Laura kraut

8 min read

THE INTERVIEW

All roads lead to Paris for the multi-garlanded US showjumper, who has three horses in contention for the Games. Nancy Jaffer meets Laura at her Wellington base before she switches to the European circuit for the build-up

MOMENTS of relaxation are rare for perennial US showjumping team member Laura Kraut, but she takes advantage of them on Mondays during the Florida circuit.

The Olympic team gold medallist is dealing with a string of 10 horses from December into April while competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington. That’s more than she handles on a weekly basis when in Europe. Generally, three or four horses go with her to those shows, while the rest stay at home, then swap for the next competition. Laura’s schedule also stretches to teaching her students.

So on her weekly day off in Florida, she and partner Nick Skelton like to take a breather and go into posh Palm Beach nearby, where they do some errands, shop and have lunch before heading back to their comfortable Wellington home.

A legion of trophies is on display in the living room, but in such a tasteful fashion that they meld into the rest of the decor. The house previously belonged to Laura’s team-mate, McLain Ward. It came with a small swimming pool and a pickleball court, where Nick enjoys playing despite a hip problem that has precluded the Olympic double gold medallist from riding for a while.

The Monday breaks are welcome during a winter and spring dedicated to Laura and Nick’s sharp focus on the 2024 Olympics.

“We have one priority this year, and it’s Paris,” Laura emphasises. “Versailles is so beautiful. The idea of Paris is so romantic.”

She was happy that Gregory Bodo, the lead course-designer for Paris, built the tracks at WEF one week.

“I jump his courses a lot, he’s excellent,” says Laura, who used his presence in Florida to her advantage. “We took photos of all the courses, so we have him in our heads. Nick is pretty confident he’ll use part of what he built Saturday night [the February WEF five-star grand prix] for one of the courses in Paris.”

Ask if she’s thinking even further ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the usually ambitious Laura doesn’t commit.

“Everybody says to me all the time, ‘You can make it.’ I’ll see how I am when I get there. A lot has to do with the horse. Nick has a saying, ‘The older you are, the better the horse you need.’ If at that point I have winged Pegasus, well, then we’ll see.