Wellington, Fla. – Jan. 23, 2017 – The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that dressage star Laura Graves is the recipient of the 2017 Whitney Stone Cup.
The award is presented annually to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition and high standards of sportsmanlike conduct while serving as an ambassador for the United States and equestrian sport.
Completing a major milestone in her career, Graves was selected to participate on the 2016 U.S. dressage team at the Rio Olympic Games with her talented mount Verdades. In addition to contributing to the team’s bronze medal finish by scoring their personal best, the duo also placed fourth individually. Past accomplishments include a fourth place finish at the 2015 FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a fifth and eighth place individual finish and fourth place team finish at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen, France.
Graves was presented with the award during the USET Foundation’s Gold Medal Club Reception on Jan. 20 in Wellington, Florida.
“Thank you to the USET Foundation for recognizing me,” said Graves. “This is an honor, and more so a reflection; a reflection of our community and the fact that what Verdades and I achieved this year would not have been possible without the generosity of the USET Foundation. This award is for all of you, and my amazing horse.”
Whitney Stone Cup Winners:
The Whitney Stone Cup is awarded in honor of the late Whitney Stone, who served as president and chairman of the board of the United States Equestrian Team from 1953 to 1973. Mr. Stone was instrumental in the creation of a civilian equestrian team when the Army retired from competitive horse sports after 1948. Previous Whitney Stone Cup winners are:
1980 – Michael Matz
1981 – James C. Wofford
1982 – Norman Dello Joio
1983 – Melanie Smith (Taylor)
1984 – Carole Grant
1985 – Joe Fargis
1986 – Conrad Homfeld
1987 – Katie Monahan Prudent
1988 – Bruce O. Davidson
1989 – Gregory A. Best
1990 – William Long
1991 – Hap Hansen
1992 – Lana DuPont Wright
1993 – Carol Lavell
1994 – J. Michael Plumb
1995 – Robert Dover
1996 – Anne Kursinski
1997 – Leslie Burr Howard
1998 – David O’Connor
1999 – Valerie Kanavy
2000 – Karen O’Connor
2001 – Tucker Johnson
2002 – Guenter Seidel
2003 – Peter Wylde
2004 – Debbie McDonald
2005 – Chris Kappler
2006 – Elizabeth (Beezie) Madden
2007 – Elizabeth (Beezie) Madden
2008 – Miranda (Randy) Caldwell
2009 – Steffen Peters
2010 – McLain Ward
2011 – Tucker S. Johnson
2012 – Christine McCrea
2013 – Rich Fellers
2014 – Elizabeth (Beezie) Madden
2015 – Chester Weber
2016 – Phillip Dutton
2017 – Laura Graves
The USET Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America’s elite and developing international and high performance horses and athletes in partnership with US Equestrian.
