I’m very pleased to introduce Lainey Ashker as EN’s newest guest blogger. Lainey and her OTTB gelding Anthony Patch were named to the USEF National List this year. The pair most recently finished fifth at last year’s Fair Hill CCI3* following a spectacular double-clear cross-country trip. Many thanks to Lainey for blogging for EN. Take it away, Lainey!
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Anthony Patch enjoys his daily brooming session.
Rockstars do it. So do movie stars. Even some flocks of birds enjoy spending the winter months in warmer climates. However, no one does it in more style and grace (or lack thereof) than we event riders. Yes, my friends, the new year is upon us and thus it’s time for our coats (both human and horses) to come off and to make the tedious pilgrimage straight down Highway 95 to Ocala, Fla. (don’t forget to stop at the Ag Station!)
With five horses in tow, two very chatty lovebirds and an absurd amount of luggage scattered about, I have made it to the sunshine state relatively in one piece. I decided to arrive in Ocala in mid-January in order to give my horses ample time to lay up from the previous season, but also provide myself some cushion to leg everyone back into work before the USEF High Performance Training Sessions and, of course, for the start of the 2013 horse show season.
With me in Florida is my eager working student Abbey Meyer, with whom I have had the pleasure of knowing now for over four years and who has since graduated from college and is now focusing on her riding career with her very promising young OTTB. Amanda Conti, a native from Louisville, Ky., is with me for a short while, hoping to make the jump from training to prelim with her exuberant and talented Kentucky-bred OTTB. One would think that only seven horses between three women would make the days go by easily, but somehow between perfecting raking patterns, scrubbing the trailer floors, decorating our barn aisle, and “brooming” and “raking” Al’s head, we three gals fall into bed come nightfall.
What I love most about boarding my horses with my longtime coach and friend of nearly 11 years, Buck Davidson, is the fact that there is never a dull moment around the farm. Whether it’s dodging eight other riders in the dressage practice area, setting jumps for the 10-plus groups of horses and riders on jump days, galloping in a team of the top four-star horses around the farm’s in-house race track, or avoiding the rebellious clan of goats that always seem to escape whilst on a trot set, life on the BDJ stables is nothing short of exciting … and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
This week I will be gearing up for the first of our HP Training Sessions with David O’Connor, which I will be taking aboard one of my very talented and lanky TBs, Roadstar. This weekend marks the beginning of the show season with the Ocala Horse Properties Horse Trials, where I will not only be riding three but coaching three more. And after a (hopefully) successful weekend comes to a close, I will be celebrating my 29th birthday surrounded by close friends and family and a bountiful amount of Tony’s sushi! Until next time, sit back, set your watch and let’s get this party started!
