{"id":361208,"date":"2025-11-14T07:55:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T12:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chronofhorse.com\/?post_type=article&p=361208"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:01:00","slug":"at-60-laura-krauts-love-of-horses-never-gets-old","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.chronofhorse.com\/article\/at-60-laura-krauts-love-of-horses-never-gets-old\/","title":{"rendered":"At 60, Laura Kraut’s Love Of Horses Never Gets Old"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Laura Kraut enters her next decade\u2014she turns 60 today\u2014she\u2019s still riding at the very top of her game, which happens to be the top of everyone\u2019s<\/em> game. October was a particularly big month for Kraut, who rang out the last weeks of her 50s by cracking the top 10 of the Longines FEI World Rankings<\/a> and winning the $340,000 FEI Jumping World Cup Washington CSI5*-W<\/a> on Tres Bien Z. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After decades in the saddle, few things shake the five-time Olympian’s confidence on horseback. Lions, she admits, are one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’ve been to Africa, I don’t know, 10 or 11 times now, because we love it; It’s just my favorite thing,\u201d said Kraut, who returned to South Africa in November to celebrate her milestone birthday with friends and her partner, British show jumping legend Nick Skelton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did [a safari horseback ride] once,\u201d she continued, laughing. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t do it again. The one time is good! What you actually learn is that [the guides] have no control. You feel<\/em> like they do until they don\u2019t. But we came out of it unscathed, so I\u2019m not going to risk it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Laura Kraut piloted Tres Bien Z to win the $340,000 FEI Jumping World Cup Washington CSI5*-W in October, the month before her 60th birthday. Shawn McMillen Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

When she\u2019s not avoiding lions on safari, Kraut has found a rhythm that balances the demands of top sport with quieter joys of life at 60. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A transatlantic commuter, she carves out time for the things that recharge her: a cozy week at her farm in the English countryside with Skelton, sightseeing vacations with equestrian friends, and visits with her two young grandchildren in California (they\u2019re currently more into tractors than horses). When it comes to riding, she\u2019s learning what it means to stay at the top as the faces around her change and the entire sport evolves. And Kraut\u2019s finding that now, she has the unique advantage of experience that can be tallied in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like in this sport, the equalizer is that experience is knowledge; and obviously youth is bravery and athleticism,” Kraut said. “But I feel like [experience] balances the scales a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kraut, that experience has been hard-won. Kraut grew up riding with her sister Mary Elizabeth Kent in Florida, where their mother got the girls into ponies early. Kraut started on the local show circuits as a teenager and then young professional, building her mileage the old-fashioned way. She would often show up to competitions with just her saddle, sometimes catch-riding dozens of horses in a single day. That hunger and resourcefulness would power her to the top levels of international show jumping, famously making her first Olympic team\u2014as an alternate for Barcelona in 1992\u2014on the quirky off-track Thoroughbred Simba Run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘A True Definition Of Grit’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her longtime teammate and competitor, McLain Ward, praises Kraut as a rider whose devotion to developing her knowledge and ability helped her climb to the top. There were no shortcuts for her, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hear a lot in the sport now: Well, if you don’t come from a wealthy background, you can’t make it,\u201d Ward said. \u201cAnd this is a first-class example of that that’s not true. This is a person who came up catch-riding from the grassroots of the sport and has gotten to the very top, and should be an example in every way of how to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two riders\u2019 careers have run parallel and intersected as they\u2019ve spent decades competing, then teaming together on U.S. championship squads from Nations Cups to Olympic Games, securing team gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and team silver in 2021 (Tokyo)<\/a> and 2024 (Paris)<\/a>\u2014both of the latter with Baloutinue. In Tokyo, Kraut, then 55, became the oldest female Olympian to win a medal since 1904. Then in Paris, she broke her own record, becoming the oldest U.S. Olympic medalist in 72 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Kraut, then 58 (center, with teammates Karl Cook and McLain Ward), became the oldest female Olympian to win a medal since 1904. Sportfot Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Ward sees the qualities that made Kraut a scrappy kid rider as the same traits that account for her lasting success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think Laura’s a true definition of grit and determination and fighting spirit, and I think that’s helped her persevere from her early beginnings as a catch rider and pony catch rider to the top of the international sport,\u201d he said. \u201cShe’s truly an incredibly resilient, gritty competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Kraut found that a previously undiagnosed concussion was leading to vision problems<\/a> that had impacted her ability to find distances. She first partnered with Tres Bien Z (Toulon\u2014Hermione De La Pomme, Nabab De Reve) amid those issues, and so their connection was slow to progress until she got the proper treatment and corrective glasses. Since then, she and “Tres” have found their distances just fine, finishing double-clear in the BMO Nations Cup CSIO5* at Spruce Meadows (Alberta) in September and helping the U.S. team to a third-placed finish. The pair was on the winning team in the Nations Cup CSIO4* in Florida in February and on the fourth-place Nations Cup team in Dublin in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know she was quite frustrated and thinking that maybe retirement was in the view,\u201d Ward said of Kraut\u2019s vision issues. \u201cIt’s just a testament to her fighting spirit, the way she’s come back and probably had the year of her career. I walk away thinking: something to aspire to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top-10 Ranking ‘Sort Of A Surprise’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kraut admits that she doesn\u2019t pay much attention to the rankings, and edging toward the show jumping top 10<\/a> this fall wasn\u2019t on her radar until suddenly, she was making headlines as the first woman since 2021 to make the feat.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t normally even consider my world ranking other than, I like to try to stay sort of in the top 30 to 50 in order to get into the good shows over here in Europe,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I don’t ever really worry too much about what my actual ranking is once I’m past that. So this was sort of a surprise, actually, because I normally don’t even look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kraut says the key to her continued success is driven by the same constant that\u2019s underpinned her entire career: the quality of her horses and her partnerships with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo much is down to the horses that you have,\u201d she said. \u201cNo matter what\u2014if you’re 20 or if you’re 60\u2014it’s all a matter of the horses you’re riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt helps when you have numbers, that you have enough so that one horse doesn’t have to work so hard,\u201d she added, describing her grand prix string. \u201cSo I think that with ‘Balou’ and [Bisquetta] and Tres Bien [Z] and Dorado [212] and now Una Mariposa\u2014so then they aren’t always having to perform every week, and so then that helps to keep them sound and keep them going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Laura Kraut’s string of show jumping talent includes Dorado 212, pictured here jumping for the winning team at the 2025 Longines League of Nations Ocala (Fla.). Lindsay Berreth Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

