These past few weeks have kept Lauren very busy between traveling and competing both in the United States and in England! Immediately after the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, Lauren and her team headed across the pond to contest the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials CCI4* with both Team Rebecca LLC's Veronica and Jacqueline Mars's Landmark's Monte Carlo.
Both horses traveled well and were enjoying the English countryside when Lauren arrived. Landmark's Monte Carlo kicked off the competition on Thursday as the first to go and nearly matched his personal best dressage score at this level, and Veronica closed out the dressage phase on Friday with an incredible score of 38.0, exceeding her personal best by several points, to start the weekend in 5th place out of over 80 competitors!
On Saturday, Landmark's Monte Carlo left the start box first, and while he didn't quite have round Lauren was hoping for, he still stepped up to the challenge and tried his heart out before she ultimately decided to retire him on course and save him for another day. Veronica then followed it up with a superb clear round over the difficult course to end the day in the top 20. This year's course produced one of the lowest clear completion rates in recent memory, and Lauren was incredibly happy with how well Veronica handled it.
To close out the weekend, Lauren and Veronica jumped another fantastic round in the show jumping to finish the weekend on a high note in 17th place. Overall, it was a fantastic first Badminton experience for Lauren, her horses, and her entire team. She's looking forward to building on these results throughout the upcoming months, as she is planning to stay in England through the fall with several of her top horses.
Before settling in England for the summer, Lauren headed home this past weekend for the Jersey Fresh International. The long trip was certainly worth it as Lauren and Jacqueline Mars's D.A. Duras took home the win in the CIC2* division! After scoring a 46.9 in the dressage phase to take the early lead, the pair had two confident jump rounds in less than ideal conditions to finish the weekend on top. It was the perfect final event on her home turf before heading back to England with the rest of her team and Lauren can't wait to see what lies ahead.
Lauren and D.A. Duras on their way to winning the Jersey Fresh CIC2*
PC: Eventing Nation
As she celebrates her successes and looks forward to the her upcoming adventure, Lauren would like to thank her incredible owners for giving her the opportunity to ride such talented, special horses and to be able to travel so extensively with them to allow for new competitive experiences. And of course, none of this would be possible without the support of everyone on her team, along with her family, friends, and sponsors. She is looking forward to more great things to come this year!
