PrintWhen the famous show jumper Authentic wants something, he knows who to talk to: Clark Shipley.
“If Authentic is in his stall and wants to go out in the paddock, every time he sees Clark he screams at him. He knows Clark is the one who takes care of him, and Clark makes sure he’s happy,” said grand prix rider Beezie Madden, who rode Authentic to team gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, team and individual silver at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and individual bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games.
“The best thing is that every time you went somewhere, you felt like you had a chance to win, and not everyone can say that about a horse,” said Shipley of Authentic. “And his personality made it ever more fun—he’s a cocky little thing!”
In 18 years of working for John and Beezie Madden, Shipley has traveled the world and taken care of some of the best horses. Through it all, his quiet confidence and easy affability have helped Beezie become one of the best in the world. “He's always supportive of me, and he's 100 percent wanting to do what's best for the horse and for me. That's his strongest asset,” Beezie said.
An Unexpected Offer
Shipley has horses in his blood but not jumpers. He grew up in rural Iowa in a family immersed in the world of harness racing. His uncle, Mike Arnold, is in the Iowa Harness Racing Hall of Fame. Shipley started out working for his uncle, apprenticing under him, but he eventually branched out on his own and drove and trained Standardbreds until his early 30s.
When he was 34, John Madden offered Shipley a job, even though he’d only ever seen one small horse show. John knew Shipley’s girlfriend, Sue Schlegel. She was working on the track, where she met Shipley, but she had experience in the jumper world.
“What I tell people is that they wanted Sue so bad, they took me. I was the ‘player to be named later’ in the baseball trade,” Shipley joked.
“I told John that I didn't know how I was going to do it, that I didn't even know how to put a saddle on, and he said, 'They're just horses.' And basically it is a lot of the same with taking care of them in the barn. Some things are a lot different with longer hours and international travel, but I caught on fairly fast,” he continued.
Today, Shipley and Schlegel are still together and are both still working for the Maddens. “We've worked together for 23 years between the racetrack and here. I probably drive her crazy, but she won't admit it!” Shipley said.
“Our organization is a little different than a lot of others, because we don't really have a barn manager,” said Beezie. “They all find their niche of what they like to do and are good at. We have Clark and Sue, and Amy DeVisser, who has been with us even longer than them and likes to stay home. Clark kind of does all the things that girls don't like to do, like the heavy lifting.
“He has a lot of experience with horses and a real sense of responsibility about them. He's the one who's always there when there's something difficult to do. He can take the pressure of going to the Olympic Games, whereas some people don't want that kind of pressure,” she continued.
Shipley’s common-sense personality and even-keel nature fit in well with the Maddens’ approach. “Beezie is very dedicated and works hard. So, you don't mind getting up early in the morning and working hard yourself. And John's always got 1,400 things going on at the same time, but that's just John. We're used to it. They're both very good to be around,” Shipley said.
