Laura Graves announced the passing of her career making dressage horse, Verdades, on 21 December 2025. He was 23 years old.

Verdades was a Dutch warmblood by Florett As out of Guelderlander mare Liwilarda (by Goya x Renovo x Gloriant). He was bred by Piet Crum and from the dam line twice in-bred on Renovo.

Bought from a Video

Laura discovered Verdades, or “Diddy”, on video. Her mother selected the Florett As offspring from a VHS tape sent to them by a dealer. The Vermont based family acquired him as a six-months old foal and shipped him to America.

Something Special

“We saw dozens of foals but my mom saw something special in this one,” Laura reminisced, describing him at the time as “extremely goofy and social on the ground but under saddle he is all business. He works so hard to please which is an incredible gift but can also cause him to make mistakes. He is very sensitive, mind- and bodywise, and so we must be sensitive in our training. He is really coming into himself and reaching a confidence level that had been lacking.”

Laura brought him up the levels herself and under the guidance of Anne Gribbons premiered him at international level. Their CDI small tour debut was in 2012 in Loxahatchee, followed by two more shows in Wellington and West Palm Beach.

To read the complete article – visit Eurodressage.com