Lexington, Virginia: In 2022, Laine Ashker won her first FEI class with Lovedance in the 2*L at the November Virginia Horse Trials. The pair repeated history today, but this time, rode away with the win in the CCI 3*S with a score of 46.4.
Ashker attributed her successful dressage score on her long warm up. “It was so cold, I had three layers on and could hardly zip up my boots,” she laughed. “Lottie [Lovedance] is very sensitive and so we had a really long warm up. I went in with a very relaxed horse and am really glad I took that time. It was a very nice test.”
Ashker and Lovedance had a rail in the stadium phase but were able to hold their lead because of their dressage score. “It was a weird, greener rail for us in stadium. I’ve ridden Michel’s [Vaillancourt] courses a lot and I think he’s very technical and really makes the riders think. I must have walked that course at least three times. Courses that make you think help us develop better horsemanship skills and I think my horse learned a lot from it too. I’m a ‘thoroughbred girl’ and I’m learning how to adjust to her stride. She’s really taught me how to ride proper show jumping and I couldn’t have asked anymore from her,” she commented,
“I didn’t think the cross country was an easy course, but Jay [Hambly] built a great course,” she continued. “The turf was really rideable, and I could go fast. I feel like the Virginia Horse Center has really worked on the footing which is so important. I have one FEI horse. If she breaks, I have nothing. I feel like Virginia made a lot of effort aerating the turf to create the best possible footing they could.”
“I took one circle at the first water between the two elements just to give her a straight shot at the angles coming out because it was similar to the situation at Plantation, and I just wanted to give her a confident ride this weekend. She paid me back tenfold for that! She finished with so much ease and hardly any effort. I didn’t plan to win, I just wanted to finish the year on a good note. She’s only 7 years old and I plan to bring her to Advanced as a 9-year-old. I love the training process, creating a connection and trust with my horses and really just enjoy the journey.”
Click here for the schedule and follow along with the live scoring here.
Photo credits: Brant Gamma Photography
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