Our Chairman

The IGA is proud to work with John Madden, the Chairman of our Board.

John E. Madden, born October 31, 1959, entered the equine industry as a groom for top hunter/jumper barns in the United States, including Hunterdon, Inc., Leslie Howard, and Deborah Baldi Matz. He went on to work as an assistant trainer for six years with Katie Prudent/Plain Bay Farm before founding John Madden Sales, Inc., in 1984.

As an innovative, elite-level coach, he’s since trained top show jumping riders for events around the world, including six Olympic Games, multiple World Cup Finals, and World Equestrian Games.

He’s also produced horses that have consistently succeeded at the top levels of international show jumping. A few include Judgement ISF who won nearly $1.5 million in prize money; Authentic, a two-time Show Jumping Horse of the Year; Simon, USEF International Horse of the Year; and Cortes ‘C’ Best Horse at the World Equestrian Games.

As a strong advocate of the show jumping industry, John served as vice president of the Fédération Equestre Internationale and was the chair of the FEI Jumping Committee until 2017.

He’s the former chairman of the USEF Computer List Task Force, serving for 20 years, and was a past member of the Board of Trustees for Cazenovia College (New York).

Most important of all, he is Beezie Madden’s husband, who he calls the best horse person, and person in general, that he knows.

Find out more about John, and why he is working with the IGA below.

1 - What led you to accept the role as Chairman of the Board of the International Grooms Association?

I started in this industry as a groom. I loved the horses and I loved the challenge of our sport, which led me to build my whole future and business around them both.

It was one of my original goals in my own business to turn grooming from a “job” into a professional career.

I feel strongly that this sport wouldn’t exist without the hard work and diligent care from the grooms and that shouldn’t be overlooked. The grooms deserve a strong organization like the IGA looking out for their best interests.

2 - What do you think makes a great groom?

First – you have to love the horses. There is no way to last in this sport without that love. It drives you to continue on the hard days.

The second most important quality is a thirst for knowledge, a true desire to continue to learn and improve. Clark Shipley, who was a groom for us for decades before his death from cancer in 2020, used to talk about how much he picked up on the road just from keeping his eyes open. He had so much experience, but what made him a great groom was that he never thought he knew it all. He wanted to keep learning, keep getting better.

That, and he had a great sense of humour, which is also important on the long, hard days.

3 – What do you think needs to change for grooms working in international horse sport?

My experience is that grooms care so deeply for their horses that they often end up martyring themselves for their care. I have a strict no-martyrs rule at John Madden Sales, Inc.

Grooms need reasonable schedules, days off, a team around them ready to help when they have too much on their plate, health care, a liveable wage, the ability to save for the future.

They need an environment that is set up for the good of the horses and the good of the whole team around them. I think most riders and owners would agree they want the same, but the demands of the sport and the needs of the horses often lead people to stray towards unreasonable expectations.

I hope we can work to keep improving conditions for grooms in terms of schedules and working conditions so the best of the best can stay in this industry without burning out.