Laura Graves and Verdades.
© FEI
When one of the most respected names in high-quality arena footing and dressage arenas presents one of the greatest international Grand Prix riders of our time, the result is pure perfection and that’s what fans got when Premier Equestrian and ShowChic Shop Talk hosted Make Contact Your Focus: An Evening with Laura Graves.
Graves has become the Cinderella story of her sport thanks to a string of near-flawless performances on her horse Verdades (aka “Diddy”) that she trained herself through the levels. Together they have racked up countless top honors which included anchoring the 2016 US Olympic Team Bronze medal-winning squad in Rio de Janeiro and earning an Individual Olympic Bronze, winning Team Gold and Individual Silver at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, and finishing fifth individually and fourth with her team at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in Caen.
Known for saying, “Be fair, follow the rules and do your best, but never apologize for being good at what you do,” Graves has been dubbed a “Premier Equestrian” for realizing her dream of competing internationally for her country, and is the only American currently ranked among the world’s top ten dressage riders (sitting fourth on the FEI World Dressage Standings as of March 2018).
In the intimate setting of the ShowChic Show Room, Graves asked her audience to compare the contact between a rider’s hand and their horse’s mouth to a kitchen sink: “When you turn the faucet on, the water goes down the drain if you don’t capture it, right? Your hands need to collect and ‘plug’ that tension. If you don’t plug the drain, you don’t capture the horse’s energy.”
Laura Graves and ShowChic owner Michele Hundt.
“In developing tension,” she continued, “through a correct connection from the hind leg to the mouth, you help your horse gain strength and self-carriage. It’s not supposed to be easy – that’s why this is a sport. Why we, and our horses, are athletes. In true dressage sport, it is our job to keep our horses trying, even if it’s difficult for them to stay between our leg and hand.”
“People who only ride to prevent mistakes are not truly training,” she said, citing how ‘forward’ is an “over-used and misunderstood word. Fast isn’t forward. It’s about the reaction time to your leg. A horse that is quick to the leg creates an elastic bridge to the hand and to contact.” In comparison, calling a horse ‘too heavy’ reveals a horse that isn’t using its hind end. “Which is different from being ‘strong.’ Strong, on a short rein,” she grinned, “isn’t a problem for me.”
Graves also made a real connection with her audience, not only presenting a free Premier Equestrian sand analysis to one lucky raffle winner but encouraging everyone in the ShowChic Show Room to call Premier Equestrian and mention her name to receive a free arena footing test. Premier Equestrian provided Graves an International quality arena at her farm in North Florida.
An Official Sponsor of US Equestrian, the US Dressage Federation (USDF) and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, Premier Equestrian offers high-quality and affordable American-made dressage arenas and footing, as well as lightweight, durable, high-quality dressage products for such elite competitions as the, Alltech World Equestrian Games, and Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Finals. For more information about Premier Equestrian, visit www.PremierEquestrian.com or call 800-611-6109.
Source: Press release
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