There’s a few things you may not know about Laine Ashker, and plenty I didn’t, so I had a brief conversation with her recently and came away surprised and delighted.
Surprise #1
Laine has serious dressage aspirations, and a horse to match,
“A lot of my students here in Richmond do pure dressage. I’ve been lucky enough to have lessons with George Theodorescu, Klaus Balkenhol and Kim Severson, and I like to share the love with them! One of my clients, Ann Wilson, owns an Andalusion horse, Santiago del Escardivo that I’m riding at 2nd level, and our goal is to get him to Devon next year, or maybe the year after at 4th level. It’s pretty fun – I was lucky enough to do the Charity Ride for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with the reining horses in Ocala this spring, (Laine and her cowboy partner Joe Harper won!) and I really enjoy all the different disciplines and the different aspects of our sport. Dressage is just one more of them, and it only makes me a better rider getting on as many different horses as possible and Diego couldn’t be a more different ride to my ‘hot under the collar’ thoroughbreds!”
Laine on Santiago del Escardivo (Diego)
Laine tries to make the 45 minute drive to Kim’s for lessons about once a week, as much as both their busy schedules allow, and Laine tells me that before Kim jumped, Kim’s mother actually made her ride to a very high level on the flat, on Lippizaners, so Kim can easily relate to Laine’s Andalusian and has been incredibly helpful with both Diego, and the eventers.
Surprise #2
Apart from Mazetto, a half Cleveland Bay, half TB, all of Laine’s eventers are off the track thoroughbreds.
“I’ve got to admit I have a soft spot for the thoroughbreds, I absolutely love them. That’s not to say that I look down on the warmblood or any other breed, but the good old American story of the Comeback Kid appeals to me I think. All my horses have been pretty inexpensive, the most I’ve ever paid was $4,000. Al (Anthony Patch, top 20 at Rolex last 2 years running) cost $1,500. I’ve had a few that were $500, and they go from being a loser on the track to a brilliant star in the event world. What I like about the track horses is they already have a fabulous work ethic and they’re pretty appreciative when you give them this new life. Before anything, my horses are all pets, and then they’re my competition horses after that. I wouldn’t say I’d never have anything but thoroughbreds but so far that’s just the way it’s worked – my mum’s found them off the track, she starts them and I finish off the rough edges. My biggest thing is to have happy horses; it’s very much an individual feel at my barn – it’s me tacking them up, riding them, putting them away and cleaning the stalls so I know them pretty well, and it’s a fun little family we have at the barn.”
Laine’s mother has found every one of her horses as well as “a few for Doug Payne, and Phillip Dutton, Stephen Bradley has bought many from her, mostly sight unseen, as well as lots of other East Coast riders. I would put her up against anybody to buy a horse, she has got the gift of being able to see the diamond in the rough,” Laine tells me, and Doug Payne concurs, “Val has an excellent eye for a horse in it’s raw state. Simon (Shining North Star) has turned out to be an exceptional athlete, and I’d take one from her any day.”
Although Laine’s friends have teased her lately that it’s impossible to tell which horse she’s riding as they’re all similar plain, bay thoroughbreds, we may see her on a flea-bitten grey in the near future,
“My mum goes in phases, and she’s really into the Comet line right now – Courageous Comet’s sire. When she finds a line she likes she goes with it. The Comet Shine line is a bit hotter than the original thoroughbred but their movement is so extravagant, and they’re extremely smart horses, so if you can just manage that temperament a little it’s worth it. In my opinion though, above all what separates a good horse from the rest is the heart. You can have a horse like Neville Bardos (Boyd Martin’s WEG 2010 team and Burghley 2011 top 10 miracle horse) who might not have the talent of some of the flashier, more expensive horses, but he has the heart and he has the partnership with Boyd, and that is unbeatable.”
