David O’Brien

After Graduating high school in 1981 David attended Plymouth State Collage, majoring physical education. In 1983 David left school to pursue his riding career. From 1983 to 1986 David worked as the farm manager at Denny Emerson’s Tamerack Hill farm, where he ran the working student program as well as competed many horses at all levels of eventing. In 1987 David went to Germany to further his dressage training, with Walter Christensen. In 1988 after a successful season David was picked by the USET to train with Jack LeGoff in their developing rider program. From 1989 to 1999 David run his own business at Hollybrook Farm in Southern Pines NC were he trained many horses and riders at all levels of the sport. In 2000 David married fellow event rider Lauren Hart together they now own Kincora Farm and continue to work the riders from novice to advanced levels.

During his career David spent much time continuing to work on bettering his own riding skills by working with Mike Plumb, Wash Bishop, Capt. Mark Phillips, Sandy Phillips, Cindy Sydnor and Jules Nyssen.

David has had many top placing at the advanced level and has been put on the USET training list 2001 and 2002 and is a level IV ICP Certified Instructor.

In addition David has put a lot of time in on the administrative side of eventing, serving six years on the USEA board of governors. During this time David was vice president of competitions, chairman of the competitions committee, on the adult rider committee, and served on the USEA committee for the instructor certification program.

Lauren O’Brien

Lauren O’Brien, level III ICP Certified Instructor, was born on November 18, 1965.  She began taking riding lessons at age 13.  After graduating from Glastonbury High School in 1984, Lauren started to pursue a career in horses.

In 1984 Lauren went to England to be a working student for Eric Horgan where she spent 6 months. Upon her return to the US in 1985, Lauren took a job with Torrance Watkins.  During her time with Torrance, Lauren went to the 1986 World Championships in Australia to groom for Torrance and Finvarra.  It was also in 1986 that Lauren received her “A” rating in Pony Club.  In 1988 Lauren took a job with Mike Plumb and Karen Stives where she continued to expand her exposure to the international level of eventing.  IN 1990 she went with Mike and Chagal to the world Championships in Sweden.  In 1991 Lauren’s career as a competitor took off as she won the Radnor 3-day Event and then the Essex 3-day the following spring on Wexford the Irish sport horse that she had purchased unbroken a few years earlier.  In order to make ends meet and continue to develop Wexford into an International Event horse, Lauren began to work on the track galloping racehorses.  All of this paid off in 1995 where Lauren and Wexford rode for the USET at the European Championships in Pitroni, Italy.  In addition to that in 1995 Wexford was the USCTA Horse of the Year and Lauren was the second leading Lady Rider of the Year, which is quite a feat considering she did it with just one horse.

In addition Lauren and Wexford have been 4th at the Kentucky CCI***, 3rd at the Fair Hill CCI***, 15th at the Kentucky CCI****, short listed for the Olympic games in 1996, 5th individually and a team gold at the Pan Am Games in 1999.  After the Pan Am games, Lauren retired Wexford and began to make another International horse, Dunrath Alto, who she competed at the CCI*** at Fair Hill with in the fall of 1999.  In the spring of 2000, Lauren took Dunrath Alto to the CCI*** at Punchestown in Ireland.  In 2001 they had a strong enough finish at the Kentucky CCI**** that they were selected to ride for the USET at Burghley in England.  In 2002 Dunrath Alto was entered at Badminton, only to have a minor injury to keep him from competing.  Rather than coming home empty handed, Lauren chose to stay in England and travel to Punchestown four weeks later where they were the highest placed Americans.

In 2003 Lauren (5 months pregnant with her daughter Ailish) jumped clean around the CCI**** at Kentucky with Dunrath Alto.