Lauren Nicholson (equestrian)

{{short description|American equestrian}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Lauren Nicholson

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|6|6}}

| birth_place = Mount Carmel, Illinois

| death_date =

| death_place =

| sport = Equestrian

| event = Eventing

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport|Equestrian}}

{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}

{{MedalSilver|2022 Pratoni|Team eventing}}

{{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}}

{{MedalGold|2015 Toronto|Team eventing}}

}}

Lauren Nicholson (née Kieffer; born June 6, 1987){{cite web|url=http://www.laurenkieffer.com/Home.html|title=Lauren Kieffer Official Website|accessdate=May 8, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.usefnetwork.com/athletes/317/lauren_kieffer.aspx|title=Lauren Kieffer|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=USEF Network}} is an American equestrian who competes in eventing.{{cite web|url=http://www.fei.org/bios/Person/10016272/|title=Lauren Nicholson|work=Fédération Equestre Internationale|accessdate=August 9, 2020}} 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{{cite web|url=http://www.uset.org/viewarticle.php?id=798|title=USET Foundation Announces Lauren Nicholson as Pinnacle Cup Recipient|work=United States Equestrian Team Foundation|date=May 3, 2016|accessdate=May 8, 2016}} with whom she has been paired since 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/behind-stall-door-veronica|title=Behind The Stall Door With: Veronica|work=The Chronicle of the Horse|first=Lindsay|last=Berreth|date=April 17, 2015|accessdate=May 8, 2016}} Nicholson was a member of the gold medal-winning US eventing team at the 2015 Pan American Games, riding Meadowbrook's Scarlett.

Nicholson comes from a "non-horsey" family, the only daughter of a diesel mechanic and an accountant.{{cite news|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/an-american-rider-trying-to-beat-the-boys-in-rio|title=An American Rider Trying to Beat the Boys in Rio|work=The New Yorker|date=August 6, 2016|accessdate=August 10, 2016|first=Kianoosh|last=Hashemzadeh}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://eventingconnect.today/2014/10/25/from-a-non-horsey-family-to-four-star-rider-the-rise-of-lauren-kieiffer/|title=From a "non-horsey" family to four star rider – the rise of Lauren Kieffer|date=October 25, 2014|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=Eventing Connect}}

As of April 2016, Nicholson was the world's ninth-ranked eventing equestrian according to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI),{{cite web|url=https://data.fei.org/Ranking/Search.aspx?rankingCode=C_WR|title=FEI World Eventing Athlete Rankings|date=April 30, 2016|accessdate=May 8, 2016|work=Fédération Equestre Internationale}} 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.

In 2019, Nicholson was placed in the top 10 in the Burghley Horse Trials 5* aboard the American-bred Anglo-Arabian Vermiculus,{{cite web |title=Land Rover Burghley Final Results 2019 |url=http://www.bdwp.co.uk/bur/19/ |website=Land Rover Burghley |access-date=23 May 2021}} 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."{{cite news |last1=Fedrizzi |first1=Nina |title=The Anglo-Arab Sport Horse: Get to Know Lauren Kieffer’s Rolex Mount, Vermiculus |url=https://www.noellefloyd.com/blogs/nf-style/the-anglo-arab-sport-horse-get-to-know-lauren-kieffer-s-rolex-mount-vermiculus |access-date=23 May 2021 |publisher=Noelle Floyd |date=July 25, 2018}}