DINARD, France--Aaron Vale on Carissiomo, in front of a sold-out crowd, won the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix Ville de Dinard, a Rolex Series event, on Sunday, July 27.

Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 (Photo by Rolex series)Over the 1.60m course designed by Jean-François Morand of France, 38 competed in the Grand Prix.

Marc Dilasser of France on Arioto du Gevres was the first to go clean, opening the door to a potential jump-off.

Nicolas Delmotte of France, 2017 Rolex Grand Prix Ville de Dinard winner, came close, finishing clean, but just 0.20s over the time allowed for one time fault.

It wasn’t until José Antonio Chedraui Promof Mexico on Haraminka P, 18th to go, that the crowd saw a second clear, and the jump-off was on.

Nina Mallevaey (of France followed with a clean round on Dynastie de Beaufour , and Max Kühner of Austria, Rolex Grand Prix Ville de Dinard winner in 2023, secured his jump-off spot on EIC Daloubet, and they were joined by Ignacio Maurin of Agentian on Conchado, Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden on Steely Dan, Harrie Smolders of Netherlands on Mr. Tac, and Vale on Carissimo 25.

 

IN THE jump-off, Dilasser on Arioto du Gevres set the time to beat, clean in 41.54, then Chedraui Prom on Haraminka P also went clean, though slower in 43.49s.

Mallevaey was brilliant on Dynastie de Beaufour, despite losing a stirrup near the end, to stop the clock in 40.64 and take the lead.

Von Eckermann on Steely Dan was clean in 41.78, just behind Dilasser, but it was Smolders on Mr. Tac who really upped the tempo, taking the lead with 40.51.

And then, the last to go, Vale on Carissimo 25 blazed through the course to win in a blazing 38.77 seconds, leaving Smolders in second, Mallevaey third, Dilasser fourth and von Eckermann fifth.

Vale was back in Europe after a short stint in the U.S.

“I competed in America, on footing very similar to Dinard’s, which helped a lot," he said. "I hadn’t shown Carissimo 25 for a few weeks, but our groom did an incredible job keeping him in top shape.”

“You never know until the last round," he said. "I watched Nina , she’s fast and wins everything. Then Harrie took the lead, but I felt I had a shot. I just had to stay clear and go full throttle. And it worked. This place is magic. The atmosphere, the people, the setting, it’s just unreal. It feels like a stadium built for horses and show jumping. The slope of the arena, the way the crowd gets involved, it gives you adrenaline before you even ride.”