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FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
back on,” she said. “I never want to let myself down. My parents
andBuck try to taper that inme.” They didexactly that in2008,
which Lainey recalls being a very difficult time for her.After a
clean round at Rolex onMazetto, shewent back on coursewith
FrodoBaggins and suffered a horrible rotational fall. Lainey lay
comatose in thehospital, her body shattered, only towakeup
and find herself without her belovedpartner, Frodo, who had to
behumanely euthanized.
Theaccident turned out to be instrumental in promoting the
safety of eventing. It prompted theUSEF andUSEA, among
other national federations and theFEI, to explore the benefits
of using frangible pins in cross-country obstacles to lessen the
impact of rotational falls. Laineywas heartened that something
good came from the tragedy. She found it comforting that the
result has beena safer sport. Right after the accident, she
said her planswere to learn every lesson she could from the
experience andpersevere.
And that she did, recalling that, “Theminute I got out of the
hospital, all I could think about was going toFair Hill. Therewas
never aquestion inmymind of not going.A lot of that, although I
didn’t realize it at the time, was [coming from] fear that if I didn’t
do it right away I might never feel confident enough to ride a
big courseagain.” Buck, however, intuitively recognizedwhat
was going onwith her. “When I told him I was looking forward
toFair Hill, I was so excited, but I could tell hewasn’t. Hegot in
his car and drove down tohave dinner withmymother andme.”
Withher jaw still wired shut, Lainey sipped hermeal through
a strawand listenedasBuck imparted anunwanted doseof
reality, telling her: “You’re not going toFair Hill. You’re not getting
Mazetto (her other advanced-level horse) back. You’re going to
go slow. You’regoing to take a step back because this is going to
catchup to you.”
It wasn’t what she hoped to hear, but Lainey respectedBuck
and didn’t question him. Shewas ridingagain in twomonths,
starting back at Training Level with another horse and finishing
the year at Intermediate onAl. Meanwhile, with rumors about her
accident swirling inDecember 2008, Lainey began to question
whether shewanted to continue eventing. She talked it over with
Buck, whose responsewas, “Well, you already have plans to
come toFlorida for thewinter and you’ve rented an apartment,
so youmay aswell come down here and give it a try. If it doesn’t
work out, you can go home.”
Shewent toFlorida, and the rest is history.Ayear after her
fall, Lainey finished sixth at the Jersey Fresh three-star, although
today she realizes that she didn’t really start feeling like herself
again until 2 1/2 years after the accident.After that, in typical
Lainey style, she never looked back.Whether she has the good
fortune to be chosen for theU.S. team inNormandy, or whether
this isn’t her year, Laineymaintains a realistic viewpoint. “Even
being considered for the team is abigdeal,” she said, flashing
thebright smile of aCalifornia girl.
When shewas 13, she and hermother, the venerable and
super-supportiveValerieAshker, moved from theWest Coast to
Virginia soLainey could be closer to the center of eventing. Her
East Coast friends nicknamed her “CaliforniaSpice,” a fitting
moniker to this day, given Lainey’s dazzling presence, quickwit
and fashion flair.
About thewriter: DarleneRicker isCEOandEditorial Director of Equestrian
Authors, LLC (equestrianauthors.com), a company that writes, edits and produces
books, articles and films about equestrian sports. ShewasExecutiveEditor of the
AlltechFEIWorldEquestrianGames 2010andwill be reporting from theAlltechFEI
WorldEquestrianGames 2014 inNormandy.
Lainey and JollyGoodSport
on deck for abareback jumping
competition.
Photo byTaraKatherine
Photography
Lainey flashes a smile
during theRichland
ParkHorseTrials in
2013.
Photo byKaseyMueller,
RareAir Photography
