Beezie Madden is a double Olympic gold medalist and one of the top showjumpers in the world.

Born in Milwaukee, USA, Beezie began riding when she was three and transformed an early passion for horses into an incredible career. She was the first woman to earn $1m in prize money and the first woman and the first American to reach the top three in the FEI Showjumping world rankings. She was also the first woman to win the King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead with her long-time partner Cortes ‘C’ in 2014, which she repeated the following year.

Even more incredible is the number of years Beezie has been at the top of her sport – from her first Olympic gold in 2004, to winning the Spruce Meadows Masters Grand Prix in 2019 and taking home a massive $1m in prize money.

In this interview Beezie talks about how the love of her sport has kept her competitive for more than 20 years. Her husband, John, has also played a vital role in her career and Beezie talks about how they met, and how their business has grown together.

Beezie also talks about:

· Staying fit in her fifties

· The secret to her and John’s long marriage – and why they decided not to have children

· Her amazing horses and what makes them such winners

· Future stars, including Garant, an up-and-coming ride she says is one of the best young horses she has ever had

· The retirement home Beezie and John have built together

· The toughest time in her career, when she lost two of her top horses and had to rebuild her career

· The importance of being organised and having a system with her horses

· The riders she admires

We hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we loved making it. To find out more about the helmets Beezie loves – visit www.charlesowen.com