By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
Ginger Parker believes that hard work and a positive attitude are a choice, and both of those things define the formula that has been the backbone of her life and business. That outlook on life explains how many wonderful opportunities have led to success.
At 12 years old, Ginger bought a Thoroughbred named Killer and transformed him into her Junior Hunter, Sweet William; twice she has built expansive training farms that now serve as the northern and southern bases for Ashcombe Sporthorses; and she has a respected breeding program that grew from careful choices made for a special mare. “I just never allow for the possibility that something won’t work out and my team and I put in the work to bring our goals to fruition,” Ginger said.
Horses have always been a way of life for Ginger, with a horse-crazy mother and supportive grandmother. “I don’t think I would have come to horses on my own and I know that my son, professional rider Jake Parker Wymard, wouldn’t have ridden if ponies hadn’t been part of the fabric of my life, and his. There are pictures of me on a horse before I could walk and I got my first pony when I was 4,” Ginger said.
As recreational riders themselves, Ginger’s mother and grandmother happily went along with all of Ginger’s horse plans. “I had ponies, access to lessons and I wanted to jump, train and show. Those poor dear women—they didn’t know what they didn’t know, but they wanted me to give it a try,” Ginger said. “Always a huge supporter, my grandmother would say things like, ‘Darling, I want you to get a new saddle, because I want to feel like I’m part of what you’re doing.’ She would listen with rapt attention to any stories I shared. That level of generational support was invaluable.”
After outgrowing ponies, Ginger set her sights on moving up to a Thoroughbred, as that’s what you did in the 1980s. She scoured the ads in the local newspaper until she found a 6-year-old unraced Thoroughbred gelding for $1,500.
“The seller’s husband called him Killer because he had ravaged several people in the stall. He was head shy and grass green, but of course I had to have him. The trial period started on a curious note with Killer arriving drugged and drenched in sweat, after not wanting to load. It took an hour to bridle him, and he trusted no one,” Ginger said. “I thought, Challenge accepted!”
After the trial period was over, Ginger’s mom told Ginger that if Killer would load onto their two-horse trailer, they would buy him. “Fortunately, for so many reasons, Killer pulled me onto the trailer that day and my first real project was underway. He was a young, scared, virtually unbroke Thoroughbred and I learned so much from both the challenges and successes I had with him,” Ginger said. “I renamed him Sweet William. Looking back, that was my first real and obvious attempt at manifesting a positive result. Thankfully, Sweet William was scopey, jumped a 10 and was a great mover.”
Ginger and Sweet William qualified for Devon and Indoors in the Junior Hunters year after year. “While we weren’t necessarily competitive at the championship shows, he gave me a lot of incredible experiences and taught me how to make the most of what I had,” Ginger said. “I often tell Jake that he needs to ride each horse like it’s the only one he has: figure it out, put in the time, earn trust.”
With a formula in place to create her first star, Ginger graduated from law school and went on to open her own Flower Farm—named after her flower horse, Sweet William. Today, Ginger runs the farm, rebranded Ashcombe Sporthorses, LLC in 2019, with her son Jake and Erika Sentz.
Flower Farm
When Ginger’s sons, Jake and Tom, were 4 and 5 years old, she bought 50 acres of cornfield in Southern York County, Pennsylvania. Though Flower Farm was intended to be a place for Ginger and her boys, it didn’t take long before people found out about the farm and started wanting lessons and help with their horses.
“I had a nice Amateur Owner horse I had bred, and I was happy just doing my own little breeding, training and showing thing. Once people started reaching out, I realized that I loved being on the property with my sons and a flexible schedule suited my parenting style, so I gave up my amateur status,” Ginger said. “My decision to go pro was just an ‘if you build it, they will come’ story.”
During those early days, Ginger was raising two young boys, the farm was new and always expanding and the inventory was all young horses. She kept her head down and kept marching on her path. “It was all about building a future that I just believed in. I knew that hard work and continued focus, even when it was overwhelming, simply had to lead to the other side,” Ginger said. “I had a great stallion, I was breeding lovely mares, and I was content to get the worst qualities of both parents and still ride the result. I lived in a mindset of gratitude.”
Ginger is frequently asked if having her business is a dream come true. It’s not. “I never even dreamt that life could be this good or complete. The boys were both very involved with the farm. Throughout their childhoods, they both participated in every foaling, would play with their toys in a corner of the arenas when I was riding or teaching and they were absorbing my passion and work ethic,” she said.
One of Ginger’s favorite family memories is the trio always doing barn work together on holidays so their employees could have the day off. “We’d play music and it was always festive,” she said. “The boys were being good sports, but it was also a lot of fun and a lesson in responsibility.”
As much as the boys shared Ginger’s passion, she always made it a priority to be present for their games and school events. “Both boys were athletes throughout high school and I can count on one hand the number of games I didn’t attend. They were both 4.0 students and we lived as normal a life as farming allows—which included keeping Jake in traditional school when he eventually went to Florida for the winters as a Junior,” Ginger said. “The horse life is demanding and can be all-encompassing, but in my opinion, balance is the key in reaching the finish line with satisfaction and perspective.”
Ginger did more than reach the finish line, she crossed it with flying colors—as Jake is a successful professional rider/trainer and Tom recently graduated from the University of Illinois School of Law.
