Lauren Kieffer

Lauren Kieffer (born June 6, 1987, Mount Carmel, Illinois) is an American equestrian who competes in eventing. 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 with whom she has been paired since 2013. Kieffer was a member of the gold medal-winning US eventing team at the 2015 Pan American Games, riding Meadowbrook's Scarlett.
Kieffer comes from a "non-horsey" family, the only daughter of a diesel mechanic and an accountant. She began riding lessons at age six, and began competing in eventing at age 12. 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.
As of April 2016, Kieffer was the world's ninth-ranked eventing equestrian according to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and at the time of the 2016 Summer Olympics in which Kieffer competed, was considered the top-ranked female eventing athlete
in the United States.