Mar. 11, 2026
Laura Graves will be back in international competition Thursday in Wellington International’s Global Dressage Festival CDI3* Grand Prix after a break of almost four years.
Laura, now based in Wellington, will ride Java Dulce, 15-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding at 1:07 pm, one of 16 riders and horses in the qualifier for the Special. Laura competed the horse in a national Grand Prix at Wellington last month, scoring 74.348%.
Laura a year ago took over Java Dulce and Solo Mio that Emily Miles had developed for owner Leslie Waterman.
Emily first showed Java Dulce at Medium Tour in 2021 but she opted to return to continue her higher education.
The Grand Prix for Laura on Java Dulce will be her third horse at international competition. The last was Sensation FOD at Small Tour in April 2022.
Her last CDI competition on Verdades was the World Cup Final in 2019 where the pair were reserve champion for the third year in a row.
Laura’s partnership with Diddy, as she called Verdades, produced the only American combination ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.
Sixteen riders and horses will be in the class, including Endel Ots on Zen Elite’s Bohemian that was reserve for the U.S. team at the 2024 Olympics.
