Kelly Layne

Fast Facts

Sport: Equestrian
Event: Dressage
Horses Name: Samhitas
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1975
State Born: QLD

About Kelly

Kelly Layne was born into the equestrian world, her mother Helen Anstee was a Grand Prix rider, FEI Judge and breeder of dressage horses. With this background it wasn’t long before Kelly’s career started turning over big wins, by 12 she had won two of the Under 12 National Dressage Championships, and at the age of 16 on a horse she trained herself, she placed ninth at the Open Prix St Georges at the Australian National Dressage Championships. 

Layne was initially from Queensland and attended Marymount College before moving with her parents to the Sunshine Coast, but she also grew up on the international stage, competing in places such as New Zealand and Hong Kong. At 18, Layne attended her first Grand Prix and from there her career in the Equestrian world was cemented.

Layne has come close to reaching the Olympics numerous times, but unfortunately her horses weren't up to the qualifying level. In the approach to Rio 2016 the prospect of Layne’s attendance was looking extremely promising, however an injury setback meant her horse wasn’t able to compete for final qualification.

Layne now resides in Florida, and has done so for many years. She runs a very successful business there, and is both a trainer and rider alongside a tight knit group of coworkers.

With the horse Samhitas, Layne made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021. The combination experienced a few difficulties in their test, resulting in a 57th placing in the Individual competition and 13th in the Team's event.