Surprise #3
Laine IS a tough mudder and is training hard for the Virginia Tough Mudder next weekend (Oct 22nd and 23rd)
“I got into running pretty seriously about three or four years ago; I trained for a half-marathon and I did a ton of 10k’s, and I really liked it but the problem was I’m extremely competitive, so when I went to these flat run races, every time I went out, or even just to practice, I felt had to beat my own time, and I drove myself nuts. Not wearing a watch didn’t help, because then I just assumed I was behind my time and I’d kill myself to go even faster! One of my students told me about the 5k Warrior Dash a couple of weeks ago, and I did that, and now I’m totally hooked!”
Since completing the Warrior Dash, Laine ran six and a half miles and felt great, so has now committed to The Tough Mudder as part of a team with EN’s own Coren Morgan and Kerry Blackmer, and has embarked on a tough training regimen.
“The great thing about the Mudder is that it makes you break the running up, so I can’t be overly psycho and competitive about it; it’s about teamwork, and completing, and it’s fun. It’s cross-training – there’s a lot of upper and lower body strength so I figure, what the heck! I’m giving Al the rest of the year off so that he’s perfect to come back in the Winter Season and train for Rolex, and this will only make me a better athlete in the long run. Because I have done distance running before I think it’s easier for me to get a bit fitter faster. I’m also incorporating some P90X which is totally kicking my butt. A lot of the plyometrics is really good to help with jumping up the walls and doing monkey bars. I don’t know what’s going to help prepare me for the live wire hanging down that we have to go through – I’ll just have to close my eyes and hope for the best on that obstacle! Next year I’ll be able to do the Olympics one weekend and the Ironman the next!”
Designed by the British Special Forces (of course!) to foster camaraderie on the field, Laine doesn’t have to finish as part of her team, but is not allowed to finish alone,
“There’s a few of these 30′ walls that you have to scale together, by giving one a leg-up or push, and pulling the other up, and it is about team effort and depending on your fellow competitors which I think is very cool. It reminds me of eventing in a way because when someone gets hurt in eventing the whole community completely pulls together, and even the relationship you have with your horse is similar, you’re a team with your horse. I hope it will be a lot of fun, I think the biggest thing will be to be able to finish, and want to go back and do it again – I’m hoping that I can finish with no broken limbs and a smile!”
Laine’s enthusiasm is infectious, so much so that her Tough Mudder team, plus Jennie Brannigan and a few of her students have agreed to run the slightly shorter Primal Run with her a couple of weeks later, presuming she comes through the Tough Mudder injury free! When I express a mixture of incredulity that she would subject herself, and her ‘friends’ (!) to more punishment, Laine tells me she’s actually signed up for FOUR more before the end of the year,
“It’s just so much fun, it’s like unleashing your inner child, I couldn’t stop smiling all day, and I just had to do it again. You’re wading through water, jumping over fire, crawling in three feet of mud under barbed wire, you’re just so out of your element. I felt like I was the event horse out on cross country wondering what the next obstacle was going to be! I love leading an active life, it’s a good way to meet new people, and I really enjoy any sport where anybody pursues their passion, I find it fascinating, and so much fun, and it keeps me busy!
Surprise #4
Laine does know how to relax; she confesses to watching X Factor, and Breaking Bad on tv, and likes to go to the movies but rarely has time.
Come the New Year she’ll migrate to Aiken which she loved for the footing, her young horses especially, and the hospitality, when she went for the first time last winter. In the Spring she’ll be aiming Al for Rolex, with the London Olympics in mind.
Before that of course though, she’s promised to keep us up to date on her progress in the Tough Mudder, and you can follow her on twitter for even more current details on her training, her horses and general witty observations. I’d like to thank Laine for her time, and thank you for reading, and wish Laine, Coren and Kerry the very best of luck next weekend even though half of me thinks they’re all completely mad, and half of me wishes I could do it too, and all halves are NOT created equal, they just fluctuate between which is bigger at different times! Good Luck, go mudding and go eventing!
