Laura Graves and her horse Verdades have a strong bond of harmony and talent. Graves and her mother brought the horse as a foal from Holland, and she set to work to master each step of the training. In 2014, Graves impressed the judges at the U.S. Dressage Championships in Gladstone, N.J. She placed second overall and received one of the highest scores of any American rider to qualify for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. That summer, her first time in Europe to compete, the pair impressed the judges at the CHIO Aachen 5* and then at the WEG in Normandy, France. In 2015, she competed at the Pan American Games in Toronto, where she won the team gold medal and the individual silver medal. In 2016, Graves competed at her first Olympics, capturing the bronze medal in the team competition in Rio and earned the fourth position individually. In 2018, she scored an impressive 84.675 percent in CDI-World Cup Qualifier FEI Grand Prix Freestyle. Later in the year, Graves and Verdades represented the U.S. at the World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018, capturing the individual silver medal after a stellar performance in the Grand Prix Special. She helped lead the U.S. team to the silver medal as well.
