Dressage riders will relate to what Ashley Donadt loves about dressage—the idea of communicating with a horse and the feeling when that communication “clicks” and you feel like you’re dancing with your horse. What does she find challenging about dressage—trying to make it look “easy” is “really hard!” she says.

Ashley is an FEI dressage rider and USDF bronze and silver medalist with distinction. Along with husband/head groom Evan Donadt, she is based out of Donadt Dressage in San Diego, California. Before starting her own business in 2017, she previously worked for David Blake and his wife, Rebecca Rigdon, as well as Elizabeth Ball. Since 2019, she has been training with three-time Olympic medalist Guenter Seidel. She also has trained with FEI Dressage World Cup rider AnnA Buffini and debuted at Grand Prix on Buffini’s schoolmaster Sundayboy.