![Lauren Innes](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387285906/1693391600/articles/PMUwkZNnE1693415924055/LAUREN-INNES.jpg)
LAUREN INNES is no ordinary accountant. Amateur riders lining up to compete at Burghley, arguably the biggest and most daunting of the five-stars, are as rare as hen’s teeth. Lauren competes just one (equally extraordinary) horse, Global Fision M, whom she has produced from a five-year-old alongside a full-time job at KPMG. No groom, no flashy facilities, no string of also-rans to complement her top horse and give her experience up the levels.
“The top riders I’m competing against probably do the same number of runs in a weekend that I do in a season,” muses the 32-year-old, who has two Badminton cross-country clears under her five-star belt. “But I’ve said since ‘Flipper’ was a five-year-old that he’s a Burghley horse, because he loves huge jumps, and he loves to gallop – and that is what Burghley is.”
Lauren seems to thrive in elite company. Academically, as an Oxford graduate with a master’s in investment banking, she applied to the “big four” global accountancy firms and was offered places at three of them. As a sportswoman, Badminton and Burghley are her natural goals even if there’s little amateur precedent showing it can be done.
Lauren got a taste for international competition through student riders, when she competed for Britain, and later in the European Cup, winning team silver. She knew she wanted to continue competing seriously – “I work to fund my passion” but also “didn’t want to ride professionally”.
“Mum had drilled it into me that a career in horses is a hard life and encouraged me to consider all my options,” she says. “But I wanted to be competitive so I took my time going into my professional career, doing a lot of teaching and riding over about three gap years.
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin August 31, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin August 31, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
![Hazel Hill](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/Gd2BVhi4D1718882528585/HAZEL-HILL.jpg)
Hazel Hill
\"An absolute monster\" and \"a professor\", prolific point-to-pointer Hazel Hill was in a class of his own. His connections tell Gemma Redrup about his stellar career - and the shenanigans of transporting the Foxhunter cup home
![Being transparent is key to securing equestrian sport](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/0bEOOorNx1718882382986/BEING-TRANSPARENT-IS-KEY-TO-SECURING-EQUESTRIAN-SPORT.jpg)
Being transparent is key to securing equestrian sport
Experts discuss acceptance of horses in sport, after the most recent survey on the public's opinion of it
![High honours for the Heythrop](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/9glFBUfgK1718882114293/HIGH-HONOURS-FOR-THE-HEYTHROP.jpg)
High honours for the Heythrop
The Heythrop takes both championships, but local packs revel in some success, too
![Rio's regal victory](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/Wgx0s7JPQ1718882016422/RIOS-REGAL-VICTORY.jpg)
Rio's regal victory
A new face of the riding horse scene shows promise, breeder's dream a run continues and a cob specialist dominates
![A picture of Elegance](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/miv4XXIz41718881868519/A-PICTURE-OF-ELEGANCE.jpg)
A picture of Elegance
A determined breeder experiences a memorable day of firsts, while a show hunter pony reigns with two sisters
![Imagine's connections are living the dream](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/-d32HQd8P1718881536950/IMAGINES-CONNECTIONS-ARE-LIVING-THE-DREAM.jpg)
Imagine's connections are living the dream
A new partnership is off to a flying start and one rider's patience with a £1 tricky youngster is richly rewarded
![Caccia can't be caught](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/Uxl1rY9_B1718881229421/CACCIA-CANT-BE-CAUGHT.jpg)
Caccia can't be caught
A laid-back Otangelo youngster, who fell asleep on the ferry, is a star of the show, and jumping bridleless at home proves the winning formula for one combination
!['He has incredible energy'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/ilBxC8MSd1718880838161/HE-HAS-INCREDIBLE-ENERGY.jpg)
'He has incredible energy'
Home-breds delight their riders with the top two spots in the grand prix and records are smashed in the puissance
![Banzai battles for a Paris place](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/z8ddjBntQ1718880422653/BANZAI-BATTLES-FOR-A-PARIS-PLACE.jpg)
Banzai battles for a Paris place
World champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzair Du Loir top the hotly contested CCI4*-S, while Belgium's Lara de Liederkerke-Meier takes her first CCI5* win on a home-bred mare
![Sitting pretty](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5174/1739359/0vUn44UDs1718880213438/SITTING-PRETTY.jpg)
Sitting pretty
Of course the saddle has to fit your horse, but what about how it fits you as a rider? Sarah Isaacs speaks to saddlery experts to find out just how important it is to consider your own body shape and posture in the saddle fitting process