Laura Kraut’s victory on Bisquetta with the only clear round in the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland Sunday was more than just a fantastic American triumph.
The fact that a 59-year-old grandmother captured the feature on the last day of the illustrious Dublin Horse Show was an accomplishment not only for a woman (just 19 females now have won the class since 1934) but more importantly, for someone who redefines statistically what it means to be a competitor in her prime.
She gives new meaning to that famous catchline from a 1971 hair color commercial, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better!”
“I just can’t put into words how thrilling this is. This is one of the best shows in the world and to win it at my age, I’m pretty excited,” Laura enthused, as the crowd roared its approval of that thought.
The course designed by the masterful Alan Wade for the $582,000 class on the grass field at the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds heightened the suspense minute by minute, as the best riders in the world toppled fences all around the 14-obstacle route.
A delighted Laura Kraut and Bisquetta finish their winning round. (US Equestrian photo)
The last line of a 1.55 high, 2-meter-wide triple bar five strides (or in one case, six strides) from an oxer-vertical double combination, with a big swing toward the final oxer caught 15 riders. It was a heartbreak for Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez, fault free on Contago until the last, only to topple a rail at the 1.53 meter high and 1.70 wide jump.
But faults were well distributed around the route, which meant no one could take any portion of it for granted.
As the first round neared its conclusion with no clears, it appeared there might be a jump-off of 11 4-faulters. Then came Laura, next-to-last in the order, on the 11-year-old Zangersheide mare by Bisquet Balou that she had been saving for this class.
Her perfectly judged and beautifully ridden effort drew a heartfelt reaction from the fans. All that was left to end the suspense was the appearance of Ireland’s Trevor Breen, whose brother, Shane, had won the trophy in 2019. Trevor’s attempt to make a tiebreaker was over early at the first fence of the 4ABC triple combination, guaranteeing Laura the highest spot on the podium.
“I have an unbelievable horse in Bisquetta. She was just spot-on and I didn’t mess it up for her, so here we are. This definitely goes in the record books for me. To come back this year and have this happen is just thrilling,” said Laura, who was overjoyed to claim her first Rolex watch as a prize, after finishing second last month in the Rolex grand prix at Aachen, Germany.
“I’ve been waiting to win one of these for a long, long time,” said Laura, the highest-ranked woman on the Longines FEI standings at number 18..
On a more serious note, she commented, “To win anything on an international stage like this when you’re representing your country, it just gets you. It’s what we live for, it’s what we work for. It’s just like a dream come true.”
Laura and Bisquetta at the Rolex wall.
Laura was coached by her partner, Nick Skelton, a five-time winner of the Dublin class before he retired.
“I had a good feeling this morning,” said Nick
“That mare’s been knocking on the door she’s a great mare. She’s really careful and she’s a real trier.”
That applies to Laura as well.
“She is 24/7,” Nick reported.
“If there’s a show tomorrow morning, she’ll be at it. She’s a workaholic and she deserved it.”
Asked for his opinion of the route, Nick said, “This is one of the great grands prix in the world. Alan Wade built a brilliant course; you needed scope, carefulness, rideability and he put it all in that one round and got a great result.”
As he reflected on the course he built, Alan said, ““I don’t think I’d have done anything different. The time was comfortable and you couldn’t say we were forcing them into mistakes. Maybe some will think we should have had 10 in the jump-off, but with lighter material you can get softer faults. Sometimes you get one or two go clear, or I’ve had it go all the way up to 17. It’s not an exact science and you have to be fair to the horses and the occasion.”
Nick Skelton, in the dark grey vest, and Robert Ridland, second from right, watch tensely as Laura jumps the course.
Second place went to the fastest 4-faulter, Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa with the Irish-bred Major Tom, who had a rail at B of the triple. Third was Ireland’s own Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz, with a knockdown at the third fence, a 1.60-meter-wide oxer over a liverpool. There was speculation that if Shane had gone later in the start list, instead of second, he might have profited more from watching others ride.
But it’s interesting to note that in addition to the American victory, all three of the top finishers are based in the U.S.
“Winning the grand prix at Dublin is on a par with winning the Aga Khan. We missed the Aga Khan,” said U.S. Coach Robert Ridland, referring to his team’s fourth-place finish Friday in the Nations Cup.
“This is one of the great trophies in sport and for Laura to do it on a day when there was only one clean was pretty amazing.”
Someone had texted Robert near the end of the class, expressing concern about the fact that no one had gone clean and noting, “the course is winning.”
Winner Laura Kraut with runner-up Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, left, and Shane Sweetnam of Ireland, who was third.
But Ridland replied to the texter, “This is great, because it’s fewer horses for Laura to jump off against and zero horses to jump off against is as few as you can get.”
Commenting on Alan’s course, he said, “It was a rider’s course and had to be ridden correctly all the way around. No one problem was overly difficult or unfair, but there were a lot of places where you could have a rail.”
When he walked the course, he said, “I thought it was one of the best courses of the year. Alan is a master of using all the technical tests combined with his familiarity of the characteristics and slope gradients of the arena.
“Not all horses and/or riders are always on their game…Laura was. Not only did Bisquetta jump great, but Laura mastered the track to perfection. It indeed was a flawless ride.”
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