Hickstead, England—Aug. 3  

“We girls were always kind of jealous we didn’t get to jump in this class, so it’s really great to win it,” Beezie Madden said of her win in the Longines King George V Gold Cup. The class has a 108-year history, but until 2008, only men were eligible to jump in it. So, Madden became the first female winner of the coveted class, riding Abigail Wexner’s Cortes ‘C’ to the blue.

It capped a remarkable week for Madden and the other U.S. riders at the Longines Royal International Show at Hickstead. They scored victory in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup on Aug. 1—Madden and Cortes ‘C’ were team anchors and jumped two crucial clear rounds to secure the victory. Another U.S. team kept the winning streak going on Aug. 2 when they clinched the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup win in Gijon, Spain.

Read all about the U.S. team’s win in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup and see great photos of them.

Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ were faultless at the Hickstead CSIO**** and topped the Longines
King George V Gold Cup in addition to anchoring the U.S. team to a Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup win.
Photo by Jon Stroud Media for Shannon Brinkman 

“Beezie’s win is icing on the cake as we close in on our [2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games] preparation. Winning two CSIO5* Nations Cups accompanied by Beezie’s comeback is a tremendous boost for the team as we head down the final stretch,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland.

Also joining Madden in the jump-off was American pair Laura Kraut and the Evita Group’s 10-year-old KWPN mare, Nouvelle. The pair were clear over the jumps in a time of 54.04 to finish in sixth place.
Reed Kessler and McLain Ward earned 16th and 21st places, respectively, in the King George Cup. Kessler and Kessler Show Stables’ 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, Cylana, were the second quickest four-faulters of the afternoon while Ward and Double H Farm’s 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion, HH Cannavaro also jumped a four-fault round.

Rounding out the U.S. competitors in the the Longines King George V Gold Cup were Margie Engle and Elm Rock Partners, LLC’s 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion, Royce, finishing in 31st place after an eight-fault round

In the first round of the Longines King George V Gold Cup, there were a flurry of clears early on, but they became more spaced out until the 49 riders were whittled down to a jump-off field of 14. When Madden came in the ring as the last to jump-off, young Irish rider Bertram Allen, who turned 19 this week, was holding the lead after an impressive round on the big-jumping Romanov. Even Marcus Ehning on Plot Blue couldn’t catch him.

Then Madden and Cortes ‘C’ simply smoked him, jumping a powerful round that was deceptively fast and stopping the timers more than a second faster than Allen. “He has a huge stride,” Madden said of Cortes ‘C’.

Beezie Madden celebrated her win aboard Cortes ‘C’ at Hickstead.
Photo by Jon Stroud Media for Shannon Brinkman

“He’s a big, scopey horse and they can tend to land heavy and then take their time to pick up on landing, but he picks up right away on landing and goes—that’s what makes him so fast,” Madden continued.

Madden’s winning streak at Hickstead is all the more remarkable because it was her first major outing since breaking her collarbone in May.

See full results of the Longines King George V Gold Cup here.