By Jason Emerson
Editor
A portrait of Olympian and internationally acclaimed show jumping competitor Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden has been donated to the town of Nelson and will hang prominently in the town office.
The 2010 portrait by artist Judy Goldthwaite, titled, “Beezie Madden and Authentic,” was given by local resident Pam McFarland as a way to honor Beezie Madden, the portrait of her and the town that Madden calls home — even though she is typically stated as being from Cazenovia.
“Roger [Bradstreet, town supervisor] is always saying that Beezie is not from Cazenovia but from Nelson, and I thought I should donate it to the rightful heir to the picture,” McFarland said. “Plus, Judy’s artwork is so nice, I wanted to display it somewhere public.”
McFarland won the oil portrait during a 2010 fundraiser raffle by the Cazenovia Area Seniors Association (CASA), for which the painting was specially commissioned. McFarland not only won the artwork, but she met and had her photograph taken with Madden and Madden’s horse Authentic as part of the prize.
McFarland, former proprietor of Cherry Valley Physical Therapy in Cazenovia, had the painting hung in her office for years, and when she retired recently she had no place to put it, she said. So she decided to donate it to some organization that would display it for the public to see.
“I’m happy the town wanted it,” McFarland said.
Bradstreet said the town was “very pleased” to receive the gift and hang it in the town office.
“We’re proud of Beezie, proud to have her live here and like it when people occasionally recognize that she is a resident.” he said. “This makes it official; Beezie is from Nelson. It’s kind of the icing on the cake — I didn’t know what we could do to rightfully claim her; This is perfect.”
Madden herself is also pleased by the gift.
“It is a terrific honor to have my portrait with Authentic hung in the Nelson Town Office,” Madden told the Cazenovia Republican. “I am so proud to be a part of this town that has supported John and I and our horses and team for some many years through multiple Olympic Games, World Equestrian Games and our day-to-day life with our horses at John Madden Sales. We are so fortunate to live in such a special place with the most wonderful neighbors that make our community so wonderful.”
Madden, 53, has been show jumping for more than three decades, and is considered a trailblazer in the sport. According to the biography on her website, Madden was the first woman to pass the $1 million mark in earnings for show jumping. In 2004, she became the first woman and the first American rider to reach the top three in the Show Jumping world-ranking list. Madden is also the only four time USEF Equestrian of the Year.
Madden is an Individual Olympic Bronze Medalist and a member of the two gold medal U.S. teams from the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, where she rode Authentic. She also was a part of the U.S silver medal team in 2016 with Cortes ‘C’.
She has 17 wins in Nations Cup competition and eight World Cup Qualifier wins. In 2005, she won the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational in Tampa aboard Authentic and repeated the feat in 2007 again with Authentic. She is also a three-time winner of the prestigious Spruce Meadows Atco Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup, winning twice on Authentic. In July of 2007, Madden added winning the world renowned Grand Prix of Aachen to her list of notable achievements aboard Authentic.
For more information about Beezie Madden, visit her website at johnmaddensales.com.
