OCALA, Fla.--Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 won the $200,000 Grand Prix CSI4* under the lights on Saturday evening, Jan. 17 at the World Equestrian Center.
Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 (Photo by Andrew Ryback)A field of 34 representing 13 nations competed over the course set by Anderson Lima of Mexico, with eight going clean to advance to the jump-off.
Israel’s Daniel Bluman on Corbie V.V. was the first to go in the jump-off, following his win in Thursday’s $62,500 Grand Prix Qualifier CSI4* with his other mare, Gemma W.
“It’s always hard when you have to go first in the jump-off, and you have several fast riders coming after you,” Bluman said. “My plan with ‘Corbie’ was to hold her in the beginning so I could let her go at the end. If I start a little bit too fast, then I would lose a bit of my control, but overall, she jumped amazing.”
Bluman set the time to beat with a clean round in 37.96 seconds and put pressure on the remaining contenders.
World No. 8 Nina Mallevaey of France on My Clementine was next to go, but despite leaving out strides in nearly every line, she finished just one-tenth of a second behind Bluman in 38.07 seconds.
“This is the first show back this year for My Clementine,” Mallevaey said, “I’ve been riding her for about two years now, and when she gets in the ring she’s a real fighter. It’s our first show of the year, and we didn’t miss anything!”
THREE RIDERS later, Vale went.
“I watched the ones before me." said Vale. "I watched Daniel do the nine, and thought that looked a little slow, and I wondered how forward the eight would be. The rollback to the vertical, I walked a nine after the second jump, but people were telling me I did silly numbers like a six there. After Daniel was leading, I saw all the numbers and thought I had to take a real chance coming back to the third fence, and I got that turn done. Then the rest I just stayed within the normal numbers. We all went fast to the last jump. I usually have a number in my head, but there, I have no idea what I did.”
Vale was clean in 37.58 seconds, just three-tenths of a second faster than Bluman, to win, with Bluman second and Mallevaey third.
Jelmer Hoekstra of Netherlands on Lordy-P was fourth, clean in 39.14, with Anna Christina Gansuaer of Ecuador on Loyalton fifth, clean in 47.55, Lacey Gilberston on Belle Amie Vd Dassenheide Z sixth, four faults in 40.10, McLain Ward on Jordan Molga M seventh, four faults in 40.13, and Jonathan McCrea on Chaccotilino Ps eighth, four faults in 41.14.
“The crowd here is great. Everyone knows the riders and knows the horses,” Vale added. “Some of the bigger names are in town, and the crowd appreciates that. Overall, every Saturday night here is special.”
