Lainey Wins and Micaela is on the Bubble
Ashker tops Qualifier 18 with a personal best, while Mabragaña’s second-place finish keeps her Final hopes alive — but just barely.
With a personal best score, Laine Ashker and Zeppelin earned a decisive win at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival. Just behind them, Micaela Mabragaña and Belatrix RH delivered when it counted — their runner-up finish was enough to secure a spot in the US Equestrian Open Final (for now).
A convincing win for a dual-discipline athlete
Two Grand Prix (GP) Freestyles, two 70+ scores. This weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival, in only their second GP Freestyle, Laine Ashker and the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding Zeppelin won with a 73.015% and were the only pair to break into the 70s. It was a personal best for them as Ashker and Zeppy outdid their previous GP Freestyle result of 70.845% from last year’s Dressage at Devon.
Ashker and Zeppelin have been together since Zeppy was just four years old, making their convincing win even sweeter. The pair won this weekend’s Qualifier by 4.390 percentage points over the second-placed pair Micaela Mabragaña & Belatrix RH. That is one of the largest winning margins in the US Equestrian Open so far.
Ashker is well known in eventing circles, having formed one of those famous five-star eventing partnerships with her beloved, and now retired, Anthony Patch. On any given day on Instagram, you’ll see her training the likes of Zeppelin for dressage or the up-and-comer Lovedance for eventing, a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Lainey pursues excellence in both disciplines.
A finalist added! (for now)
Coming into this Qualifier with 32 Series points, Micaela Mabragaña needed to finish third or higher to secure a place in the Final. She met the brief. With Belatrix RH, Micaela finished second and brought her points tally to 49. That puts her in equal-18th place on the Series leaderboard and…well…that is right on the bubble: only the top 18 riders at the end of the Series earn a ticket to the $200,000 Final in November.
How Micaela got to 49:
- Gold Coast Opener (Qualifier 3) - 2nd with Belatrix RH: 17 points
- WEC Ocala Dressage II (Qualifier 7 East) - 5th with Belatrix RH: 15 points
- Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival (Qualifier 18) - 2nd with Belatrix RH: 17 points
With five more Qualifiers still to go – and only four on the east coast – there will be opportunities for Micaela to solidify her Final qualification with added points. But there will also be opportunities for others to bump her out of the top 18…
That next threat comes this weekend at the WEC Ocala May dressage show which hosts Qualifier 19.
Who's Qualified for the Final so Far (after Qualifier 18 of 23)
The top 18 riders at the end of the Series are eligible for the $200,000 Final. All riders tied for 17th right now make up the 17th, 18th and 19th athletes and sit in qualifying positions (everyone tied for 18th does qualify). See the full series standings, updated after each qualifier, here.
What's Coming Up
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For media inquiries about the US Equestrian Open Series, please contact Carly Weilminster at cweilminster@usef.org.
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