By Helen Townes
Portraits by Sara Farrell
For some, riding is a casual hobby, taken up in childhood and lasting a few years before fading as the demands of “real life” take over. For others, it’s an all-consuming way of life, worth all the tremendous expense and pressure. Eventer Maddy Temkin is wholeheartedly in the second category.
Now 24 years old, Maddy first “rode” a horse before she was born. Her mother, Beth Temkin Brown, an eventing rider and trainer, competed in a three-star when she was five months pregnant. One of Maddy’s first words was “UP!” as in, “Lift me UP on that horse!” The family uprooted from Sebastopol, California, to a farm in Lexington, Kentucky, three years ago so that Maddy could pursue her dream to be a world-class eventer. She’s building her string of talented horses, many of them off-the-track Thoroughbreds and others imported from Europe. This is no casual hobby for Maddy Temkin.
Growing up in the Business
Maddy grew up riding ponies as Beth, herself a four-star eventer, was competing and training eventing clients with her business, Full Circle Training, which was based in Northern California. “I realized I wanted to do this as a career when I was around 6 or 7, when I started Beginner Novice,” Maddy said. “Growing up around my mom and so many other influential figures definitely made a difference—Tamie Smith was like a second mom to me, and Hawley Bennett was always around. What they were doing with horses really fueled my desire to pursue it myself.”
Beth didn’t have the funds to buy Maddy fancy horses when she was growing up, but that didn’t stop Maddy. “I’d take her on buying trips for fancy horses for my clients, which she learned a lot from!” Beth laughed. “Maddy’s had to produce her own horses, many of them OTTBs, and she’s very committed to producing young horses up the levels. That’s been very formative and has contributed to the quality of her partnership with her horses.”
When she was 13, Maddy was talent-scouted for the USEF Eventing Emerging Athlete Program’s Under-18 list, which took her to a new, more elite level. “We had our first training session at David and Karen O’Connor’s farm in Ocala, Florida, which was very eye-opening,” she said. Since then, Maddy has been on the Emerging Riders list, which includes riders who show the potential to develop into U.S. Eventing Team candidates. She was most recently selected for the U25 group.
At just 14 years old, Maddy competed in her first FEI event, the then-CCI1* at Galway Downs. She leased a black horse named Kingslee, a 16-year-old gelding previously ridden by the beloved late Geriann Henderson, and secured a respectable 12th place with a clear round in the cross-country. Later, she placed fifth individually in the CH-J* at the 2015 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships.
“Kingslee was the first horse to put me on the map,” Maddy said. “I did my first two-star, my first Intermediate, my first three-star, my first Advanced, and two Young Riders competitions, all on him.” Kingslee retired at 19 after a very successful career and now lives at their Kentucky farm. “Kinglsee lives outside my window with his pet goat, Bart, who moved with us from California,” Maddy said. The family also has a mini pig, Ginger, “who’s not that mini!” Maddy laughed. Her beloved dog Arabella is never far away from Maddy, and travels back and forth across the country, a well-known presence at all the showgrounds.
Moving East to Horse Country
Buying their Kentucky farm three years ago was a pivotal moment in the lives of Maddy and her family, including her stepfather, Brian Brown, who wasn’t
previously “horsey” but became an integral part of their business with his background as a contractor and can-do attitude. “It got harder and harder to be on the West Coast, both geographically and financially, so we picked Kentucky as our new base. We had such a great business in California, and our clients were like family, which made it hard to leave,” Maddy said.
Their Double B Farm sits on a bucolic 80 acres of gently rolling bluegrass. The property’s three houses and three barns accommodate the Brown family—Beth, Brian, Maddy and her younger brother, Parker—as well as their own horses and boarders/clients. Their barn manager/assistant, Jessie Olson, lives on the property and “is part of the family;” another invaluable member of the Double B team is Alexxis Stanalonis, who works as Maddy’s groom and “takes care of the horses like they are her own,” Maddy said. Double B and Full Circle Training has become a hub for University of Kentucky (UK) students, with many of the stalls filled by members of the UK equestrian team.
Maddy’s competitive career has continued to prosper, with her involvement with the Emerging Riders program and high rankings at many of the top national eventing competitions. She placed fourth at her debut CCI4*-L in 2021 at the Twin Rivers Spring International in Paso Robles, California, with her Thoroughbred gelding Dr. Hart, who is now being ridden and shown by another young rider. Maddy and her horse MVP Madbum, an OTTB mare Maddy purchased as a 2-year-old and who is now 11, are now competing at the Advanced and four-star level. In 2023, they placed ninth in the Advanced at Chattahoochee Hills in Fairburn, Georgia, and 15th in the CCI4*-S at Tryon International in Mill Spring, North Carolina. They then went on to finish second in the 4*-L at Rebecca Farm in Flathead Valley, Montana.
