Time continues moving forward, but special moments are never forgotten. That’s especially true for celebrated champion and Rolex Testimonee, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. Born on December 26th in LosAngeles, California, Michaels-Beerbaum is the first woman show jumper to be ranked world number one. Her career is a catalogue of remarkable achievements–each one reflecting a special moment in time.

Michaels-Beerbaum first started showing signs of success in 1983, at the early age of 14. Competing in the Senator’s Cup at the Washington International Horse Show, an amateur competition for the best young riders in the United States; the then teenager rode an ex-grand prix horse in the event, a horse she had been saving especially for this competition. “I never forgot that moment because I won and the price was a gold Rolex watch, my first ever”

Growing up in California, she always dreamed of winning a gold medal at the Olympics: “I still have a short autobiography, which I wrote at school as a10-year-old. I had to explain in the essay what I wanted to achieve in the future. I stuck a photo of a show jumper on the page and put a caption underneath saying ‘Meredith Michaels wins Olympicgold’.”

“The 1984 Games were held in Los Angeles, and for me that represented the pinnacle of athleticism. My step-father bought tickets to the final of the show jumping, but unfortunately we misread the start time on the day of the event and actually missed the competition–it was terrible!”