Laura Graves shared on Facebook: “I never thought this day would come. You were invincible. Thank you for choosing me and being my friend for 23 years. I don’t know what a day looks like without you.”
Verdades, fondly known as Diddy (Florett As), was born in 2002 and bred by the late Peit Crum of Herveld, The Netherlands. At 15 years old, Laura came across a video tape of three-month-old Verdades when looking for a superstar top horse and they made the jump to purchase him.
Not only did he arrive basically unhandled, but as a young horse Diddy was very challenging – including breaking Laura’s jaw and two vertebrae during a mishap as a young horse. However, Laura could see the talent and pursued.
In 2012 they made their international debut and in 2014 they were selected for the US team for the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. Their performances there qualified them for the Grand Prix Freestyle, where they finished fifth and helped the US team secure fourth.
In 2016 they were part of the Rio Olympic team, where they scored personal bests in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special and a team bronze medal. They finished fourth in the Freestyle behind Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD. In 2018, they gained team and individual silver at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon as well as winning the Grand Prix CDIO5* in Aachen, which saw them ranked #1 in the FEI World Rankings for the first time. They were the first and only American combination to achieve #1 in the FEI World Rankings.
In 2020 Laura made the decision to retire Diddy at 18 years old, stating: “I’ve always promised that I would do my best to listen and make the right choice for him when this time came. It became clear in recent weeks that he was not going to be able to return to his usual top form in 2020.”
He then enjoyed a quiet life until passing at 23.
Equestrian Life’s thoughts are with all those connected with this special horse.
