I first met Michael Matz when I was six years old. At the time, I had no idea that I was meeting a hero. I was too distracted by the fact that Michael Matz was giving me a riding lesson and, lets be honest, at the age of six ponies were far more exciting than heroes. However, my initial impression of Michael Matz has been replaced with one of complete awe. Michael Matz is an amazing individual who truly deserves the title of hero.
In the sports world, Michael Matz is by no means a household name, which is the case for most equestrian athletes. Yet his accomplishments over the years are, in a word, extraordinary. After taking a stab at college, he decided he'd rather pursuing his childhood passion: riding. He left home with very little to his name, and started his career as a groom. He spent many nights sleeping in barns with nothing but a sleeping bag. But after three years of hard work, Matz became a force to be reckoned with.
Matz won the United States Show Jumping championship a record six times. He medaled at eight Pan American games, five of which were gold. He also represented the United States in three world championships, winning team gold in 1986 and two bronze medals in 1978. And was named "Rider of the Year" twice in 1981 and 1984.
Aside from these remarkable accomplishments, he represented the United States in not one but three Olympic Games. Matz competed in Montreal in 1976, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996 where he helped the U.S. ride to team silver. It was at the Atlanta Olympics where Matz was honored with the opportunity to carry the flag during the closing ceremony. He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2006.
Matz's sporting accomplishments continued after he retired from Show Jumping in 1998. Matz, instead, chose to pursue a career in the horse racing industry as a trainer. His accomplishments in this field are just as remarkable as his accomplishments in the jumping ring. He is perhaps most well known for training Barbaro, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2006.
But these incredible sports accomplishments may not even be Matz's greatest accomplishment. In 1989, after missing a flight connection, Matz and his fiancé (and now wife) ended up on United Airlines flight 232. Mid-flight the DC-10 aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine failure, which severed all the hydraulic lines. The plane was forced into an emergency landing in Souix City, Iowa. The plane broke apart and burst into flames upon making contact with the ground. Matz survived the crash and helped lead 3 young children, who where traveling unaccompanied, to safety. Upon escaping the plane, Matz and another passenger followed the sounds of a baby's cries back into the inferno and managed to pull an 11-month-old child out of the wreckage. It was only then that Matz found his fiancé, whose whereabouts had been unknown until that point. 111 people died in the crash.
Matz, his fiancé, and all of the children he rescued miraculously survived with only minor injuries. But Matz's heroism didn't end by simply getting the children out of the plane. He stayed with the children to make sure that they got in contact with their parents (cell phones weren't nearly as common as they are now) and did his best to shield the children from the trauma of the accident.
Matz describes that day as the luckiest day of his life, not the day that he won the Kentucky Derby. Less than two weeks after the incident, Matz rode to victory in one of his U.S. Championships. The three children that he rescued were all present at Churchill Downs the day that Matz won the Derby with Barbaro.
Michael Matz isn't just a hero for his accomplishments, but for his incredible humanity. He rose to the top of the sports world in two completely different sports, assisted others when they were in desperate need, and managed to take time out of his day to teach a child how to ride a pony. He truly is an incredible individual.
Michael Matz continues to train racehorses out of the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, MD.
Below is Matz's gold medal round at Aachen aboard Chef in 1986. Be forewarned – the commentary is in German.
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