One day in the spring of 2001, Meredith received a phone call from her friend Soeren von Roenne.  Soeren told her that he had the perfect horse for her.  Well, he was right!

When Meredith went to try “Carpaccio”, as he was previously called, he didn’t look like much— small, short-legged, and very sway in the back.  But when she took the first jumps on him, Meredith knew he was the one.  Jim and Nancy Clark purchased him and renamed him Checkmate.

“Joey” as he is called in the stable, was a feisty six year-old when he arrived in Thedinghausen.  He liked to buck and run and do mischievous things, even with a rider on his back.  But it was this fiery character that was ready for any challenges that led Checkmate to become one of the best horses in the world.  The higher the fences in front of him, the higher he jumped.  And there was nothing that he liked better than going full speed in the jump off!  Meredith remembers, “In the jump-off, I never used to worry about knocking a fence down with Checkmate. The more I let go of his head and the faster I went, the easier he was to ride and the higher he jumped!”  This led the pair to numerous Grand Prix victories in amazingly fast jump-offs like the Mercedes-Benz Preis in Zurich, where the pair took home a brand-new Mercedes Benz CLK.

Checkmate also contributed to the championship medals hanging in Meredith’s home.  He helped secure European team gold in San Patrignano, European bronze in Windsor, and perhaps, most importantly, team gold at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, just six months after Meredith’s daughter was born.

Today Joey lives in Thedinghausen with his lifetime friend Shutterfly.  The two horses helped Meredith become rider of the year on three occasions.  Now Petey and Joey enjoy the sun and the easy life, daily out on the field, and only argue sometimes about who gets more attention when a visitor comes.

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Top Results:

 

1st place Nations Cup Wellington 2012

1st place Suncast Jumper Classic 2012

 

3rd place Grand Prix Paris 2011

3rd place Grand Prix Vienna 2011

 

1st place World Cup Lyon 2010

3rd place "Stawag Preis" CHIO Aachen 2010

1st place Grand Prix Estoril 2010

2nd place Grand Prix Pforzheim 2010

1st place Grand Prix Hagen 2010

 

2nd place Grand Prix Verden 2009

2nd place Nations Cup Aachen 2009

2nd place Grand Prix Wiesbaden 2009

1st place Championat von Hamburg 2009

 

1st place Grand Prix Estoril 2008

1st place "Stawag Preis" CHIO Aachen 2008

1st place Nations Cup Rotterdam 2008

1st place Grand Prix Wiesbaden 2008

3rd place Grand Prix Hamburg 2008

2nd place World Cup s'Hertogenbosch 2008

2nd place Grand Prix Dortmund 2008

 

1st place overall ranking Riders Tour 2007

2nd place World Cup Geneva 2007

2nd place Masters League Final Frankfurt 2007

2nd place Grand Prix Hannover 2007

2nd place Grand Prix Wiesbaden 2007

1st place "Mercedes Masters" Zurich 2007

 

1st place World Cup s'Hertogenbosch 2006

 

1st place overall ranking Riders Tour 2005

1st place Grand Prix Münster 2005

1st place Grand Prix Wiesbaden 2005

1st place Grand Prix Neumünster 2005

 

1st place overall ranking Riders Tour 2004

1st place "Lady's German Masters" Stuttgart 2004

1st place Grand Prix Münster 2004

 

1st place "Championat" Frankfurt 2003

 

 

Championships:

 

World Equestrian Games Kentucky 2010:

Team: Gold

 

European Championships Windsor 2009:

Team: Silver

 

European Championships San Patrignano 2005:

Team: Gold

 

German Championships Münster 2010:

Gold (Men)

 

German Championships Balve 2008:

Gold (Men)

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