Aaron Vale and Cristo Beech Best the Field in the $100,000 Alltech Grand Prix at WEC – Ocala

Aaron Vale and Cristo Beech Best the Field in the $100,000 Alltech Grand Prix at WEC – Ocala

It was standing room only at World Equestrian Center – Ocala for the $100,000 Alltech Grand Prix during week V of the 2023 Winter Spectacular Show Series. The night culminated with local fan-favorite Aaron Vale (USA) piloting Alise Carrico and Thinks Like A Horse’s Cristo Beech (Its The Business x Ragua) to the horse’s very first Saturday night grand prix win at World Equestrian Center – Ocala.

FEI Level III course designer Peter Grant (CAN) set the tracks for tonight’s class where 14 managed to qualify for the returning jump-off. The short course proved to be a challenge as only five found a double-clean effort.

“The jump-off was a nice technical track. The tricky part was the two right turns. You had to turn right and land right, then after the big oxer in the middle you had to turn right and leave right again. When you come right and leave left, it’s a bit easier for the horses to jump clear. Then the last combination was pretty tight for most horses, so the rails were coming down a lot there,” said Vale.

Olympian Cian O’Connor (IRL) and Nicole Walker’s Eve D’ouilly (Qlassic Bois Margot x Tefnout D’ouilly) were the first pair to find a double-clean effort. O’Connor and the talented nine-year-old mare found a fast track in 44.567 seconds to set the pace for the remainder of the class.

Numerous entries tried to find O’Connor’s quick time, but all faced rails along the way. It wasn’t until Aaron Vale (USA) entered the arena aboard his first mount I Adermie R 4 (Den Ham Blue R x W.Adermie 1) owned by Lori Osterstock. Vale and the ten-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare soared around the track in 43.686 seconds to snatch the lead.

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Aaron Vale & Cristo Beech Best the Field in the $100,000 Alltech Grand Prix at WEC – Ocala – World Equestrian Center

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