While it\u2019s not new for Kraut to prioritize keeping quality horses in her barn, what she considers to be quality has<\/em> evolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say, probably my tolerance level might have changed,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know, I think obviously when you’re younger, you’re willing to maybe deal with a horse that has some behavioral issues, or a more challenging horse. As you get older, you prefer one that maybe is more trustworthy, or maybe a little less strong. But I will say that I still wouldn’t turn away a very special horse even if it had a rideability issue or something. I think I’m still competitive enough that I would rather work with that than not do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bisquetta is one such special horse\u2014an animal with incredible talent that makes up for a few quirks. What Kraut gives \u201cBiscuit\u201d in patience the mare returns in try. Kraut\u2019s partnership with the mare has delivered some of her biggest results of her already winning season, including topping the $580,000 Rolex Grand Prix of Dublin<\/a>, where they were the only pair to earn a clear round, and the Nations Cup of Rome<\/a>. The pair also placed second in the $750,000 Rolex U.S. Equestrian Open Grand Prix CSI5* (Florida) and third in the Longines League of Nations St. Tropez CSIO5* Grand Prix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve had people come to me and say, \u2018I was thinking of quitting and because you’re still going, I’m going to continue,\u2019 which is really nice to hear. And I guess it\u2019s good if I’m setting some<\/em> record!\u201d<\/p>Laura Kraut<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe can be incredibly quirky, more than any horse I think I’ve ever had,\u201d Kraut said. \u201cShe’s afraid of other horses, particularly their tails. She doesn’t like them swishing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To accommodate Biscuit’s reactivity and horse-shy nature, Kraut relies on building trust between her and Biscuit. She said that the team has tried \u201ca lot of different things,\u201d but in the end, patience goes furthest in settling the mare\u2019s nerves. And luckily for Kraut, the two of them share a happy place: Once Biscuit is in the show ring, she knows the mare will focus all her fire into jumping clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe’s amazing in the ring. I mean, that is her happiest place\u2014because there are no tails in the ring!\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cSo she’s very happy the minute I go into the ring. I think she’s relieved, because it’s just her. She just tries so hard and is not afraid of anything, and she’s just really an incredible athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those deeply present moments of a jump-off, where horse tails don\u2019t exist, and thoughts of the world rankings fall away, it\u2019s easy for Kraut to feel like not much has changed. It\u2019s just about her and her horse. And if others take inspiration from what happens with Kraut and her horses, all the better. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Laura Kraut’s recent hot streak included winning the $580,000 Rolex Grand Prix of Dublin with Bisquetta. Sportfot Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

‘I’m Very Happy If It Inspires People’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen, there\u2019s no denying that I\u2019ve gotten older,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it gives inspiration to people who are maybe considering that they’re too old to achieve anything, or, you know, they’ve waited too long\u2014I think the beauty of this sport is that as long as you’re feeling fit and healthy, you can continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m very happy if it inspires people,\u201d she added. \u201cI’ve had people come to me and say, \u2018I was thinking of quitting and because you’re still going, I’m going to continue,\u2019 which is really nice to hear. And I guess it\u2019s good if I’m setting some<\/em> record!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That enduring joy, and the sense that even after decades at the top, she\u2019s still happiest simply being around horses, is what those who know Kraut say defines her best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think she starts out as just having a genuine love for the horses,\u201d Ward said. \u201cI mean, she was a horse kid from the beginning, and I think she still is\u2014you know, just a few years later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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