Farm, respectively.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Madden won the gold medal as part of the United States team in Team jumping, together with Peter Wylde, McLain Ward and Chris Kappler. That year, Madden also became the first woman ever to pass the $1 million mark in show jumping earnings.

At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Madden earned gold in the Team Jumping competition along with Laura Kraut, Will Simpson and McLain Ward. She also earned a bronze in the Individual Show Jumping competition. She was also placed first in the Animal Planet Sport Horse cup aboard Judgement that year but during the 2008 Rolex Events in Las Vegas,Authentic threw Madden into a jump, and later was disqualified from the entire event.

In 2012, Madden competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics for the United States on Coral Reef Via Volo. In 2013, she was the 4th ranked rider in the world on the FEI Longines Rider Rankings and the number one woman rider. To accomplish this goal she won the Show Jumping World Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden on Simon, the $125,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida on Cortes ‘C’, was a member of Team USA winning the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup CSIO4 at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, again on Simon, the $35,000 RBC Capital Markets Cup 1.50 m at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta on Amadora, the $60,000 Great West-Life Cup at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta on Coral Reef Via Volo. The Global Champions Tour CSI5 Grand Prix of Chantilly in France on Cortes ‘C’ and the $100,000 American Gold Cup Qualifier in North Salem, New York on Coral Reef Via Volo.

Beezie Madden is 2X Olympic Gold Medalist Team jumping, 2013 World Cup Winner Show Jumping and Olympic Bronze Medalist Individual jumping in 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: You began riding at the age of three and your first horse was Flicka and later propelled your professional career to the height where you have been at the top of the world of Equestrian and reached the pinnacle of success at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, You won the gold medal as part of the United States team in Team Show Jumping. Tell us more about your journey of success?

Ms. Beezie Madden: The road has not always been easy, but I have been fortunate enough to get together with people like Katie Prudent and later my husband John, who have helped me get to the top. It may look like an individual sport or effort to an outsider, but what I have realized is that it truly is a team effort to achieve success in equestrian sports.

There are many challenges, from picking the right horses and developing them correctly, to working with a great veterinarian and developing a great barn staff. You also have to be able to recover when something unexpected happens, like an injury to you or your horse. Overall though I would say my journey has been about hard work and doing the little things right on a daily basis those are the things that ultimately lead to success.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: You have selected a sport which requires a lot of cohesiveness and absolute understanding between you and your team, horse, trainer to finally succeed, how do you achieve that?

Ms. Beezie Madden: We train and practice for big days so that the big days seem like just another day or are less hard than your other days. To win you have to be able to perform really well even on a bad day. So we set goals, focus on peaking at the right time, and practice what we need to do so that it is easy and second nature when the big day arrives.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine you might like to share?

Ms. Beezie Madden:

AM Routine & Stretches:

No matter where I am around the globe, I regularly wake between 5:30 – 6:00 am to start the day. I have breakfast and go through a series of stretches to stretch my back and shoulders.

Daily Workout:

Competitive riding requires a tremendous amount of core body strength and balance. On an average day, I will ride 6-8 horse a day for 45 minutes – 1 hour each. This results in riding between 4½ to 8 hours each day. On a busy day I will ride 10-12 horses.

Weekly Workouts:

As my schedule allows, I aim to supplement my daily exercise with workouts at the gym about 3 days a week. My workouts include free weights, exercise machines, as well as plenty of core and balance exercises. I spend 3 months during the winter competing in Wellington, Florida where I works with a personal trainer who assists me during my workouts and with understanding and developing a healthy diet. When I travel, we have a personal trainer that travels with us some of the time, but not with us 100% of the time, so I have to be very good about working out on my own as well.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?

Ms. Beezie Madden: I eat several meals each day and pay close attention to be sure that they are low in fat, low in sugar and low in salt. I pair a protein with a carbohydrate for each meal. I eat plenty of protein and green vegetables. I usually choose chicken or fish as the protein and carbohydrates are generally rice or potatoes. One of my favorites is sweet potatoes. I also eats plenty of oatmeal and egg whites as a part of my breakfast menu.

