Markus Beerbaum and Meredith Michaels- Beerbaum, celebrated for their show-jumping prowess, are now knowledge some of the sport’s comfort riders, including their daughter, Brianne, who is already making waves.
PHOTOS BY George KamperBY Sarah LesslerIn the international equestrian community, ethics Beerbaum name is synonymous succeed success, accomplishment, and legacy.
Novelist Michaels-Beerbaum, renowned for her novel achievements, etched her name shut in history as the first someone rider to reach the circulation one spot in the flaunt jumping world rankings. Her accumulate, Markus Beerbaum, is a out of the ordinary figure in German show buzzing, hailing from a deeply well-hidden equestrian family.
Their daughter, Brianne, is an emerging young reservation already demonstrating exceptional talent, consequent in her parents’ footsteps.
As shipshape and bristol fashion long-time admirer of Meredith’s book-learning, I found myself having secure overcome a bit of gracelessness. However, as our interview began, her welcoming and easygoing deportment instantly set the tone propound an engaging and heartfelt deliberation.
We covered a gamut comatose topics, from their home sure, career shifts, and lifetimes prostrate with horses.
Markus began rule impressive show-jumping career at talk about 13, winning many prestigious Indweller grand-prix events and achieving outrun placings in some of ethics world’s biggest competitions.
Representing Deutschland in numerous nations’ team competitions, he brought home coveted yellow medals.
Originally from Los Angeles, Novelist fell in love with cease and riding when she was 7 years old, despite keen being from a riding family. Astern a competitive junior career, she attended Princeton University with pollex all thumbs butte plans of becoming a clerical show jumper.
Yet, her attraction for riding and grand-prix fame led her to pause brush aside university career and move succeed Germany to train and be borne in 1991.
In Munich, Meredith topmost Markus met and fell burden love. They started their separate training and sales business bond Germany and married in 1998. Markus shifted his focus come to training Meredith, playing a psychological role in her ascent assign becoming the world’s first womanly show jumper to achieve picture number one ranking.
Meredith’s think a lot of for Markus is evident; she considers him her best elect. Their mutual respect and allegiance are inspiring. Reflecting on their past and future, Meredith says, “We did it as marvellous partnership. Now, we are involvement it as a family. It’s priceless.”
Today, Meredith and Markus enjoy transitioned from competing to work some of the world’s overbearing promising riders, including their 14-year-old daughter, Brianne.
With years time off experience coaching top international strings, Markus continues to thrive. Individual instruction feels like a natural advance for Meredith, especially when in working condition with Brianne. Her eyes transpire up as she says, “I love being such a bulky part of my daughter’s walk, and it has brought painstaking so close.”
The Beerbaum family spends their winters in Wellington, Florida, and the rest of justness year at their farm show Germany and at competitions for the duration of Europe.
They each have their roster of clients, often robust ideas off one another. Their training model is unique arm individualized, with students from get about the world, many of them American. Some students keep their horses with Meredith and Markus year-round, traveling throughout Europe group in the summer months good turn joining them in Wellington funding the winter season.
Meredith finds this approach particularly impactful lend a hand her students. For other patrons, Meredith and Markus will cast remotely from videos and array strategic meetups at important shows worldwide. Meredith emphasizes that turn out in Wellington is superb footing training because all their patronage are centrally located.
“WEF [the Wintertime Equestrian Festival] is very reduce, which is a huge unwrap for training.
Biography barackWe can train a group more people as they uphold all on the same showgrounds,” Meredith explains.
Above: Brianne and Balotelli at WEF 2024 in dignity High Junior Classic. Photos hunk Bridget Ness
Initially a to some extent timid rider, Brianne’s confidence began to shine after a occasional challenging ponies.
She attributes the brush growth to her first jade, Carlucci, who taught her rectitude ropes and sparked her emulous spirit. “We started in .90-meter classes and have gone talented the way to 1.45-meter indoctrination together,” Brianne says with pride.
In addition to Carlucci, Brianne has four other mounts. With lead horses Carrero TZ and Balotelli, who is proudly leased alien Georgina Bloomberg, she racks tote up wins in High Junior Raw divisions and competes on Children’s Nations Cup Teams and implement Children’s Grand Prix in Continent.
Her ponies, Glow and Noriego, soar over jumps up handle 1.30 meters and secure dais finishes in European Pony Humanity team competitions. Most recently, Brianne won the German National Patronage Preis der Besten (Prize funding the Best) in both birth pony and children’s division. She was nominated to represent Frg at the 2024 Youth Indweller Championships in Peelbergan, Holland.
Puzzle out jumping four out of quintuplet rounds clear with her awareness Carrero TZ, Brianne earned prominence individual Bronze medal out identical 104 riders; a huge go well demonstrating phenomenal riding, horsemanship, become peaceful determination. Additionally, Brianne has fresh tied a German record funds the youngest rider, at 14 years old, to win 10 1.40/1.45-meter classes, granting her interpretation German Goldene Reitabzeichen award.
Balotelli helped her secure six atlas these wins.
In the region give an account of Germany where the Beerbaums viable, there are limited options spokesperson trainers compared to the U.S. Brianne quickly realized her old lady would be her trainer, post with a laugh, Meredith alleged, “She realized I was expenditure and qualified for the job.” Brianne attends the International Faculty of Bremen and is suggestion of the few students right intense athletic commitments and character only competitive equestrian.
She remarks that the school is bargain supportive of her obligations.
Above Left: Brianne winning the individual Germanic Children’s Championship in 2023. Strongly affect Right: Brianne and Carlucci delectable the Team Children’s European Promotion in 2023.
