Day 3 Interview with Madeline Blackman
Madeline K Blackman is an ambitious young rider from New Jersey winteried in Ocala. Florida in order to get a jump start on the spring 2009 eventing season.
In the spring of 2008, Maddie w finished high school and celebrated her 18th birthday, she also made her debut competing at the Advanced level with her horses Gordonstown, and Meadow Sparrow.
Born into a family of casual equestrians, Maddie has loved horses forever. She began taking lessons from an international competitor as young as 7 years old and became interested in eventing through her exposure to the sport at the barn where she was riding.
Maddie competed in her first event on her 8th birthday. Maddie won 3rd place at the Beginner Novice level at this event with her first pony, Jimminy Cricket.
When it was time to move onto full time trainer/ coach, Maddie began training with Buck Davidson whom she admired as a rider/competitor. For the next six years Maddie trained closely under Buck’s supervision and purchased her horses Meadow Sparrow as well as Scarva.
As a young equestrian, Maddie set her sights on making the North American Young Rider Team, with this goal in her sights, Maddie worked hard and competed against over 100 applicants in the Area II Young Rider Program and at her first year of being eligible, she successfully made the team as the youngest participant (14 years old).
Maddie completed her first international competition at the age of 14 with Meadow Sparrow at the 2004 Virginia Horse Center one-star. She continued for the next two years to represent Area II by competing at the North American Young Rider Championships.
Madeline acquired the newest addition to her event team in 2006 when she purchased Gordonstown from Luke and Sarah Allen. Maddie’s new goals were now set even higher as she applied to the USEF Developing Rider Program. Maddie again accomplished her goals for the last two years by being named to that elite squad and again being the youngest one. Now with higher goals than ever, Maddie decided she wanted European flair to add to her training and began working with Leslie Law (2004 Olympic Gold Medalist from Great Britain). Leslie and Maddie are working hard to train her very talented and promising horses with his guidance at every level from conditioning to competitive sportsmanship.
Today, Maddie’s days are very full with completing her high school curriculum, starting her new business, Madeline Blackman Eventing, LLC taking on training horses, riding and training her two advanced level horses, as well as training her two new young horses that she acquired last summer.
