Photo by Sportfot
U.S. Olympian Lauren Hough was presented with the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Award on Saturday night, January 19, during the second week of competition at the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) running through March 31, 2019, in Wellington, FL.
Hough piloted a new mount, Valinski S, to win the $36,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup Round 2 CSI2* earlier in the week before placing second in the $72,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI2* during Saturday Night Lights. Her two top finishes aboard the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Wyndmont helped Hough to secure the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Award for WEF 2.
“It’s certainly a great way to start off the circuit,” said Hough, who was presented with a bottle of champagne, bouquet of flowers, and gift certificate to a shopping spree at Hunt, Ltd. for the title. “Martha offering this provides a bit more incentive for us. She gives us really nice gifts, and we’re most grateful for it. It’s nice to see that there are a lot of women riding at this level, with almost half the class tonight being women. It’s an honor and I applaud Martha for supporting this award for many years.”