Lauren Weil always had a passion for horses.  Every year that her parents sent her to summer camp, she would have three choices for elective activities.  Lauren would always write in horseback riding for all three activities.  Her parents thought it was a phase that she would grow out of, but boy were they wrong.  They tried numerous times to curb her appetite for horses, but her persistent dedication and heart always prevailed.

She began to take consistent lessons when she lived in Montgomery, Alabama at age 6 with Toni Flowers.  Her parents would drop her off at the barn in the morning and would have to drag her home at night.  Her energy and enthusiasm was infectious around the barn, and her parents realized that they would have to give in sooner or later and get her a pony of her own. 

When Lauren turned 9 her wishes finally came true.  She had a pony all to herself named Firefly.  A day did not go by that Lauren was not at the farm playing with Firefly and learning how to be the best rider that she could be.  Her competitive nature and ambitious attitude helped Lauren to win Pony Club Dressage Rally High Point Award when she was only 10 years old.  She would continue to excel with Firefly for 2 more years until she got her wonder pony, Angel.

Angel was an amazing jumper, and Lauren loved to jump, so combined they made a great team.  They won numerous jumper shows and even had the opportunity to go to Pony Club nationals 2 years in a row for Show Jumping.  Lauren then grew out of the ponies, and moved on to her first horse Dipper at age 13.

Lauren continued to do the jumpers with Dipper and went to Pony Club Nationals with him in Show Jumping the first year she got him.  Dipper then introduced Lauren to Three Day Eventing.  He was an accomplished eventer, and Lauren wanted to try something new.  They did extremely well and went to Pony Club Nationals for Combined Training when she was 14 and WON the entire event.  Lauren continued to excel with Dipper until she stumbled upon Cowboy. 

Lauren was in Florida training with Dipper when her trainer had asked her to ride this young enthusiastic sale horse, and show him a bit in the jumpers.  She continuously would win the Children/Adult Jumpers, and even dabbled in the Mini Prix with him.  Her trainer knew that they were meant for each other because he would not jump when other people would come down and try him!  Lauren then traded Dipper for Cowboy, and he would then change her eventing life forever.

Lauren introduced Cowboy to Three-Day Eventing.  They would excel through the levels with the help from Susan Wainwright, Ralph Hill and Jill Williams.  There were a few set-backs, among them a broken leg from Cowboy, and a few torn ligaments in Lauren’s knee, but Cowboy’s heart and Lauren’s unbelievable determination would help them to make it to the top and run many very successful Advanced Horse Trials.  Lauren and Cowboy’s double clean run at the North American Young Rider’s Championship Two Star, earned them an incredible eleventh place finish.  This along with some other great Two Star and Advanced Horse Trials double clean finishes helped them to earn a slot on the Long List for the Three-Day Eventing Equestrian Olympic Team. 

While in college, Lauren worked, taught lessons, and trained numerous horses to support herself financially through this time so she could continue to have Cowboy at UGA with her.  There were many people who believed in Lauren and supported her through this time including Michelle Parkinson and Kim Schisler for whom Lauren is very thankful for.

Lauren then graduated from college and began life in the “real world”.  She began to work for Ameriprise Financial, formerly American Express Financial Advisors, and had to give up her life passion for a few years.  She sold Cowboy, and took the proceeds to buy her first house in Atlanta, Ga.  Her career exploded, and she continued to work her way up the corporate ladder.  After 4 excruciating years without riding horses, Lauren built up enough money to buy Bigtime Graffiti.  Graffiti was merely 2 years old, but Lauren knew the second she hopped on that she was something special.  Lauren brought her up very slowly, and made sure that she did not make any mistakes with her.  Graffiti has been everything Lauren could have hoped for and more.  She has taken her to 6 Recognized Horse Trials where Graffiti has won 5 of them.

Lauren realized that she has a natural gift for helping people and horses to be the best they can be and enjoy every aspect of the horse-world like she does.  This helped Lauren come to the realization that she was not meant to be locked in an office all day.  Rather, she was destined to be a horse trainer!  She then gave her notice to Ameriprise Financial and founded Bigtime Eventing.  She now wakes up everyday with an infectious smile on her face anxious to see whose life she will have a positive impact on to help them reach their riding goals and dreams.

Lauren knows that none of this could be possible if she did not have the support of her amazing family and unbelievable friends.  She is thankful to be surrounded by people who love her and truly believe in her!

You can contact Lauren Weil anytime at 404-210-0018 or email at lauren@bigtimeeventing.com.

 Bigtime Eventing

 Lauren Weil

404-210-0018

OR

email at

lauren@bigtimeeventing.com

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