The Journey to Badminton Part One – Meet Lauren and Cookie

In this new blog series, we follow eventer Lauren and her pony Cookie on their journey to the Badminton Grassroots Championships. The pair have battled plenty of setbacks on the way, making their qualification for Badminton Grassroots even more special…

Hi! I’m Lauren and this spring I’ll be competing at my first-ever Badminton Grassroots in the BE90 class with my 17-year-old gelding, Cookie. I can’t wait to document our journey and share it with you in this blog. With 14 weeks to go, I’d better introduce myself, and the pony without whom none of this would be possible – the amazing Cookie Clover!

Outside of horses I am an administrator in the NHS, and juggling full time work around my passion can be difficult. I also suffer with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which makes it extra hard to keep on top of things. I have always dreamed of eventing though, and so I make it work (even if it does mean making a few social life sacrifices!). Cookie is kept on a DIY yard 5 minutes from my house, and while keeping him fit does require a lot of forward planning around my shifts, it’s all worth it.

Where it all began

I’ve always been pony mad, and when I grew out of my first pony – Pepper, my parents bought Cookie. He came straight from Ireland and was six years old when he arrived with us. That’s 10 years ago, and we’ve had an amazing journey together – but it’s not all been plain sailing. Cookie is 14.2hh of pure power and heart and, despite the fact he’ll be turning 17 this year, we’re looking forward to our best season yet!

I won’t lie, it wasn’t the best start with Cookie – he was a big step up from Pepper and, to be honest, I was scared. So, it took a while for me to learn to be the rider he needed, but when it clicked, it really did click.

Holding onto the dream

Once Cookie and I had cemented our partnership, I began to dream of Badminton Grassroots. Covid put a stop to our 2020 season, but I felt like 2021 might just be our year. We had a strong start, coming second at Larkhill in the BE90, and I began to feel excited.

But not long after, disaster struck. We noticed that Cookie was losing balance when travelling, which was very unlike him. I called the vet to investigate but never suspected what she’d find. After a work-up, the vet diagnosed arthritis in Cookie’s hocks and lumbar spine, as well as mild kissing spines, which was incredibly disheartening. While the vet was clear that she didn’t want me to get my hopes up, I followed a strict rehabilitation programme and, by some miracle, he made an amazing recovery.

We then enjoyed a great 2022 season, managing four top 10 placings. But Cookie’s medical dramas weren’t over. At the start of 2023, he developed a mysterious illness and was rushed to Liphook Equine Hospital with a range of terrifying symptoms that included colic, loss of balance and an inability to stand properly. He stayed in hospital for a week and had various tests, which were all inconclusive. We agreed with the vets that, once he was stable, he could return home and be turned away for the rest of the year to see how he recovered.

In September, it was decided that I could slowly bring Cookie back into work and, with the help of a team of professionals, Cookie steadily returned to his old self and fitness level. In January 2024 we won a Prelim dressage test – his first outing in a year! We stepped up to Novice dressage, and it was at that point that I decided I simply had to register him for BE again.

Unfortunately, we had to sell our horsebox to pay for Cookie’s treatment. While this can make it tricky to get out showjumping or cross-country schooling, I am lucky that I am just a 30-minute hack from Parwood Equestrian Centre, where we often go for dressage, showjumping and arena hire. In our local woods there are plenty of sandy tracks where I can do Cookie’s weekly fitness and gallop work. While having a horsebox would make life a lot easier when it comes to getting out and about, I am so grateful for what I can do. During the eventing season, I hire a horsebox once a month for events.

Left: Picking Cookie up from Liphook Equine Hospital to bring him home
Right: Back in the saddle!

The Badminton Grassroots Qualifier

Showjumping in preparation for our Badminton qualifier

I didn’t have many expectations of the 2024 season, after the dramas we’d already experienced with Cookie’s health, but we arrived at our Grassroots Championship regional qualifier at Little Downham with three top seven placings at BE90 and a clear XC at a BE100.

Cookie was on top form all day, starting with a 30.9 dressage and then producing a clear showjumping (leading to tears of pure joy and disbelief, because we definitely suffer from four-fault-itis!).

It was then time for our favourite (well, surely every eventer’s favourite?) phase, cross-country.

I spend the entire course telling myself “don’t go too slow” because lots of other competitors had been finishing with time penalties. Cookie ate up the challenging course, and every jump felt effortless. We had the time of our lives and crossed the finish line clear. But too fast! I couldn’t believe it. I was so proud of Cookie, but so disappointed with myself for letting this happen.

We finished in a very respectable fourth place, but I was gutted that my own timing error meant we missed the top three needed to qualify for Badminton. What had been an amazing day ended on a real low note.

We did it!

But our luck was about to change. In December 2024 British Eventing confirmed it was extending the qualification criteria to allow more people to compete at the Grassroots Championships.

The email arrived in my inbox on 5 December 2024 to confirm it – we had qualified for Badminton!

Our journey has been nothing short of a miracle, hard work from so many people, dedication, determination, luck and many, many vet bills! But we have achieved the impossible, and I am so excited to bring you along on this journey to the Championships with us.

Find out how Lauren is preparing for her and Cookie’s Badminton debut in part two of her Journey to Badminton series – out now

Follow Lauren on Instagram: @lwshowjumping