A Key to Every Horse

How grand prix rider Lauren Tisbo gets the most out of her mounts.

- Elizabeth Iliff Prax

In a sport where riders are known for experimenting with all kinds of tack, 32-year-old grand prix jumper Lauren Tisbo still manages to surprise crowds when she enters the show ring. Two of her horses compete in a racehorse exercise saddle and one shows in a bridle with no head stall, often described as an Indian or war bridle. “I’m a firm believer that you’re going to get the most out of a happy horse,” she explains. “I guess some people might say I go to extremes.”

Standing sixth in the Longines FEI World CupTM Jumping North American Eastern SubLeague at press time with one qualifier left, Lauren agrees with the common wisdom that elite-level horses are invariably quirky. “Part of the fun of the sport is figuring out those quirks and finding the right key that makes horses go as well as they can go.”

Doing things unconventionally has been somewhat of a theme for this successful rider, who grew up in Barrington, Illinois. Unlike many top jumpers, she didn’t start her career in the equitation and hunter rings. A horsey friend sparked her interest in riding early. Her parents bought her an Appendix Quarter Horse named Okie Dokie when she was 12. She remembers, “He was really green and nothing fancy. I had to get a ladder to bridle him because he was a little bit ornery.”

But Lauren’s greatest passion as a child and teenager was soccer. “I was on high school and travel teams, ran indoor track to get fit for soccer and spent time in the gym.” This left very little time for riding, so Okie Dokie became a pasture pet for several years. By Lauren’s junior year of high school, though, soccer had become more work and less fun. She decided to quit and turn her attention back to horses.