When speed is the name of the game in a show jumping class, there are a few riders who jump to the top of your mind. Laura Kraut of Middleburg, VA, showed tonight what makes her a top rider against the clock, taking the $32,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome following a third place finish in the $20,000 International Power & Speed this afternoon.

Besting Colombia’s Daniel Bluman by just tenths of a second, Kraut shaved turns and left out strides across the arena, letting her gutsy horse Teirra just “go for it” for the win.

“She’s a really neat, handy horse and she is so brave,” said Laura of Teirra. “I’ve been riding her really carefully, saving her and protecting her, but I’ve been having one down every time for the last couple of weeks. I thought ‘I need to break this streak.’ She loves to go and gallop so I went in tonight with the idea of trying to win, just letting her go. I got a little lucky, Daniel came dangerously close to beating me!”

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