Biography

Birthday: September 30, 1984
Two-Legged Family: parents John and Judy; brother Kevin
Favorite color: blue
Favorite snack: extra sharp cheddar cheese, or popcorn
Hobbies: Reading, working out, photography.

Lauren Sprieser’s international riding career began with a bicycle. The Sprieser family found tiny Oak Brook Farms a mere give minutes from their home outside Chicago, IL on a late-night biking expedition. When Judy Sprieser signed herself and her then ten-year-old daughter up for lessons, she couldn’t have known that just eight years later, Lauren would win her first medal in international dressage competition.

Weekly lessons led to the purchase of the Spriesers’ first horse, a cuddly pinto gelding named Cheerio. While not the most gifted dressage horse, he infected Lauren and Judy with the dressage bug, and Lauren worked her way up the ranks through high school until her first season at FEI in 2002.

Lauren moved East to attend Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York that fall. Horseless, Lauren discovered that two-time Olympian Lendon Gray's home stable was only a half-hour's drive from campus, and after a few lessons, the Sprieser family made the biggest decision of their lives—to send Lauren to Germany in search of her next FEI partner.

After getting in touch with Michael Ripploh, a successful sales agent, they were on their way to Warendorf. In three days, Lauren sat on almost 25 horses, but the first ride proved to be the most memorable—a skinny bay Trakehner named Bellinger Go. It was truly love at first sight for Lauren, who had never even seen such a magnificent trot, or found the tricky FEI movements so blissfully easy.

Their 2003 show season proved the beginning of a formidable partnership. They squeaked onto Region 2’s Young Rider team, and took home Team and Junior Olympic Bronze at the NAYRC in Bromont, Quebec, and took 24th place individually. By 2004, Lauren and “Billy” had moved up to 11th place at the NAYRC, and scoring in the high 60s at Prix St. Georges.

An August clinic with Monica Theodorescu opened a tremendous door for Lauren—the opportunity to bring Billy and her new FEI horse, the Holsteiner gelding L’Etoile 6, to train in Germany. A semester ahead at Sarah Lawrence, Lauren packed her ponies and headed to Warendorf, where she breathed, slept and dreamed horses for 14 weeks. A month without stirrups revolutionized her seat; watching the best riders in the world on their home territory, in training and in the showring, dazzled her beyond anything she’d ever seen. Mostly, Lauren came to understand how little she knew, and deepened her desire to learn and improve.

Lauren’s boys had an immaculate 2005 season, including an NAYRC Gold Medal, top honors in the national YR standings, and a triumphant debut with Bellinger at Intermediare II and Grand Prix. Team Sprieser finished their 2005 season with triumphant wins at the Region 8 Championships and Dressage at Devon, and top placings in the Jr/YR Horse of the Year standings.

After graduating from Sarah Lawrence, with L’Etoile sold to a new home, 2006 brought Lauren two new partners, the 5-year-old Westfalen mare Ellegria, who consistently scored above 70% at Training Level, and the 8-year-old Hanoverian mare Clairvoya, on whom after only a few months together, Lauren won the Region 2 Intermediare I Championships, and took Reserve honors in the Prix St. Georges. Not to be outdone, Bellinger and Lauren placed Third in the “Brentina Cup” National Young Adult Championships at Gladstone. The pair received a special award from the Trakehner Verband for being the highest scoring Trakehner in North America in Grand Prix.

2007 brought Lauren and her horses some incredible opportunities. First, Lauren and her three horses spent the winter in Loxahatchee, Florida, working for Olympian and dressage legend Carol Lavell. That Spring, Lauren received extraordinary news: her family purchased 130 acres of beautiful rolling hills in Marshall, Virginia, with a 12 stall barn and plans for a world-class indoor arena. With construction underway, Lauren spent the summer working for another American great, Pam Goodrich. Bellinger again qualified for Gladstone at the Brentina Cup, and both Lauren’s mares and another youngster, a training horse named Victorious, have placed well in their divisions all year long with scores through 70% at Training Level, Second Level and the Small Tour, respectively. Clairvoya swept all three Small Tour classes at the last CDI in Saugerties, NY. Ellegria finished a nearly-undefeated year by winning the Second Level Regional Championship by nearly 5% over Reserve.

Settling in at her Clearwater Farm in Virginia, Lauren spent 2008 developing her business, showing a few client horses, and focusing on her students. Lauren’s students placed well in dressage and evening, including top scores at the BLM Championships at First and Second Levels, a third place finish at the Morven Park CCI/CIC*, and the USEA Beginner Novice Master Rider and Horse of the year.

Lauren’s horses may not have done much showing, but they had a busy year. After qualifying for the Intermediare I Championships and being placed on the 2008 Developing Rider list, Clairvoya is putting together the Grand Prix work, with an eye to the 2009 Brentina Cup. Ellegria continues to develop towards the FEI work, and looks forward to the 2009 Developing Horse Championships at Prix St. Georges. Victorious is getting strong at the Third Level work, and hopes to show at Third and Fourth levels next year. Ellegria was selected to participate in the very selective Young Dressage Horse Trainers’ Symposium with top European trainer Ingo Pape.

Increasingly well-known as a top-quality trainer, rider, competitor and athlete, Lauren Sprieser is one to watch.