Beezie Madden added another coveted title to her extensive resume on Sunday when she rode Abigail Wexner's Cortes 'C' to victory in the The Longines King George V Gold Cup at CSIO5* Hickstead. In doing so she also made history as the first woman ever to win the prestigious Grand Prix.
Madden and the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding were one of 14 combinations to jump Kelvin Bywater's 12-obstacle track faultlessly and qualify to return for the jump-off. The pair, which had jumped double clear in Friday's Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup of Great Britain presented by Longines, had the advantageous position of returning as the final competitors in the jump-off and seized the opportunity with both hands jumping clear and stopping the timers in 46.01 to seal their win by more than a full second.
Making the two-time Olympic Gold medalist's win all the more impressive, is that she only recently returned to competition after breaking her collarbone in May.
Madden's victory comes on the heels of double Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup victories this week for the United States. On Friday, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team were the victors of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup of Great Britain presented by Longines in Hickstead and the U.S. team at CSIO5* Gijon followed up with a victory of their own in Nations Cup competition on Saturday.
"Beezie's win is icing on the cake as we close in on our WEG (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.
Ireland's Bertram Allen and Romanov finished second in Sunday's Grand Prix jumping clear in the jump-off in a time of 47.09, with Germany's Marcus Ehning and Plot Blue earning third place after jumping clear in a time of 47.91.
Many thanks to Paul Harding of www.lewishardingimages.com for these great photos from the event