Next Generation
Ginger’s sons aren’t the only ones who have grown up successfully on the farm; Ginger did as well. As Ginger prepared to finish law school herself, knowing how much Ginger loved her Thoroughbred mare, Verbella, her mother gifted her with a breeding to the stallion of her choice as her graduation gift. “In preparation for the breeding, I took Verbella to an Oldenburg Inspection where she received a Premium and was accepted into the KWPN/NA studbook for breeding with the comment from a German judge that I had ‘an obligation to American Sport Horse breeding to keep this mare bred.’ I think I was 24 or 25 years old at the time, so of course I listened to him!” Ginger said.
After much researching of pedigrees and resultant offspring, Ginger bred Verbella to Idocus. That breeding yielded Ginger’s foundation mare, Perennial, who’s the dam of their stallion Vinca. Today Ginger is on her fifth generation of breeding and the sensible, intelligent temperament and great movement from Verbella is evident in every horse she’s bred.
Ginger may be on her fifth generation of offspring, but she doesn’t consider herself a breeder. “We have a really nice stallion and I’ve been very selective about the mares I own and breed, and the results just follow. I’ve been very involved in the breaking, development and training process of all the horses, and it surprises me when it doesn’t work out,” she said. “We listen to the animals and we’re patient with them, letting them tell us when they’re ready to do more. They stay sound and genuinely want to please people.”
One of Ginger’s all-time favorite homebreds is Fiorello FF. Reserve Grand Champion Young Horse at Dressage at Devon as a 2-year-old, Fiorello made his show hunter debut at 8 years old with Jake in the 3’3” Junior Hunters during WCHR week at WEF, with great scores and ribbons in every class among very seasoned company.
“That was literally Fiorello’s first hunter show,” Ginger recalled. “He was just ready. I usually rode him, I think Jake had only jumped him around a handful of times, but they looked like they had been doing that job together for years. We listened to the horse, he wasn’t pushed or pressured and he stepped up to the job. All of our horses have that great brain and Jake does a lovely job piloting them.” Fiorello FF went on to be a highly successful Amateur Owner horse after Ginger sold him to one of her clients.
Just as Ginger has pride in her four-legged offspring, she’s so proud of the success her son Jake has had in the equestrian industry. Thanks to friends in the industry who took Ginger and Jake under their wings throughout the years, the duo was able to develop a formula for success. “Jake spent blocks of time as a student, friend or working student with Kris Cheyne, Bruce Davidson, Louise Serio, Kevin Babington and Heritage Farm. As Jake was developing his knowledge, I tagged along and grew my own knowledge and experience,” Ginger said. “A big upside to this system is that Jake and I are on the same page 99% of the time, both trying to take the pieces that work with our own ideology and create a better product and experience.”
There are no words to explain the pride and love Ginger has watching Jake develop into the person, rider and professional he is today. “Jake exhibits a very rare ethical core that runs counter to the theme of this industry; the horses and their welfare come first, but a close second is an honesty and integrity in dealing with people,” she said. “I’m proud of Jake’s commitment to doing what’s right, even when it’s not easy.”
Ashcombe Sporthorses, LLC
Part of what makes Ginger’s operation a success is that her background isn’t just in the hunter ring. “I spent years training in dressage, as a working student riding everything from babies to Grand Prix horses, as well as training and showing my own. I was also a working student in England with a top show jumper, who won a World Cup qualifier while I was there,” Ginger said. “I think that it all contributes to the formula we use when we are prepping horses at Ashcombe.”
As soon as it became clear that Jake was going to be a player in Ginger’s business, he approached her with the idea of changing the name Flower Farm to something more masculine. “We decided to go with Ashcombe, as my grandfather was a hobby dairy farmer in Central Pennsylvania, with over 1,000 head of cows on a farm that his grandmother had built, called Ashcombe. We liked the idea of continuing with that name, as it felt familiar and was a nod to our family support,” Ginger said.
With Jake on board as Ashcombe’s professional rider, Ginger and the team are working to develop their next champions. “There is a deep understanding at Ashcombe that these are horses, not machines, and the level of gratitude we have for their willingness to perform for us is the hallmark of our program,” Ginger said.
In January 2019, Jake was a senior in high school and getting his feet wet in the professional divisions at WEF when Ginger got word that the World Equestrian Center (WEC) Ocala was in the works and decided they should check out the area and consider creating a winter home for Ashcombe. After driving up from Wellington on a property-hunting mission one Sunday night, with Tom and Erika on the phone giving intel about properties for sale, Ginger and Jake looked at exactly one property.
They ended up buying a 30-acre uncleared parcel located three miles from WEC Ocala. “Fast forward to 2024 and we have a lovely farm that feels like home and an aisle at WEC that is equally important to our experience. We are loyal WEC supporters and hope that the continued loyalty of the people who put it all on the line when WEC was a fledging idea means something moving forward,” she said.
Although having two farms can be overwhelming, Ginger can’t imagine being without either one. “Our friends in Ocala are horse show oriented and our life there revolves around horses and business. In Pennsylvania, we have big fields, rolling hills, mature trees and a more relaxed experience,” Ginger said. “In truth, we love both places and always look forward to returning to both homes.”
As Ginger looks to the future, she is working to get her judging license to transition in the sport as she gets older. “I can’t even imagine what it looks like for me to take on a less involved role, but I don’t have any concerns about the future of Ashcombe moving forward,” she said.
For more information, visit Ashcombe’s website ashcombesporthorses.com and on Instagram @ashcombesporthorses and follow Jake on Instagram @Jakeparkerwymard
Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com
