| Nicknames |
Lou (equinejournal.com, 05 Apr 2017) |
| Hobbies |
Cooking, gardening. (fei.org, 27 Apr 2019) |
| Injuries |
In 2009 she broke her back after falling from a horse. (equinejournal.com, 05 Apr 2017) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"We all have a competitive edge inside of us. You should be fair, follow the rules and do your best, but you should never apologise for being good at what you do." (modernwellnessguide.com, 01 Apr 2017) |
| Awards and honours |
She was named the 2018 United States Equestrian Federation [USEF] Equestrian of the Year. (noellefloyd.com, 11 Jan 2019)
She was flag bearer for the United States of America at the 2018 World Equestrian Games [WEG] in Tryon, NC, United States of America. (US Equestrian Instagram profile, 10 Sep 2018) |
| Other information |
STABLES
She runs CrossTies, an equestrian training and boarding facility in Geneva, FL, United States of America. (Premier Equestrian Facebook page, 29 Mar 2021; equinejournal.com, 05 Apr 2017)
HORSE RETIREMENT
In January 2020 she announced the retirement of her horse Verdades [aka. Diddy]. The pair won team bronze together at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as well as two silver medals at the 2018 World Equestrian Games [WEG] in Tryon, NC, United States of America. "There just came that point where I didn't want to have to go into an arena and question anything. We were known for entering last in the competition for our team and always being clutch, and that was one of the most special things about our partnership. Even if he was fine physically, I didn't want to be holding back from the performances that we were known for because I was worried that maybe he was going to hurt himself. It was definitely a group decision between myself and our veterinarians and trainers. As hard as it was, it can't go on forever, so it was a very easy decision." (teamusa.org, 29 Dec 2020; theguardian.com, 10 Jan 2020)
OLYMPIC OUTLOOK
Following the retirement of her horse Verdades in January 2020, she began focusing on the competing at the Olympic Games in 2024 and 2028 rather than qualifying for the 2020 Games. "Even before his [Verdades] retirement, but definitely in the past year, I've been fortune enough to have a handful of very talented young horses come my way. If we're lucky, maybe we'll be ready for Paris in 2024. And I would really hope with this pipeline that I'll be building something for Los Angeles [in 2028] as well. It's different [in equestrian]. Athletes my age usually have to go into coaching so I'm lucky I'll get to try again." (teamusa.org, 29 Dec 2020) |
FEI Database
www.linkedin.com/in/laura-graves-13092b77 
www.facebook.com/lauragravesofficial 
twitter.com/LGravesDressage 
instagram.com/lauragravesdressage 
