Arena familiarisation day at Aachen, and Laura Graves gives a lesson in preparing your horse at a competition:
Enter Laura Graves and Verdades. They stop in front of the C box, and Laura leans down hands the bay a treat, then a stately walk on the buckle around the ring.
Laura gently takes the snaffle rein, the curb rein hangs in a lazy loop.
Around the outside track a few more times and into the arena, horse so totally relaxed, rider so completely chilled. Icy cool, here we have the Aachen press office piling on the pressure, billing Laura as Isabell’s (Werth’s) challenger. Does Laura respond to the pressure? Seemingly not – she has her own minimalist agenda and will not be diverted.
