It is fitting – if not prophetic – that in 1983, at the age of 14, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum won her first major showjumping competition, the Senator’s Cup at the Washington International Horse Show, and her prize was a Rolex watch.
In 2005, 22 years later, with a string of trophies and accolades to her name, Michaels-Beerbaum was invited to become one of Rolex’s first equestrian Testimonees, the name given to the brand’s ambassadors and friends. It’s an illustrious club that includes the likes of tennis champion Roger Federer, race-car driver Jackie Stewart and golfer Jordan Spieth. “It was a great honour to be welcomed into the Rolex family and associated with such a prestigious brand. I was lucky enough to win my first Rolex watch when I was 14, so I knew the importance of the Rolex name. Only the very best sportsmen and women are invited to represent Rolex, and that meant everything to me,” she says.
Michaels-Beerbaum is nothing short of a sporting icon. She remains the only woman, and one of only three people, to have ever claimed three World Cup Final victories – first in Las Vegas in 2005; then during the Rolex World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2008; and then again in Las Vegas during the Rolex World Cup Final in 2009. She was the first female showjumper to be ranked world number one and the first woman in history to represent Germany in a World Championship event. She has also participated in three Olympics, first in Beijing in 2008, then in London in 2012, and most recently in this year’s Rio Summer Olympics.
This, too, seems like it might have been destined. “I still have a short autobiography, which I wrote at school as a 10 year old. I had to explain what I wanted to achieve in the future. I stuck a photo of a showjumper on the page and put a caption underneath: ‘Meredith Michaels wins Olympic gold’.”
Saying that, her first brush with the Olympics was somewhat ill-fated. “The 1984 Games were held in Los Angeles, and for me that represented the pinnacle of athleticism. My stepfather bought tickets to the final of the showjumping, but unfortunately we misread the start time on the day of the event and actually missed the competition – it was terrible.”
Although Michaels-Beerbaum was born in Los Angeles, it was a move to Europe that proved to be the essential impetus for her career. She trained at the stable of legendary German rider Paul Schockemöhle, in Mühlen, Germany — planning to stay for only one summer, which turned into three and the start of a new life in Germany. It was during that time that she met her husband Markus Beerbaum.
“I came to Europe in 1991 to turn professional with only a backpack on my shoulder and a pair of spurs in my hand. Moving to Europe was certainly the most significant catalyst in my career; the second was changing my nationality and becoming German – that was a major decision. One underlying memory that I attribute to that moment is the number of people telling me how a woman would never, ever be put on the national championship showjumping team in Germany. Fortunately, they were wrong.”
Michaels-Beerbaum’s parents were supportive of her decision to quit her studies at Princeton University and build a life in Europe, but struggled a little with her decision to take the German passport. “The hardest part for them to accept was when I decided to change my nationality and become a German,” she admits.
In a career filled with highs, Michaels-Beerbaum cites her second World Cup win as a particularly important and emotional moment. “My second World Cup Final win in Las Vegas was my most perfect victory. I won each of the three legs, and my horse Shutterfly and I jumped without any faults. It was also an extremely emotional time for me, as my stepfather passed away at the age of 69 just six weeks before the show. He was one of the main reasons why I was where I was in the sport – he supported me for many, many years. He was the one who took me to horse shows and spent all the money that he had to buy me horses.”
In 2010, Michaels-Beerbaum welcomed a baby daughter, Brianne Victoria, to the world, but quickly returned to competing – and winning.
Since acquiring that first watch in 1983, Michaels-Beerbaum has built up a collection of Rolex timepieces and has come to see them as her lucky charms, markers, almost, of her meteoric rise.
“Without a doubt, my favourite Rolex watch is the Datejust in white gold, which I won at my second World Cup Final victory in Gothenburg, 2008. Engraved with ‘Rolex Champion’ on the back, it’s a watch that reminds me of one of my most glorious moments as a showjumper,” explains Michaels-Beerbaum.
“I remember the final because I entered the arena knowing that I couldn’t afford to knock any fences down. Many of the other riders hit the last fence, so I had to go clear to win. To make matters worse, Shutterfly was so nervous in the warm-up ring that he refused to jump. He was very sensitive and he could feel the tension, but I just trusted him and we went into the ring and made it happen.”
Read this and more stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, November 3.
sdenman@thenational.ae
