Nearly 50 years after she made her debut on a pony at the Washington International Horse Show, Laura Kraut won its marquee President’s Cup Saturday night for the second time.
Aboard Tres Bien, she took on the Nick Granat-designed course with a key decision early in the route.
“I didn’t think that seven strides was possible from fences two to three, but Lillie Keenan did it right before I went, so I thought, ‘I’ll see how I jump fence two and give it a go,’ ” Laura reported.
“He grew wings to do that, because it was very far away, and I can’t believe he did it,” she said.
“Then, I just went as quick as I could go with him. He’s a handy horse. It was one of the reasons why I thought it would be good to bring him indoors, and he just tries really hard.”
Laura Kraut and Tres Bien at Washington (Shawn McMillen Photo)
She went through the timers in 40.83 seconds to top the eight-horse tiebreaker.Her closest rival was Ireland’s Daniel Coyle, second in 41.14 on Incredible.
Laura’s sponsor, St. Bride’s Farm, bought Tres Bien from British show jumper Tim Gredley, who also sold Imperial HBF to Michael Smith, a sponsor of Laura’s U.S. teammate, McLain Ward.
The $340,000 grand prix was a qualifier for next April’s FEI World Cup Final in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Laura, who turns 60 next month, hopes to be there. The Cup win gives her a leg up.
Washington has always been a “must” stop for Laura.
“I’ve come to Washington for many, many years, and I really feel like it’s one of the goals of the year, particularly in the United States, for everyone — jumpers, hunters, and equitation,” she said. “I hope that it stays that way. I think it’s a goal that every rider should look to work towards,” she said.
Daniel won the Leading International Rider title, while Laura was Leading Lady Rider. Tres Bien was the champion open international jumper.
The WIHS Equitation honors went to Olivia Sweetnam, while JJ Torano was second
Click here for results of the grand prix and here for results of the equitation.