Madeleine Winter-Schulze
The greatest supporter
Madeleine Winter-Schulze is looked upon as something akin to the heart and soul of German equestrian sports. If it was not for her, the support and sponsorship of riders and horses in Germany would look very different. She is present at all important competitions and was herself a successful competitor, winning the German championship in dressage (1959) and show jumping (1969 and 1975).
She is still a passionate rider and also a very successful breeder – and for Ludger Beerbaum she is much more than a knowledgeable sponsor. She is an important part of his whole team, her late husband Dietrich was sponsor as well as a paternal friend. Ludger Beerbaum states: “my career could not have happened without her support”. They have been working together now since 1997.
Herbert Meyer, former trainer of the German team, introduced Ludger to Madeleine and Dietrich, who were looking for a suitable rider for Gaylord and Casanova. No one could have known at that time, how close, deep, familiar and successful this relationship would become. A relationship which was based on 100% mutual trust. Ludger was more than happy to ride the horses, and says that things progressed from then and: “ run their course”. This was the start of their teamwork and co-operation which went far beyond a conventional business set-up. Since then many potential championship horses have been provided to the Beerbaum stable by the couple Madeleine and Dietrich.
A short resume:
The handsome 16 year old chestnut Priamos was bought from Dirk Hafemeister in 1998. Ludger took Priamos immediately to the World Championships in Rome and after completing wonderful and stylish rounds, won the Team Gold Medal. Today, Ludger is the rider who has won the highest number of Nations Cups of all German riders. The year after the World Championships in Rome, he went to Hickstead for the European Championships (1999) and riding Champion du Lys, he again won Team Gold. Then Goldfever arrived and was dominant at international level until his farewell in Aachen in 2009. With Goldfever there was another Gold medal, this time Olympic Gold at the Sydney Olympic Games.
One year later in 2001, riding Gladdys at the European Championships, Ludger became individual European Champion and was also a member of the Bronze medal team. This was followed by four consecutive ‘Rider of the Year’ titles each one with a different horse. At the World Championships in Aachen, the German team wanted to achieve success above all else being on home ground - and won Bronze. Ludger rode L´Espoir on that occasion. It is almost impossible to list all the successes of Madeleine Winter-Schulzes’ horses. At the CHIO in Aachen in 2011 she had altogether eleven horses competing. Madeleine Winter-Schulzes’ name is of course the name listed as owner in the passports of these horses. This great lady of the equestrian world owns around 50 horses, knows them all, and knows that they are in good hands and well looked after in the hands of "her jockeys".