Ocala, FL – Featured three-star competition began this morning in the WEC Grand Arena with the $62,500 Wheels Up Grand Prix Qualifier CSI3*. Aaron Vale (USA) and Thinkslikeahorse’s Gray’s Inn (Cannavaro x Oscar) secured the win, edging out the competition by just seven-tenths of a second.
FEI Level IV course designer Marina Azevedo (BRA) set a challenging track that saw nine of the 26 starters advance to the jump-off.
Luis Sabino Goncalves (POR) was the first to deliver a clear round aboard Vick Du Croisy (Lord Carthago x Vondeen), owned by Sigma Stables LLC. Goncalves and the experienced 16-year-old Selle Français mare blazed through the course and stopped the timers in 40.92 seconds. Several riders came close but couldn’t catch Goncalves’ time.
Molly Ashe Cawley (USA) came the closest with Berdien (Bustique x Querlybet Hero), piloting the 14-year-old Zangersheide mare to a swift 41.41 seconds. Beat Mändli (SUI) and Dijon Terdoorn Z also posted a strong round in 41.72 seconds but fell short of the leaders.
Aaron Vale (USA) and Gray’s Inn, an 11-year-old Warmblood gelding, were the second-to-last pair to attempt to snag the win. Reflecting on the course, Vale shared, “It was a bit tougher today than the Qualifier during the last three-star we had. When I walked it, it didn’t look too difficult. When I got on horseback, the jumps seemed to have grown,” he laughed.
Having watched the earlier rounds, Vale crafted a strategy. “I went late in the order, so I got to watch most of the riders go. I know Luis is always quite fast. I was able to get one stride on him from one to two, and I think that was the only place I gained time. His mare is so quick, it’s not always about the strides. I was able to get pretty quick back to nine, ten and eleven, and pretty tight back to the combination, which came up nice for me.”
Vale and Gray’s Inn stopped the clock at an impressive 40.32 seconds to claim the top spot. “I got everything as good as I could, so I’m glad it was enough to win. You hate when you get everything done like you want, and it’s not enough, but it was nice that it worked out today.”
$62,500 Wheels Up Grand Prix Qualifier Results:
1 GRAY’S INN: 2014 Warmblood gelding by Cannavaro x Oscar
Aaron Vale (USA), Thinkslikeahorse: 0/0/40.32
2 VICK DU CROISY: 2009 Selle Français mare by Lord Carthago x Vondeen
Luis Sabino Goncalves (POR), Sigma Stables LLC: 0/0/40.92
3 BERDIEN: 2011 Zangersheide mare by Bustique x Querlybet Hero
Molly Ashe Cawley (USA), Louisburg Farm: 0/0/41.41
4 CAPITALE 6: 2011 Holsteiner stallion by San Patrignano Cassini x For Pleasure
Charlie Jones (GBR), Morning Star Sporthorses, LLC: 0/0/41.53
5 DIJON TERDOORN Z: 2011 Zangersheide gelding by Diamant De Semilly x Lord Z
Beat Mandli (SUI), Grant Road Partners LLC: 0/0/41.72
6 JANNAN S: 2014 KWPN gelding by Kannan x Numero Uno
Jonathan Mccrea (USA), Windsor Show Stables: 0/0/42.08
7 BARETINO PS: 2015 Oldenburg gelding by Baloubet Du Rouet x Stakkatol
Carly Campbell-Cooper (CAN), John Jamieson: 0/0/45.59
8 CHRYSTAL BLUE: 2011 Oldenburg gelding by Chacco-blue x Calvaro F.c.
Samuel Parot (CHI), Samuel Parot: 0/4/42.32
9 ODIEL VDM: 2014 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Diamant De Semilly x Vigo D Arsouilles Stx
Juan Pablo Gaspar (MEX), Five Pines Equestrian LLC: 0/8/45.38
10 KAY GREY: 2015 Italian Sport Horse mare by Vigo D Arsouilles Stx x Corland
Beat Mandli (SUI), Grant Road Partners LLC: 3/87.53
Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
Videos available at ClipMyHorse.TV
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