Authentic, nicknamed "Bud" (foaled June 22, 1995), is a

Dutch Warmblood A Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland (Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN), which governs the breeding of competitive dressage and show jumping horses ...

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

that used to compete in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. He has won three

Olympic medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...

and two

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

medals. He is owned by Abigail Wexner, and was ridden by Olympic medalist

Beezie Madden Elizabeth Madden (née Patton; born 20 November 1963) is an American Olympic champion equestrian competing in show jumping. She has two Olympic golds and one silver in team jumping, and an individual bronze. She won the FEI Show Jumping Wor ...

. Authentic is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

with a star and snip and stands high. He was retired from competition in 2009 and is now in Cazanovia, NY, at the Madden's farm.

Pedigree

Competitive career

In 2004, Authentic and Madden made double-clear rounds at the Athens Olympic Games which helped the U.S team win the gold medal."Beezie Madden." 2009 United States Olympic Committee. Web page accessed January 3, 2010
/ref> The team also won the $25,000 PDP WEP Challenge Cup Series Round V that same year. In 2005 the pair were part of the American team that won its first ever Samsung Super League Nations' Cup. In 2006, at the

FEI World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive S ...

, Authentic and Madden won the Individual and Team Silver medal, in doing so, Authentic jumped nine rounds without dropping a rail. Recognizing these accomplishments, Authentic was named USEF Show Jumping Horse of the Year in both 2005 and 2006,http://horse.purina-mills.com/star/beezie_madden.asp and was named the 2006 Farnam/Platform United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year. In both 2006 and 2007, Authentic and Madden won the Budweiser American Invitational. In 2007, they won the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen. In 2008, Authentic and Madden won the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round VIII, and the $200,000 CN Worldwide Grand Prix. The team next received the team show jumping gold medal and an individual bronze medal at the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

. Of particular note was the jump-off for the individual bronze, where Authentic jumped clean and with a fast time of 35.25 seconds on a shortened course where the time allowed was 40 seconds.Bryant, Jennifer O. "Good Day for Jumping, Eh? Canadian Wins First Individual Jumping Gold".
The Horse, Online edition, August 21, 2008. Accessed January 4, 2010.

References

{{reflist

External links

"U.S. Show Jumping Team Captures Gold." The Horse, online edition, August 21, 2008.Iron Spring Farm
Individual warmbloods American show jumping horses Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Horses in the Olympics 1995 animal births Dutch Warmbloods