On Sunday, Laura Kraut, age 59 (and a grandmother of two) WON the Rolex Grand Prix of Dublin with Bisquetta, the only clear round of 38 horses. Here is coverage from The Chronicle of the Horse, though I am not sure if it will work as an embedded item…
News of Laura’s victory elicited many memories in this old lady. In 1971, at age 16, I went (alone!) to Ireland and attended the Dublin Horse Show. That summer is a story waiting to be recorded, but suffice it to say that the Dublin Horse Show is a very big deal.
In 1989, showing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we saw an upcoming young rider from the east, named Laura Kent. She was riding for Rodney Bross, and she was a real talent and an inspiration to watch.
Laura ended up marrying Bob Kraut, and they lived in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, a strange epicenter of jumping horses in a somewhat remote location in the midwest. She continued to be a phenomenal rider.
In 1990, in Tennessee, Laura Kraut intersected with Geoff Sutton and Simba Run. The Chronicle tells that story best, if this embedding works!
We watched that first ride with Laura and Simba Run, and followed their stratospheric partnership.
In the mid 90s, Laura was at St. Louis, when the St. Louis National was held at Queeny Park. She was always interested in horses that were for sale, and we brought our young horse, Jesuit (Jesse) over to the show grounds for her to try. She loved him. We were over the moon, and delivered him to Oconomowoc two weeks later. Alas, he failed her vet check, and returned to us. But that is part of yet another story…
Now, we had a “relationship” with Laura Kraut, and she rode our young horses in the International Jumper Derby. All the effort and the money was worth it, for pictures that hang on the wall to this day in our tack room. Laura’s life has moved on from midwestern United States to The Netherlands, and a new life partner in Nick Skelton, but she remains here in our memories and the tales we tell of one of our great good fortunes.
In addition to being one of the best riders in the world, Laura is also one of the nicest, humble and kind people we have ever known. She truly loves the horses, and we are thrilled that she has added Dublin to her long list of accolades.
Be safe, be well, be kind, be like Laura. Wear your helmet. Slava Ukraini! Peace…
Galloping Through 
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