Laine Ashker on Being a Dual-Discipline Athlete: Mixing Eventing with Dressage

Focus

F.O.C.U.S.

-- USEF article, edited by Eurodressage

American Grand Prix rider Laine Ashker is one of few FEI riders who has developed a dual-discipline career at international level. She juggles eventing with dressage and has found challenges in both sports.

While her CCI eventing career started back in 2003 and led to an individual silver medal at the 2005 North American Young Riders Championships as well as CCI 4* starts in Lexington, it wasn't until 2018 that she piloted Santiago Del Escarvido down a CDI centerline for the first time. Two years later they returned to CDI Devon.

However, it is equine partner Zeppelin (by Zack x Donnerschwee) who opened the doors to Grand Prix sport, while CCI 4* eventer Lovedance (by Quality Time x Great Pleasure) keeps her cross country heart beating. Two horses. Two disciplines. One rider doing it all from a farm in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Born Into the Sport

Ashker's connection to horses is in her blood. Her mother Valerie competed at the preliminary eventing level until she was seven months pregnant, meaning Laine was practically riding and competing horses before she was born.

Val’s influence ran through her daughter’s entire career, and nowhere was it clearer than in her love of the off-the-track Thoroughbred. Of the four horses Laine has taken to five-star level, three were OTTBs.

As a teenager, Laine’s family relocated from California to Virginia. A move made entirely to support her eventing career.

The Eventing Path

Laine and Anthony Patch at the 2015 CCI Burghley

Laine made her international eventing debut at age 19 with Frodo Baggins, with whom she won a silver medal at the North American Young Rider Championships before later producing him up to the top level. Since then, she has ridden 16 horses in FEI eventing across more than 100 starts, including competing at the highest level of the sport (CCI5*) with four different horses.

Laine currently only rides Lovedance internationally. However, she often has another horse running alongside him at national level. Last year it was the five-year-old off the racetrack TB Supercilious.

Laine has produced Lovedance from his first CCI1* as a six-year-old all the way to a top-10 finish in the CCI4* at Bouckaert farl in Fairburn, GA, against some serious competition. Unsurprisingly, Lovedance has had some strong performances in the dressage phase, often scoring sub-30, including at Bouckaert on 6 March 2026.

The Dressage Chapter

The dressage dimension of Laine's career came about in a very unique way. She posted a Craigslist ad offering riding lessons. A woman named Ann Wilson was the only person to respond. She owned a PRE, the now 24-year old Santiago Del Escarvido (by Davido MC x Despierto) who she wanted trained through the levels. That single reply started a chain of events that would lead Laine to earn her USDF Gold Medal, win Zeppelin’s first CDI in May 2023 at small tour level, and eventually compete at Grand Prix on two horses.

Laine and Zeppelin at the horse inspection at Globalf

Her CDI Grand Prix debut was on Zeppelin in Devon in September 2024. Her best performance in the series came at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival in May 2025, winning with 73.015%. She competed in the 2025 US Equestrian Open Series Final in dressage at her first CDI 5* in Thermal, where she scored 65.935% in the Grand Prix and finished 12th with 66.260% in the Kur.

The Wellington Experience

This year Laine and Zeppelin were based in Wellington, Florida, for the winter, working with Ali Brock.

"I have also worked much with Jacqueline Brooks and George Williams, I ride with Philipp Dutton. I worked for him when I was 17 years old. My show jumping training is Lauren Hough. I've got some great people in my corner," Laine told Eurodressage.

The pair showed at the 2026 Global Dressage Festival in two CDI's, scoring 66.413% and 64.217% in the Grand Prix tests for 8th and 12th place. She got 71.690% in the freestyle (9th) at the CDI-W and 64.617% in the Special (11th) in the CDI 3* in March.

"Global is always a great experience for me. The icing on the cake was to be in the same award ceremony as Isabell Werth. That was pretty cool and to just ride around top quality, top calibre people," Laine explained. "I wasn't sad that I didn't make the award ceremony for the freestyle. I was pretty pumped to even be a name amongst those big names, people that do this their whole life. I'm just kind of relatively green at this sport."

Flying High with Zeppelin

With Zeppelin at the 2026 CDI-W Wellington

Laine and owner Ann Wilson purchased Zeppelin as a 4-year old from Agata Rekucka outside Chicago.

"He's one of the first get of Blue Hors Zack and I liked how his neck was tied on and very easy to be around as a 4-year old. He had a great canter," said Laine. "Zeppi's biggest strength is his mentality, his mind. There is no such thing as pressure for him. He handles pressure, he even allows me to make mistakes."

When asked what his weakness is, Laine smiles and said, "I'm used to riding all these hot horses, thoroughbreds in eventing. I wouldn't say he's not a hot horse, but he isn't cold either. He can feel that way sometimes because I'm used to the bloodier type horses with my background being in eventing."

As a dual-discipline rider Laine name time management as the biggest challenge in her life.

"Honestly I don't see much of a challenge, it's of course time constraints," she explained. "I have to plan out my schedule way far in advance and they have to go well because there are no plan B's or plan C's. If it doesn't work I have to scrap it and make a new plan."

In the next few months Ashker will be taking Zeppelin to the CDI's in Lexington, VA and Devon. "It will give us more time to work on getting more confirmed at the level. Confirmed is maybe not the right word, just overall improving at the level. I believe the horse is capable of getting in the seventy percentile in the Grand Prix work. It's a matter of my experience or lack thereof to make him a little hotter in the ring; just to get confirmed and stronger in the collected work."

Europe is a long-term goal, "but that will probably have to be sidelined till next year," said Laine. "I hope to be more competitive when I come to Wellington next year."