WELLINGTON, Fla.--In a night featuring some of Show Jumping’s all-time legends, the Show Jumping Hall of Fame inducted Olympic veteran Beezie Madden, renowned media executive and fundraiser Mason Phelps, Jr., Olympic rider Margie Engle and McLain Ward’s two-time gold medal Olympic mount, Sapphire.
Show Jumping Hall of Fame Inductees in attendance included: back row (l-r): Peter Doubleday, David Distler, Anne Kursinski, Steve Stephens, Leslie Howard, Norman Dello Joio, Robert Ridland, Michael Matz; front row (l-r): Beezie Madden, Karen Golding, Margie Engle, Melanie Smith Taylor (c)KindMediaThe induction dinner held on March 6 at the Wanderers Club in Wellington, also recognized 10 others in attendance who have previously been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Others in attendance included Olympic veterans McLain Ward, Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut and Nick Skelton and Grand Prix riders Lillie Keenan, Heather Caristo-Williams, Olivia Chowdry, Dominic Gibbs and Katherine Strauss.
“This was truly one of the most moving nights I have experienced in my 50 years on the show jumping circuit,” said Show Jumping Hall of Fame chairman Peter Doubleday. “Seeing so many of our sport’s legends together was a thrill and the inductees’ acceptance speeches were very emotional. It was a night that I know most of us will never forget.”
Each of the inductees present received a blue blazer with the Show Jumping Hall of Fame logo and the word “Inductee” on the breast pocket.
FOLLOWING that ceremony, the formal inductions took place with 2019 inductees Leslie Howard and David Distler giving thanks for their inductions that took place during the pandemic followed by acceptances by Engle, Madden, McLain Ward on behalf of Sapphire and Marty Bauman on behalf of his longtime friend, Mason Phelps, who passed away last year.
Induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame is an honor bestowed annually upon select individuals whose contributions to the sport have set them apart and whose influence has had a significant impact on the sport of show jumping and the equestrian community.
For over three decades, Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden has been one of the nation’s – and the world’s – most successful riders.
She has ridden in four Olympic Games, winning four medals, three World Equestrian Games, winning four medals, three Pan American Games, winning five medals, and 12 World Cup Finals, placing in the top 5 five times and winning the title in 2013 and 2018.
In addition to competing, Madden runs a successful training and sales business with her husband John out of their Cazenovia, N.Y., and Wellington, Fla., bases and has served on the boards of both the USEF and USET Foundation.
Mason Phelps, Jr. was the epitome of a lifelong equestrian, maintaining an undeniable relevance in the sport that defined his personal and professional life.
His contributions to the equestrian world included being an Olympic athlete, trainer, event manager, governance leader, media executive and philanthropy organizer.
Margie Goldstein Engle is one of the most accomplished riders in U.S. history.
She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, won the team Silver Medal at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, and is a three-time Pan American Games medalist, with team Gold and individual Bronze Medals in 2003 and team Silver in 1999.
She has ridden in 17 World Cup Finals and on numerous Nations Cup squads and has won over 200 Grand Prix including many of the nation’s and the world’s most prestigious events.
Sapphire had one of the most successful careers in show jumping history.
The Belgian Warmblood mare carried McLain Ward to two Olympic team Gold Medals, a World Equestrian Games team Silver and dozens of individual wins at many of the world’s biggest and most prestigious events.
After her retirement in the spring of 2012, Sapphire lived a happy life at Ward’s Castle Hill Farm until her passing in 2014 at age 19.
