Lauren Hough, an American showjumper, is well-known in the equestrian community. In the 1960s, when the sport wasn’t dominated by the cavalry, Lauren’s late father, Charles ‘Champ’ Hough, was one of the sport’s youngest contenders. The Houghs are a legendary athletic family, so any news about them is sure to make headlines.

Lauren Hough posted a video on Instagram showing her miraculous escape from an accident during the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. An incident happened when the hackamore bridle she was using on a young stallion broke in the arena.

A scared crowd anticipates the worst

Hough’s stallion blasted off at full speed, and twice careered over the wings of one of the gates. Moreover, it completed further twelve circuits after the clip stops playing. The Olympic showjumper revealed that the horse had a playful kick when Lauren placed her leg on it as she entered the arena, which led to the incident. The hackamore bridle didn’t hold up for long, and the horse’s fright caused it to gallop into the arena. She also describes how the scared crowd in the arena felt something terrible was about to happen when the horse lost its mind. Fifteen to twenty people were already in the arena to aid the showjumper, but they made no noise so as not to further annoy the horse.

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British ex-equestrian Nick Skelton, German-Ukrainian Olympic athlete Uli Kirchhoff, along with others rushed to Lauren’s aid as they were trying to stop the horse. The group eventually succeeded in calming the animal, and Skelton promptly advised Lauren to dismount. According to a report by Horse & Hound, Lauren kept calm during the incident, citing an emotional reason, “Throughout it all, I stayed really calm, I don’t know why. I was never scared at all. But I lost my dad last Monday and I’m pretty sure he was my guardian angel that day, because it could have gone so much worse.” 

How did the equestrian world react to this?

It didn’t take long for Lauren Hough’s admirers to flood the comment area after she posted about the event on Instagram, and the internet went into a frenzy. In the caption of the post, she wrote, “When the hackamore breaks. Spoiler: we’re fine! After about 15 laps, Nick Skelton managed to catch us.”

Despite having a broken hackamore bridle, one comment points out how Lauren was able to manage the horse, saying, “Casually jumping the standard.” The showjumper did 15 laps; however, for some, it felt more than that, as one comment read, “It was definitely a minimum of 27 laps!!!!!!”

As the equestrian world watched the terrifying moment, some enthusiasts also unlocked new fears, as one comment read, “My biggest fear with my nathe bit.” The way Lauren handled the horse was appreciated by a lot of viewers, as one comment read, “You handled this very well . Calm , collected and went w whatever the horse did to not make it stressful. Glad you’re okay !!”

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It’s no surprise that Lauren Hough is the daughter of the legendary Charles Hough, given the manner in which she controlled the horse at this critical time.