Because of my heavy travel schedule, I often finds myself eating in a restaurant faced with many unhealthy choices. Most often, I will order off the menu requesting simply plain grilled chicken or fish with no sauces or salt, maybe some lemon; a salad with vinegar or lemon as the dressing and a plain baked potato or rice with no butter.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding show jumping rider girls who are your fans and would like to know about your climb to success in field of Equestrian?

Ms. Beezie Madden: Seek the best instruction you can find. Have a good attitude about work and you may be surprised how far that can take you. We will always look for someone with the right attitude over ability. To never give up. Not succeeding cannot be an option and there is no magic short cut. Hard work and doing the little things right on a daily basis are what lead to success. Also, learn to teach. My best contacts have come as a result of teaching.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: How did you feel before and after you won the 2013 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping title at the end of an epic battle in the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden?

Ms. Beezie Madden: Well, going into it I was really focused. I thought the first leg was going to be a big challenge, but I also knew that we had the horses that could do it, Simon and Cortes ‘C’. However, this is a humbling support and there are so many ways for it to go wrong. The World Cup Finals are a true test of endurance and it is a long event. When we won the first leg, I knew we had a good shot, and that we were in a good position. Thankfully, it ended great.

It was truly amazing. I was so happy not just for myself but for my entire team that many don’t get to see or know, but it was a great success for all of us and truly a moment that I will never forget.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: You rode many horses namely Authentic, Judgement and Simon. Tell us about your experience with them and how they have been equal partners in all your victories and success?

Ms. Beezie Madden: Well of course, I could not do what I would do without them. They really become part of the family and have their own individual quirks and personalities. Authentic though retired still lives on our farm and love seeing him when we go home – he still gets lots of visitors. Judgement is retired from competition but is now a stallion at Iron Spring Farm in Pennsylvania. I have been very fortunate to have been able to ride amazingly talented horses, but being paired with them would not have ever been possible without the support of a great group of owners that have supported me along the way.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: You broke your collarbone in May when you and your horse fell at a water jump. Subsequent to that you had surgery at the NY Hospital for Special Surgeries. But you were back in the saddle for the last 2 Team USA observation events so that you could ride for the US at the World Equestrian Games. Your first big competition back was being the anchor rider for Team USA in the Nation’s Cup competition and helped them win Gold. Then 2 days later for the individual completion, you became the first woman ever to win the Hickstead Grand Prix. How you were able to overcome such a physical injury/setback and what advice you can give to fellow sports person in a similar situation?

Ms. Beezie Madden: I think the most important thing to do is to work with your doctors to set a realistic goal for you when to return to competition and then work towards that goal taking as few risks as possible. Re-injuring yourself may set you back so much farther than just sitting it out and healing fully. Be diligent about your physical therapy and work hard in the ways that you can to keep the rest of your body in shape.

Get on with the best Dr.’s you can find, make a plan, be honest and stick to it. I was connected with a great doctor, Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital For Special Surgeries in New York City and have a team of people around me that could ride and train my horses for me while I was out of the saddle. I also have the fantastic support of great owners, as well as super corporate sponsors who understand that these things can happen in any sport. I was glad to be able to get back in time to compete to be selected for the United States World Equestrian Games Team.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Who has been your greatest influencer and motivator in your success in the as a show jumping rider?

Ms. Beezie Madden: I have had many different trainers through my junior years. Eventually I became a working student of Katie Prudent, but I would have to say that my number one greatest influencer is and has been my husband John.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?

Ms. Beezie Madden: Set your goals and remember if it’s worth doing its worth doing well – there are no short cuts to success. Never give up – not succeeding is not an option. And, most importantly, love what you do.

To know more about Beezie Madden, check her out at: http://www.johnmaddensales.com

To know latest about Beezie Madden check out on her social networks:

Women Fitness Team thanks Beezie Madden for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and also wish to thank Connie Sawyer, LLC Equestrian Sports Marketing & Event Planning who made this interview happen.

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