Beezie Madden facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Beezie Madden

Madden on the medals stand in 2008.
Personal information
Birth name	Elizabeth Patton
Full name	Elizabeth Madden
Nickname(s)	Beezie
Born	November 20, 1963 (1963-11-20) (age 61) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Residence	Cazenovia, New York
Spouse(s)	John Madden
Medal record Equestrian Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Team jumping Gold 2008 Beijing Team jumping Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team jumping Bronze 2008 Beijing Individual jumping World Championships Silver 2006 Aachen Individual jumping Silver 2006 Aachen Team jumping Bronze 2014 Normandy Individual jumping Bronze 2014 Normandy Team jumping Pan American Games Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Team jumping Gold 2011 Guadalajara Team jumping Silver 2011 Guadalajara Individual jumping Bronze 2019 Lima Individual jumping Bronze 2019 Lima Team jumping

Elizabeth Madden (born November 20, 1963), known as Beezie Madden, is a famous American equestrian who competes in show jumping. She has won many awards, including two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal in team jumping. She also has an individual bronze medal from the Olympics.

Beezie has won the Show Jumping World Cup twice. She also earned two silver and two bronze medals at World Championships. At the Pan American Games, she won two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. She was the first American rider to be ranked among the top three show jumpers in the world. She was also the first woman to earn over one million dollars in show jumping prize money.

She competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics, winning team gold for the United States. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won team gold and an individual bronze. She also competed in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won team silver. Beezie and her husband, John Madden, own a horse training and sales business called John Madden Sales in Cazenovia, New York.

Beezie's Early Life and Riding

Beezie Madden was born Elizabeth Patton in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her parents, Kathleen and Joseph Patton, were involved in training and selling horses. They even built their own horse stable.

Beezie started riding horses when she was just three years old. She received her first pony, named Flicka, as a Christmas gift when she was about four or five. Her brother, Stuart, also got a pony named Fudge that same year. They rode their ponies without saddles, using only bridles.

Beezie began competing in horse shows around age six. For most of her younger years, she rode in "hunter" competitions. In her last two junior years, she competed in "equitation" and then in "jumpers" in her final year. Her best result in equitation was eighth place at the Medal Final, a big national competition.

College and First Job

Beezie attended Southern Seminary Junior College. She rode for the school's equestrian team and also played basketball and softball. In 1984, she won the Cacchione Cup at a national college horse show competition.

After graduating as the top student, Beezie was accepted into the University of Virginia. However, she chose to work at Katie Monahan's horse farm instead of going to university.

Beezie's Amazing Career

Beezie Madden worked and lived at Katie Monahan's farm for four years. While there, she met her future husband, John Madden. He was also working for Katie at the time.

Starting Grand Prix Jumping

In 1985, at age 22, Beezie began riding in "grand prix" events. This is the highest level of show jumping. Her first international competition was in 1987, when she represented the United States at the World Cup in Paris.

In 1988, John and Beezie bought their own farm in Cazenovia, New York. They got married in November 1998. In 2002, she competed in her first World Equestrian Games in Spain.

Olympic Success and Milestones

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Beezie won a gold medal. She was part of the United States team in team jumping. Her teammates were Peter Wylde, McLain Ward, and Chris Kappler. That same year, Beezie became the first woman to earn over $1 million in show jumping prize money.

At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Beezie won another gold medal in the team jumping competition. Her teammates were Laura Kraut, Will Simpson, and McLain Ward. She also won a bronze medal in the individual show jumping competition.

Madden riding Authentic (left) at the 2008 Olympic Games ceremony

In 2012, Beezie competed in the 2012 London Summer Olympics with her horse, Coral Reef Via Volo.

Top Rankings and Major Wins

In 2013, Beezie was ranked the 4th best rider in the world by the FEI Longines Rider Rankings. She was also the number one woman rider. To achieve this, she won many important competitions:

• The Show Jumping World Cup in Sweden with her horse, Simon.
• The $125,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix in Florida with Cortes 'C'.
• She was part of Team USA that won the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup in Florida with Simon.
• She won several other cups and grand prix events with horses like Amadora and Coral Reef Via Volo.

In 2014, riding Cortes 'C', Beezie became the first woman to win the King George Gold Cup at All England Jumping Course at Hickstead. She also made history by winning the same competition two years in a row in 2015 with Cortes 'C'.

In May 2014, Beezie broke her collarbone after a fall during a competition. She had surgery and took six weeks off. Right after her break, she competed at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games. She won team and individual bronze medals with Cortes 'C'. Her horse, Cortes 'C', was even voted the Best Horse of the Games!

Beezie also won the USEF Equestrian of the Year award in 2014. This made her the first rider to win this award four times. In 2015, she competed in her tenth FEI Jumping World Cup Final with Simon, finishing as the top US rider.

More Olympic Medals and Retirement Plans

In 2016, the U.S. Team won the FEI Nations Cup with Beezie riding Breitling LS. Beezie and Cortes 'C' were chosen for the 2016 U.S. Olympic show jumping team. This was her fourth time at the Olympics. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Beezie won a team silver medal. At 52 years old, she was the oldest female athlete on the United States Olympic team in Rio.

In April 2018, Beezie became the Longines FEI World Cup champion again, riding Breitling LS. At 54, she was the oldest athlete to win the World Cup. In 2019, Beezie competed at the Pan American Games in Lima, where she won two bronze medals.

In February 2020, Beezie Madden shared that she planned to semi-retire after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She wanted to focus more on training horses and other riders.

Famous Horses

Some of Beezie Madden's most well-known horses include Authentic, Cortes C, and Judgement. As of 2016, Beezie regularly competed with seven horses. Most of these horses are owned by her long-time sponsor, Abigail Wexner.

International Competition Results

Results
Year	Event	Horse	Placing	Notes
1987	World Cup Final	Medrano	18th
2002	World Equestrian Games	Judgement	6th	Team
			29th	Individual
2003	World Cup Final	Judgement	30th
2003	Pan American Games	Conquest II		Team
			33rd	Individual
2004	Olympic Games	Authentic		Team
			28th	Individual
2006	World Cup Final	Judgement	13th
2006	World Equestrian Games	Authentic		Team
				Individual
2007	World Cup Final	Authentic	39th
2008	Olympic Games	Authentic		Team
				Individual
2009	World Cup Final	Danny Boy	12th
2011	World Cup Final	Coral Reef Via Volo / Danny Boy	4th
2011	Pan American Games	Coral Reef Via Volo		Team
				Individual
2012	World Cup Final	Cortes 'C'	17th
2012	Olympic Games	Coral Reef Via Volo	6th	Team
			EL	Individual
2013	World Cup Final	Simon
2014	World Cup Final	Simon	7th
2014	World Equestrian Games	Cortes 'C'		Team
				Individual
2015	World Cup Final	Simon	4th
2016	Olympic Games	Cortes 'C'		Team
			46th	Individual
2018	World Cup Final	Breitling LS
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew

See also

In Spanish: Elizabeth Madden para niños