Beezie Madden started 2004 with a capable horse and a few questions. She finished it with an Olympic team silver medal (which the International Olympic Committee is expected to change to gold) and a seasoned international competitor in Authentic.

“To end up jumping a double clear in the Nations Cup at the Olympics was just amazing for him. Not that I didn’t think he could do it, but he was only 9,” she said. “Horses are always kind of an unknown, but especially when they’re so young. But anything we’ve asked of him, he’s done and done it like a champ. He’s pretty amazing.”

Beezie and John Madden, her husband and trainer, knew that Authentic was a special horse when they bought him at the end of his 6-year-old year. But it seemed as if the Olympic trials, in June, might be a bit soon in his career, even though Authentic had finished 2003 with impressive performances at the European indoor shows, including a win at the Stuttgart Masters (Germany). “From then on, he started to show that he understood the highest level,” John said.

Authentic had a successful Florida circuit in early 2004, and then he placed second in the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational (Fla.) in April. “He walked into the Invitational like a seasoned horse. Beezie’s and my concern was whether his maturation was going to happen quickly enough, and it did,” John said.

With just one rail and a foot in the water, Authentic finished the six-round Olympic selection trials as the team’s top qualifier. He also won the $175,000 Cargill Grand Prix of the United States, run as the last two rounds, with the day’s only double clear. “It was like everything just fell into place,” John recalled. “It was sort of the fruition of a lot of things. We tried to put everything in position so that he could do well at the trials and be prepared for the Olympic Games.”

But it all got thrown into jeopardy the day of the jog in Athens. Afterward, Authentic colicked, and FEI medication rules prevented any medical treatment, other than rehydrating him with fluids. “He wouldn’t stand still in the stall to take the fluids; he was that uncomfortable” for three hours, said Beezie. “We were really close to medicating him. Our last-ditch effort was to let him roll. We took him to a sand pen, and he rolled all the way over, passed a bunch of gas and laid there sleeping in the sun. He was wondering why we hadn’t let him do that a few hours earlier.”

Authentic had a day to recover before the speed round, where he was flawless and tied for first. “The first day was the worst, because I
didn’t know how he’d be after the colic, and I didn’t know how he’d react to that venue,” Beezie said. “I don’t know why I was worried, because he’s never been worried about anywhere. But it was the Olympics, and you didn’t want it to be the one place he didn’t like. Once I got through the first day, I had total confidence that he was going to be fine.”

He followed that up with two faultless Nations Cup rounds, which made him the No. 1 qualifier for the individual final. But then he collected 12 faults in the first round, knocking him out of the running. “I can’t really say what happened there. I’ve never had 12 faults on him before, so I really don’t know how to explain it,” said Beezie. She believes that Authentic wasn’t entirely comfortable with the grass footing and the shadowy lighting on the final night. And he’d never had to produce five such enormous efforts at one competition.

But Authentic proved that he hadn’t been daunted by the Olympic experience when two weeks later he jumped an impressive four-fault first round in the Nations Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters (Alta.), helping the U.S. team take second. And he then placed eighth in the $773,931 CN International with two four-fault rounds.

Beezie claims that “the second round of the CN International was the first time that I’ve felt him have to work really hard. He never really feels like he’s making a big effort,” she said. “And I don’t think he looks like he is, either. You’d never look at him and say, ‘That’s a really scopey, powerful horse.’ It’s kind of a funny feeling–he just kind of pops into the air. I think he probably has the most ability of any horse I’ve had, if you combine scope, carefulness and athleticism. He does a lot of different things to get over a fence; he’s not stuck in one style.”

That sometimes-innovative approach to jumping is what kept Authentic from joining Beezie’s string as a 4-year-old. She and John had spotted him being developed by Johann Heins in the Netherlands.

“I thought, ‘That’s the best horse of them all,’ but it was hard to really tell someone they should buy him because he would make mistakes, and he had a funny style with his front end,” Beezie recalled. But at then end of his 6-year-old year, after he’d been winning, Elizabeth Busch Burke decided to buy him in partnership with the Maddens. And just before the Olympics, Authentic’s family of owners grew with the formation of Team Authentic.

For the Maddens, the Olympic team medal was ample reward for the careful way they’d developed Authentic’s gifts. “Each time things have gotten bigger and more difficult, he takes on the challenge and digests it,” said John. “A lot happened this year; it was a big transition. It was really gratifying because I think a lot of people do things the right way, and sometimes it still doesn’t happen for them. So, when it all clicks like that, it’s really special. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

Personal Profile

Description: 10-year-old, bay gelding, Dutch Warmblood (Guidam–Gerlinda, Katell), bred by G.H. Morsink, the Netherlands.
Home: John Madden Sales in Cazenovia, N.Y.

Owners: Team Authentic–Elizabeth Busch Burke, John Madden Sales, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Patton, the Jacobs family, Barb & Steff Wolff & Chandi Heffner.
Personality: “He’s kind of a brat. He’s a funny horse. When you’re taking care of him, he loves to play. He headbutts you and grabs things,” said Beezie Madden. “But he likes to rest, too. He’s either up and doing something, or he’s flat-out asleep.”

Riding him: “He is light and sensitive. He’s the best to ride when you’re actually in the competition ring,” said Beezie. “If you were to get on and ride him around on the flat, you wouldn’t guess that he jumps the Olympic Games courses. His balance is a little downhill, and he’s a little stiff in the mouth. But when he’s in the ring, he’s probably the most adjustable horse I have. When you head him at a fence, all of a sudden, his balance changes.”

Temperament: “The best thing is that he’s got the attitude–he wants to do things,” John said. “He’s so inquisitive. He’s not spooky, but curious. If something’s funny looking, he goes over to see what it is. He’s bold, but very careful about things. He has a lot of confidence in himself.”

2004 competitive highlights

Team Silver, Athens Olympic Games
2nd – Nations Cup, Aachen, Germany, 4-0
2nd – Nations Cup, Spruce Meadows, Canada, 4
1st – $175,000 Cargill Grand Prix of the United States (Calif.)
1st – $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round V (Fla.)
2nd – $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational (Fla.)
3rd – $64,168 Hachenburg Grand Prix (Germany)
8th – $773,931 CN International (Alta.)