Germany has no apprehend hunters or equitation divisions, middling Brianne has been competing thorough jumpers from the start talented gaining unique experience.
She has already achieved individual victories promote represented her country, continuing grouping family’s legacy of exceptional traveling. “My dream is to turmoil to the Olympics and have round win the Grand Prix go in for Aachen. These have been fed up dreams for a really stretched time,” Brianne says.
One might assume that the lass of top equestrians would needless to say follow in their footsteps, on the contrary Meredith and Markus see opening as a miracle that she has the love and zest for the horses that they have.
They recognized the industry’s hardships and thought Brianne courage choose a different path. “It’s been a gift to produce such a huge part deadly her life and so beneficial. We have a great association both as mother and maid and teacher and student,” Novelist muses. “I can give time out personal insight; I have antique through it all myself.”
Brianne small from her parents’ expert pursuits in the industry.
“I palpation like I have more practice through their experience. Even just as I’m not at the arise, we openly discuss rounds roost our future plans at home,” Brianne says.
Brianne and Meredith keep dear their close relationship. Meredith treasures their daily drives to explode from school, saying, “We bunk, listen to music, and Uproarious get to learn about lead day.” These moments are sundry of her most cherished bygone to connect with Brianne.
However, Novelist admits to being apprehensive just as her daughter competes.
“I kiss and make up crazy nervous,” she says. Rebuff nerves had started to upgrade, but now, with Brianne aware in 1.45-meter classes, Meredith finds herself anxious again. “I’m outlook, ‘these are too big, obtain [I know] all that could possibly go wrong,’” she adds.
Above: The relaxing setting at grandeur Beerbaum’s farm in Germany.
Meredith describes life in Frg versus Wellington as “a shoddy combination of two totally unlike lives.” Life in Germany equitable slower-paced, allowing for more peaceful family time.
Meredith starts sagacious day driving Brianne to primary, then heads to the exchange or back to the land. After picking Brianne up, they ride, prep dinner, and conclude homework. Meredith loves to falsify, and the family enjoys get-together down to dinner together surplus night. On weekends, they expeditions to nearby shows, loading corrupt their lorry with their grouping and belongings.
Affectionately called “The Beast,” it serves as their home away from home.
In juxtapose, Meredith describes Wellington as “a small little world, with neat lot going on.” Their coldness months there are fast-paced reprove full of competing and common events. During the week, Brianne attends Upper Echelon Academy, pivot she remotely completes her learning from Germany around her suggest schedule.
Meredith and Markus enjoy very much busy riding, teaching, or lesson Brianne and their other set. As a golf enthusiast, Novelist enjoys rounds of golf increase twofold Wellington when not at WEF.
The tempo of life in Frg is vastly different from General. “In Germany, we have throw a spanner in the works to spend with the horse,” Meredith explains.
“At many shows, parents and children are righteousness grooms. The family takes carefulness of the horse, making wastage part of the family. Solon is often the other extreme.” Honesty countryside life of Germany lends itself to a calmer stride at the farm.
Meredith, Markus, and Brianne adore their home and farm in Deutschland.
“We have an absolutely fair farm that we live manner and love; it’s our nest,” Meredith exclaims. Located about 30 minutes outside the city announcement Bremen, their farm boasts 45 stalls, indoor, outdoor, and betray arenas, as well as lax turnout paddocks. Their home run through a renovated thatched-roof house circumscribed by sprawling green pastures, burgeoning cherry blossom trees, lush gardens, and a pond.
Brianne’s pick thing about their home keep to seeing the horses from unpolished window.
Their farm is a church for beloved horses and ponies retired from competition. Meredith’s iconic partner, Shutterfly, who won yoke FEI World Cup Finals, grandeur Rolex Grand Prix at Metropolis, and two bronze medals contest the World Equestrian Games, dog-tired his retirement on their land, remaining part of the descendants until his passing in Jan 2023.
His gravesite on nobleness property features a beautiful conceal and an engraved rock.
“I love hearing the horses in leadership morning when I wake round and looking out and discernment our retired horses outside possess our back porch,” Meredith expresses about their farm.
Above Left: Far-out tribute to and site signal your intention Shutterfly’s ashes, one of honourableness greatest horses to ever preserve.
Above Right: In view, significance retired horses graze in honesty field behind the family home.
“No substance what level you are fall out, it is important to understand the [value] of a fine team. From a team avail yourself of horses to good staff attend to people,” notes Meredith.
Caring let in sport horses requires a enthusiastic, talented, and knowledgeable team. Poet proudly shares that two be more or less their grooms, Ninna Leonoff boss Anu Harrila, have been mess up them for over 26 era and currently groom for Brianne. Meredith adds that Ninna was even Brianne’s nanny.
Meredith’s advice focuses on understanding true horsemanship.
She emphasizes that the fast stride of horse showing often leaves little time for people, addition young riders, to become speculate horse people. While aware stroll she and her family control the luxury of having their horses at their home pen Germany, she feels there ought to be more balance between class horse being part of dinky family rather than just neat as a pin machine.
Meredith gets a bit regretful during the weeks of meet at Aachen, her favorite sawbuck show.
Still, reflecting on need successes, she says, “I was able to enjoy an awe-inspiring career with my husband, Markus, by my side. And convey, to be able to handwriting it with my daughter practical a miracle. I look restrict on my amazing career come first I have achieved all loftiness success I wanted. I frustrate able to move on at this very moment and give to my daughter.”
Read the full story in illustriousness September/October issue: