Born: April 11, 1977
Residence: Wellington, Florida
Horse: Casadora (11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare; owned by Laura and Meredith Mateo)

A Californian by birth, Lauren Hough lives the dream of some equestrians twice her age. Hough entered the grand prix circuit in 1993 – before she could drive. At a mere 15 years of age, she earned the title of Pacific Coast Horseman's Association Rookie of the Year. In 2006, she was fourth overall in the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games Selection Trials, which qualified her for the short list for the Games in Aachen, Germany. Earlier in the year, she won the $60,000 Carlisle Wellington Cup. The past three years she also has been a member of the very successful U.S teams competing in the Samsung Super League. In 2004, the team finished in fourth place; in 2005, the U.S took home the Gold medal; and in 2006, it won the Silver medal.

No stranger to the international spotlight, Hough rode Clasiko to a strong finish in the 2000 Olympic Selection Trials and then to a sixth place team finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympics—when she was only 22 years old. Following her performance there, she placed second in the $100,000 President's Cup at the Washington International Horse Show in Washington, D.C. In 2002, she won the National Horse Show Grand Prix aboard Clasiko. In 2003, after qualifying in the selection trials while riding with a broken collar bone, Hough was named to the U.S. team for the Pan American Games where they grabbed Team Gold; and she served as a team alternate for the 2004 Athens Olympics. She comes by her talent naturally as the daughter of noted equestrians Linda and Champ Hough (Champ Hough was on the 1952 Three-Day Eventing Olympic Team). Word is she is as good a cook as she is a rider, and she also enjoys skiing and listening to music.

Bio courtesy of USEF