Lauren Nicholson (equestrian)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 6, 1987 Mount Carmel, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Equestrian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Eventing | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Lauren Nicholson (née Kieffer; born June 6, 1987)[1][2][3] is an American equestrian who competes in eventing.[1] As the leading USA rider in the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event CCI, she won the Pinnacle Cup Trophy in 2014 and again in 2016, both times riding the Dutch Warmblood mare Veronica[4] with whom she has been paired since 2013.[5] Nicholson was a member of the gold medal-winning US eventing team at the 2015 Pan American Games, riding Meadowbrook's Scarlett.[3]
Nicholson comes from a "non-horsey" family,[6] the only daughter of a diesel mechanic and an accountant.[7] She began riding lessons at age six, and began competing in eventing at age 12.[3] She is closely associated with champion equestrians and trainers David and Karen O'Connor, with whom she has served a working apprenticeship since her late teens.[6]
As of April 2016, Nicholson was the world's ninth-ranked eventing equestrian according to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI),[8] and at the time of the 2016 Summer Olympics in which Nicholson competed, was considered the top-ranked female eventing athlete in the United States.[7]
In 2019, Nicholson was placed in the top 10 in the Burghley Horse Trials 5* aboard the American-bred Anglo-Arabian Vermiculus,[9] the top placing among the contingent of riders from the United States. Vermiculus is a full brother to her 2010 Kentucky Three-Day Event horse Snooze Alarm. In discussing the training of Vermiculus, Nicholson has said, "You have to be very conscientious producing them[Anglo-Arabs], because they’re very, very smart."[10]
CCI***** results[edit]
| Results | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Kentucky | Badminton | Luhmühlen | Burghley | Pau | Adelaide | ||||||
| 2010 | 29th (Snooze Alarm) | |||||||||||
| 2011-2013 | Did not participate | |||||||||||
| 2014 |  (Veronica) |
9th (Veronica) | ||||||||||
| 2015 | RET (Veronica) | |||||||||||
| 2016 | (Veronica) 18th (Landmark's Monte Carlo) |
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| 2017 | WD (Vermiculus) | 17th (Veronica) RET (Landmark's Monte Carlo) |
12th (Veronica) | |||||||||
| 2018 | 5th (Vermiculus) 18th (Landmark's Monte Carlo) |
9th (Veronica) | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 8th (Paramount Importance) 9th (Vermiculus) |
9th (Vermiculus) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | 16th (Vermiculus) 31st (Paramount Importance) |
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| EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||||
International Championship Results[edit]
| Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Horse | Placing | Notes | ||||||
| 2005 | North American Junior Championships | Snooze Alarm | 
|
Team | ||||||
| 22nd | Individual | |||||||||
| 2006 | North American Young Rider Championships | Snooze Alarm | 5th | Team | ||||||
| 18th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2007 | North American Young Rider Championships | Snooze Alarm |
|
Team | ||||||
| 13th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2015 | Pan American Games | Meadowbrook's Scarlett | 
|
Team | ||||||
| 7th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Veronica | 12th | Team | ||||||
| EL | Individual | |||||||||
| 2018 | World Equestrian Games | Vermiculus | EL | Individual | ||||||
| EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Lauren Nicholson". Fédération Equestre Internationale. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ^ "Lauren Kieffer Official Website". Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Lauren Kieffer". USEF Network. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ "USET Foundation Announces Lauren Nicholson as Pinnacle Cup Recipient". United States Equestrian Team Foundation. May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ Berreth, Lindsay (April 17, 2015). "Behind The Stall Door With: Veronica". The Chronicle of the Horse. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ a b "From a "non-horsey" family to four star rider – the rise of Lauren Kieffer". Eventing Connect. October 25, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ a b Hashemzadeh, Kianoosh (August 6, 2016). "An American Rider Trying to Beat the Boys in Rio". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ^ "FEI World Eventing Athlete Rankings". Fédération Equestre Internationale. April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "Land Rover Burghley Final Results 2019". Land Rover Burghley. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ Fedrizzi, Nina (July 25, 2018). "The Anglo-Arab Sport Horse: Get to Know Lauren Kieffer's Rolex Mount, Vermiculus". Noelle Floyd. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- 1987 births
- Living people
- American event riders
- American female equestrians
- People from Mount Carmel, Illinois
- Sportspeople from Illinois
- Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Olympic equestrians for the United States
- Equestrians at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in equestrian
- 21st-century American women