“That was the biggest turning point for me,” Maddy remembered. “I’d done everything with Madbum, but that competition wasn’t the easiest for her, physically, and she gave me everything that weekend. That was a huge point in my career when the stars aligned.” Madbum was named for San Francisco Giants baseball player Madison Bumgarner, nicknamed MadBum; the mare has been resting from an injury this year and is pregnant now. “We’ll see after a year off and a baby what’s next for her,” Maddy said. Also pregnant is Georgia, a bay Thoroughbred mare whom Maddy took off the track when she was just 3 and has evented through Training level.
Maddy’s other horses include two exciting youngsters from Kilkenny, Ireland, purchased from Carol Gee, owner of the famed Fernhill Sport Horses: an Irish Sport Horse mare named Fernhill Fairytale and a Hanoverian gelding named Fernhill Bertus. “I took my first buying trip to Ireland and came back with two 4-year-olds,” Maddy shared. “I always wanted to ride a Fernhill horse, and now I get to ride not just one, but two! They’re doing Preliminaries and are exceptional, exciting horses for the future.” Bertus won Reserve Champion in the East Coast Young Event Horse Championships at Maryland 5 Star last fall.
Another talented up-and-coming horse in Maddy’s string is Groove Armada, or Groovy, who was purchased in Italy by Maddy’s father, Andrew Temkin, and his wife, Rainey Temkin, and is now 7. “Most recently Groovy finished second in the Intermediate/Prelim at Midsouth Horse Trials at Kentucky Horse Park and also has had some great rounds show jumping at the 1.20m level,” Maddy said.
Maddy’s dedication and hard work have earned her significant recognition. Recently, she received a unique award from the Maryland Horse Trials—the first of its kind. As the highest-placed young rider in the FEI divisions last summer, Maddy was awarded a trip to Ireland this year to attend the Millstreet International Horse Trials at the end of May. “I was able to pick up a catch-ride on a 4-year-old and ride in the Millstreet Young Event Horse Program, which was super fun!” she said.
A Team of Talented Coaches
Her mentors have been critical to Maddy’s success—starting with her mom, Beth. “My mom still helps me on a day-to-day basis. And it’s funny, after working with David O’Connor in Ocala when I was 13 on the U18 Emerging Athlete Program, he’s now the chief of sport for eventing and living in Kentucky, so it’s come full circle and he helps me as well,” she said. Maddy spends March through December in Lexington and late December through early March in Ocala, Florida, where she trains with Leslie Law, USEF Development and Emerging coach, who’s known Maddy since she was 13. “Kentucky Horse Park has a jumper show that goes from May through November, so we get some extra practice there,” Maddy explained. “And then I ride at World Equestrian Center and HITS in Ocala, and utilize the jumper shows there.” She also trains in pure show jumping with top rider Donald Cheska, with Cheska Inc., in Lexington.
Maddy is close friends with Mia Farley, another rising star in eventing; the two have been riding together since they were 6 years old. “Our ponies got ‘married’ at Galway when we were little,” Maddy laughed.
“Maddy made events that much more exciting,” Mia said. “I always loved seeing my best friend, and just growing up and learning together always gave us that competitive edge. Now it’s fun to talk every day and learn about what works in business and what doesn’t. What makes Maddy a competitive rider is her will to learn from others and simply her drive to be the best in the sport. She knows the game and is willing to sacrifice all she can for it.”
Academic pursuits have also been important to Maddy, despite her hectic riding and training schedule. She will graduate in January 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in business communications from the University of Phoenix. In her “spare time,” which she admits is limited, she enjoys boating, surfing and water skiing, but “I mostly just ride!” she said. “It’s funny, even when we’re taking a break, we still want to play around with the horses.”
As for future goals, Maddy has her eye on the international stage at the highest levels. “I have an exciting group of young horses, and obviously you never know what will happen,” she said. “My goal is to ride on a U.S. team and represent our country, at the Olympics, at Nations Cups, and on other large world stages abroad.”
Follow Maddy on Instagram @maddytemkineventing
Photos by Sara Farrell, www.threeredheadsandamoose.com