Verdades,who took Laura Graves to the world number one ranking for dressage, has passed away at the age of 23.
“I never thought this day would come. You were invincible,” Laura mourned on social media.
“Thank you for choosing me and being my friend for 23 years. I don’t know what a day looks like without you.”
Laura and Diddy in the 2017 World Cup finals. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
A great equine talent bought as a foal off a video view by Laura’s mother, Freddie, he was not easy to deal with as he developed. But the foal nicknamed Diddy matured into a horse both Laura and the USA could count on.
His eccentricity included fear of fly spray, velcro, umbrellas and clippers. Yet persistence and patience paid off for Laura. It took time, a dislocated jaw and broken vertebrae for Diddy’s owner. But eventually, they meshed so well that they were one.
Piaffe and passage were classic in Diddy’s performances. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“If I thought it, he did it,” she once told me.
Laura became a working student for Anne Gribbons, who would become the U.S. dressage technical advisor. Diddy either was sleeping or getting into trouble, as Laura put it, but she worked it out. Even when he broke his jaw in a 2011 stable accident, she took the time that enabled him to heal, get back to form and then exceed it.
Training with Debbie McDonald was a key to success, and Laura’s persistence with her beloved horse paid off. She was part of the 2016 Olympic bronze medal team, finished second in the 2017 FEI World Cup finals, won team silver at the 2018 World Equestrian Games and became the only American ever to rank number one in the world standings.
Diddy retired to a life of ease and love at Laura’s Florida farm in 2020.
