He’s been enjoying a life of leisure, munching on grass instead of bounding over big jumps on the world stage.

Authentic got one last moment in the spotlight, though, accompanied by his best friends, rider Beezie Madden and groom Clark Shipley. Authentic shipped from his field at John and Beezie Madden’s JMS Sales in Cazenovia, N.Y., to the New Albany Classic in Ohio on Sept. 22. In a touching retirement ceremony, Authentic was back in front of a crowd of cheering fans.

Authentic, a Dutch Warmblood gelding (Guidam—Gerlina, Ketell), is now 18 and hasn’t competed since July 2009. “He’s really been retired for a couple years but we never did a ceremony,” said Madden. “We’ve always kind of thought we should do something, but picking the venue was hard.”

With Madden aboard, Authentic jumped to his first Olympic medal in Athens in 2000, where the U.S. team took gold. He added individual and team silver medals to that count in 2006 at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, then returned to the Olympic Games in Hong Kong in 2008. There, he and Madden not only helped the U.S. team take gold again, but they also earned individual bronze.

They also were part of the U.S. team that won the first Samsung Super League Nations Cup series in 2005. Authentic was the Chronicle’s Show Jumping Horse of the Year in 2004 and ’06. In 2007, they won the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen. 

Watch the tribute Spruce Meadows Television put together for Authentic’s ceremony…