32 SIDELINES JULY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Rebecca Walton
The pressure of a jump-off is nothing new to the average show
jumper, but when the jump-off follows fve grueling rounds of
competition and will determine a world champion, it’s a whole new
kind of pressure. That is what American Olympic show jumper
Beezie Madden was facing at the 2013 Rolex FEI Show Jumping
World Cup Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden with her
mount Simon, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Abigail
Wexner.
Rich Fellers and Flexible brought home theWorld Championship
title last year for the United States, and Beezie had her sights set
on doing the same. Beezie took an early lead in the frst day’s
speed leg, and after having an unlucky rail down during the
jump-off on the second day of competition, the duo slipped in
the rankings to second. They returned for the two fnal rounds a
day later ready for action. The frst course was easily one of the
biggest courses any of the riders had seen, and it was unable to
yield any clear rounds. Beezie was included in the four-faulters,
and when leader Luciana Diniz of Portugal had 12 faults, Beezie
took over the overall lead by a single fault.
Although they had the win within their sites, the second round
of the fnal proved to be just as daunting. They once again had a
single knockdown, creating a tie with the reigning Olympic gold
medalist, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and his mount Nino Des
Buissonnets, who also had a grand total of nine faults.
A jump-off at the end of the World Cup Finals was not new
for Steve Guerdat, who fnished second to Rich and Flexible the
previous year in the same exact situation, losing by just tenths
of a second. This year, he didn’t want to lose because of time,
so he pulled out all of the stops with his quick-footed mount.
Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off when a tight rollback to the fnal
bending line added eight faults to his score.
All Beezie and Simon had to do was go clean, and that’s exactly
what they did. With her clear and concise effort over the jump-off,
Beezie captured her frst individual championship and became
one of only fve women ever to win the World Cup Finals.
Simon and Beezie have been partnered together a little over a
year, but they both had stellar records to begin with, making it a
match made in heaven. In 2011, Beezie placed fourth at the World
Cup Finals, while Simon placed third. Together, they proved to
have the winning strategy.
“I think Simon is a very sensitive horse,” noted Madden. “I am
always working on rideability, playing around with bits, but I found
one that I could have the best control in. He can get a bit strong,
but, in a way, he’s not so diffcult because he’s so careful. He
knows his job so well and he wants to do his job, so in that way he
makes things easy for me. As long as I can get him there within
range he usually makes it.”
The World Cup Championship has returned to the United States
for the second year in a row, adding a second feather in the cap of
new U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. The next
focus for the United States? The 2013 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup
Final in Barcelona where all eyes will be on Beezie to once again
defend her title in 2014.
All photos by Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group
Beezie Madden and Simon –
World Cup Champions
e
Voltaire-Design, Inc., a proud
sponsor of Beezie Madden,
congratulates Beezie on her
World Cup Win.
Beezie proudly shows off her
trophy. Her win makes her
one of only fve women ever
to win the World Cup Finals.