Saugerties, NY – September 9, 2017 – On Friday, September 8, Aaron Vale bested a field of 42 to earn top prize in the $10,000 KindredBio 1.40M Jumper Classic riding Elusive, an entry of Thinkslikeahorse, a full service training facility in Williston, Florida.
The first round course consisted of ten obstacles and twelve jumping efforts, which included two double combinations. The jump-off was simply a repeat of jumps one through six.
Twenty-two jumped clear to advance to the immediate jump-off over the course set by Martin Otto of Germany, and fourteen would go double-clear in a race for the win. Vale stopped the clock in 29.576. Second place finisher Hayley Waters crossed the timers in 29.703 atop Uppie de Lis. Vale and Waters were the only two competitors to negotiate the shortened track in under 30 seconds, though less than one and a half seconds separated the top six. Laura Chapot’s tidy round in 30.025 on her fleet-footed Irish Sport Horse Out of Ireland was good enough to claim third prize.
Vale has been partnered with his mount Elusive since he was a six-year-old. “Last year he won the seven-year-old finals,” noted Vale. “He is a fast horse, a little small, so he carries a lot of speed, and he wins a lot of classes. He just went out there and did his job as normal.”
With over 200 Grand Prix wins, Vale is among the top Grand Prix riders America. He said he is developing Elusive to be either a Grand Prix horse for himself, or for his wife to compete in the High Amateur Division in the future.
Vale is planning to compete next with Elusive in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.
RESULTS
$10,000 KindredBio 1.40M Jumper Classic
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 / TA:74 / JO / TA:48
1. Elusive / Aaron Vale / Thinkslikeahorse / 0 / 68.317 / 0 / 29.576
2. Uppie de Lis / Hayley Waters / Charles Waters / 0 / 70.643 / 0 / 29.703
3. Out of Ireland / Laura Chapot / The Edge / 0 / 68.199 / 0 / 30.025
4. Calafornia / Laura Chapot / Mary & Laura Chapot / 0 / 70.363 / 0 / 30.156
5. Cortina 186 / Emanuel Andrade/ Emanuel Andrade / 0 / 66.582 / 0 / 30.967
6. Armageddon / Jimmy Torano / Cenci Jumpers LLC / 0 / 67.656 / 0 / 30.975
Photos: ESI Photography