Ashley made her Pro debut at the Steel City round of the AMA Outdoor Nationals in Delmont, Pa. This year the Women’s Motocross Association is being allowed by the AMA to run their National series in conjunction with the men. Throughout the weekend Ashley presented herself as a professional at all times, on and off the track. While walking around the compound, her right arm got a better workout than her left because she was always waving it at somebody, either someone she knew or a new friend she just made. This young lady is a sponsor’s dream, at the WMA autograph session on Sunday between races she met with fans for two solid hours, with a huge smile on her face and seemed to enjoy every minute of the experience. This race weekend was the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice that she and her family have made. She didn’t disappoint.

I won’t bore you with a lap by lap summary of the results; instead I will hit the high spots. Firstly, it rained so much the night before and the track was so messy, the men’s lap times were 15 seconds slower. Moto1: she grabbed the holeshot and led for a lap. She ran in second for most of the race, until she wadded herself up, 3 times I might add. She fought her way from 15th to 6th by the end. Moto2: she holeshot, again. Which is really amazing because she is the only woman riding a 2-stroke 125, and if you’ve ever been to or seen Steel City on TV you know it has a big uphill start. This time she led for about 12 minutes of the 20 minute race. The entire time she was being stalked by 5 time, defending women’s champion Jessica Patterson. Patterson made the pass for the lead, but Ashley didn’t give up. She made a charge back to the front but she came up short on a massive tabletop and crashed. This time she only fell back to 3rd place, where she eventually finished. A 6th and 3rd gave her 5th overall, a good result considering the conditions for her first Pro race.