Laura Kraut: The Woman Behind the Horse
When Laura Kraut sets out to do something, you can count on it getting done...
“I'm not one to give up easily. Whether it is in competition or training a horse or training students or you know trying to achieve any goal I set out for myself. It would be under extreme circumstances that I would give up,” said Laura Kraut.
So it’s probably easy to see how this tenacity translated into Olympic Gold medal wins, a silver medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games™, FEI Nations Cup™ victories and countless top Grand Prix finishes.
As a first in this series of interviews with exceptional equestrians, we were fortunate to sit down with Laura Kraut and get to know the United States show jumper out of the tack; how her passion for riding has impacted her life as a mother, partner, and world change-maker.
“Growing up there was no such thing as not getting something done,” answered Laura when asked about what drives her success.
“Whether it was school or riding, or even cleaning the house - if we had something to do, we did it and that was just that,” she added.
That passion and persistence was instilled early in the lives of Laura and Mary Elizabeth Kent.
And today, the sisters continue to work together successfully because of those qualities.
A close-knit team
“She runs everything!” Laura said about working more than thirty years with her sister. “I’m basically just a girl and a horse and that’s it. I never could have accomplished what I’ve done without the team that I have.”
She is quick to credit her close-knit team with the smooth operation of her barn, from the everyday horse training and care to managing employees, whether at home or on the road,
“They help me stay focused on what I’m doing. I have had and continue to have some of the greatest people who do such a fantastic job and are so dedicated. Without them, I have nothing.”
And then there’s Nick Skelton, Laura’s partner and British show jumping royalty.
“I think the beauty of our sport and probably any walk of life, business, sport, or what have you - is gaining knowledge from other people, and Nick is a wealth of knowledge and I continue to learn from him every day,” adds Laura.
Riding side by side, sometimes competing against each other has posed it’s fun and challenges, but as a team they stayed committed through the wins and loses.
“I would really credit Nick with maintaining such healthy competition. He is retired now, but when we were competing constantly against each other - we were both in the ring with the goal to win.
“But, if he didn’t win, or if I didn’t win, there was never any gloating or any pouting - he was the kind of person to come out of the ring if he had won or even if he hadn’t won, and 10 minutes later he was on to the next.
"We would have fun and joke with each other, but it was always healthy competition.”
“I think you can sometimes overdo studying and thinking about your success and failures and I think Nick set such a good example of how to accept the results, and move on from them positively.”
Laura found the balance between hard work and success and the need for an equally passionate and supportive team impacted her life beyond the barn.
It shaped who she was as a mother to her son, Bobby, and naturally she gave that same support to him through his riding and academic career.
“When he was six or seven years old, I said to him - listen, you’re going to learn to read, you’re going to learn how to do math, and you’re going to learn how to write, and you’re going to learn how to ride because that is what your family does.”
With such positive exposure to the sport, he took to riding and began showing in his early teen years.
“He always enjoyed it but it wasn’t ever really his passion and very early on we had an honest conversation and I made it clear to him that if that was not what he wanted to do, that it was ok and it would never be a problem.”
With this realistic outlook and unconditional support, Bobby continued riding until attending Boston College.
“His major is film and he has really found his passion. He is as passionate about that as I am for horses. I am really, really proud of him.”
This same awareness and generous nature quickly found its place making a difference in the world through the nonprofit charity, JustWord International.
The mission: unite the equestrian world to help fracture the cycle of childhood poverty around the world.
Laura became a JustWorld Ambassador 17 years ago when fellow equestrian, Jessica Newman, introduced the concept to her.
“To me, helping children have a better life is so incredibly important. You can’t put a monetary value on what JustWorld has done. Thousands of children have received healthy meals, access to teachers, schools, books, and more.”
And it would come as no surprise that those around Laura were also equally supportive of the humanitarian work she was doing while raising awareness for the cause and charity support became a family affair.
“I saw firsthand the impact of being involved with JustWorld through my son, Bobby. He was young when he first started volunteering with fundraising and events. It was really good for him to get the experience and see the value of charity work. I think giving back will always be a part of him.”
Over the years, Laura and Nick have given much of their time and talent to helping raise awareness about the work JustWorld is doing around the world.
“Charity grounds people,” Laura adds, “I believe we are so fortunate to have what we have - to have horses, travel, and do what we love to do - but there is a lot about our sport that we can get carried away with.
“When you take a minute to realize there are so many people in this world who are struggling to get by, and there are organizations like JustWorld who make it easy to have access to supporting these people, these children, it’s so silly to dwell on your last round or if you need a new horse.
“I think giving back is such a great outlet for us as riders.”