| May 23, 2004 Beezie
Madden Wins Final Olympic Selection Trials. Madden
and Authentic Only Duo to Go Double Clear in Both Trials Today. Wylde
and Fein Cera 2nd. Both now earn slots on Olympic Team Short List. San
Juan Capistrano, CA – Beezie Madden described today as “a bit
of a rollercoaster,” and she gave the crowd a real thrill ride when she and
Authentic brilliantly attacked the course becoming the only ones to go clear in
both Trial #5 and the final Trial #6 in the 2004 Olympic Selection Trials Finals
at Oaks Blenheim. They finished with a cumulative total of only 8 faults for all
six selection trials that have been held in California over the past two weekends. Prior
to Trial #5 one of her three mounts, Di Silvio, was scratched from competition.
“We don’t know what it is yet. Like I said, it was a big disappointment.”
But that disappointment was balanced by her performance on Authentic, a
young 9 year old Dutch warmblood gelding. “He’s gained a lot of experience
in the last two weeks, and we have plenty of time to be in top form again,”
said Madden. “It was a lot for a young horse, I was more worried about the
Trials than Athens and it hasn’t sunk in yet. I had a lot of confidence coming
in with three good horses. You dream since you’re a little kid to represent
your country in the Olympics.” Wylde has now signed-up for the Beezie
Madden fan club, “She’s one of the greats, she’s leading this team.
She has brilliant horses, absolute quality,” he said. Wylde and the graceful
Fein Cera had a clean trip in Trial #5 and were leading the cumulative standings
with just 4 faults but found trouble in the shortened course in Trial #6 and picked
up another 8 faults. “My heart was racing that’s for sure. I went too
slow into the triple. I’m a bit disappointed in myself but she’s had
a lot to do and she’s jumped four clear rounds out of six so I’m thrilled
with her.” Wylde and Fein Cera finished with a total of 12
faults for the trials. Both riders are enthusiastic about the chances the
U.S Show Jumping Team will have in Athens. “The team we have is the strongest
we’ve had in a long time. We will have four great riders. I think we have
a really, really good chance. The Germans and French maybe aren’t as strong
as they have been,” said Wylde. McLain Ward and Sapphire
finished third with a total of 15 faults for the six Trials. In describing the
young 9 year old mare he said, “she got better and better, more solid. This
horse is medal talent. She might be the least experienced horse on the team but
she’s so gifted that she makes up for it.” In both trials today they
had five faults, four jumping faults and one time fault. Allison Firestone
and Casanova were fourth with 21 total faults, and Lauren Hough
and Clasiko were fifth with 25 faults. “I’m certainly going to
stay prepared,” observed Hough. “Anything can happen before Athens.
I’ll be ready in case they need me.” Madden was sixth on Judgement with
30 faults. Chris Kappler and Royal Kaliber have already been
selected to the Short List. Kappler and Madden were members of the gold medal
winning Pan Am Games team last year. In addition to the top two horse and rider
combinations coming out of these trials, Madden and Wylde, the Selectors will
choose two more horse and rider combinations for the Short List for a total of
six to send to Athens. The horses of the top eight placing riders will jog tomorrow
for a post-competition soundness inspection. The Short List will be officially
announced on Tuesday and is subject to approval from the United States Olympic
Committee. ENDS For more information, please contact Maria Partlow,
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications on (859) 225-6941 or via
email at mpartlow@usef.org. USEF press releases are available on our web site
– www.usef.org.
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