required will only work in side a form element.
What you want is ng-init="model.refmarker=refmarkers[0]"
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en" data-ng-app="app">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Test</title>
<script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.2.6/angular.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
angular.module('app',[])
.controller('Main',function($scope)
{
$scope.model = {};
$scope.refmarkers = [{ref:'abc'},{ref:'def'},{ref:'ghi'}];
});
</script>
</head>
<body ng-controller="Main">
{{'Angular'}}
<select ng-model="model.refmarker" ng-options="rm.ref for rm in refmarkers" ng-init="model.refmarker=refmarkers[0]"></select>
{{model.refmarker}}
</body>
</html>