Aaron Vale and Carlo Claim Victory in 1.40m Jumpers to Kick-Off Week Two

Press release GLEF – The world-class Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, Michigan, was once again filled with horses and riders on Wednesday as Week Two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) got underway. The Grand Prix Ring hosted jumper classes ranging in height from 1.15m to the 1.40m Jumpers. Aaron Vale and Carlo rode to the top of the standings, outpacing 24 other horse and rider combinations, to win the 1.40m Jumpers in the day’s highlight jumper event.

„I won!“ exclaimed Vale. „I rode one horse and he won the class. He’s been hitting his stride lately. He won a grand prix in Atlanta a few weeks ago and he’s been winning a few welcomes and things like that. He’s starting to get the hang of it in the bigger classes, and he went in and did his job like he’s been doing it. It was nice to get a day one victory for our first week here. It was a good start on the right foot.“

Ryan Michael Genn and Eduardo Leon’s Bugatti were the first double clear pathfinders of the class, setting the pace at 43.964 seconds. Two rounds later, Aidan Killeen and Float on Equestrian LLC’s Droomfee HB took over the top spot, besting Genn’s time by six seconds in 37.951 seconds. David Jennings and S & L Farms‘ S & L Puppy Love entered the ring six trips later and became the new leaders in 35.920 seconds.

Vale and Carlo, owned by Amatoville Enterprises, took on the Thomas Hern Jr.-designed course two rounds later as 16 in the order-of-go. They caught Jenning’s time by 8/10th’s of a second, knocking Jennings into second place and Killeen into third, in 35.198 seconds to grab the blue ribbon.

„I just started riding Carlo during this past winter circuit,“ said Vale. „Today, I just galloped everywhere. I was really fast to fence one. I saw a long one from way back and just kept kicking. There was a bit of a gallop after one so I think that forward thinking helped. Since I was really fast getting to the forward distance to fence one, I think that gave me my momentum for the rest of the course. It certainly didn’t hurt. I just galloped up the whole way after that.“

Immediately following the 1.40m Jumpers was the 1.35 Jumpers, which saw 31 horses and riders go head to head for the top spot on the leaderboard. Lisa Jacquin and Rolls, owned by Doublethink LLC, came out on top with a double clear ride in 38.971 seconds.

Cara Cheska and Reid Patton’s Blizzerd held the first place spot for the majority of the class as fourth in the order-of-go, posting a faultless performance in 40.229 seconds. No one was able to beat Cheska’s time for 21 rounds until Jacquin tackled the course and shaved two seconds off of Cheska’s time to secure the win. Ashley Fleischhacker and Over Drive, owned by Ashland Show Stables LLC, rounded out the top three in a fault-free 40.832 seconds – just 6/10th’s of a second behind Cheska.

„Rolls is a great horse – very careful,“ said Jacquin. „We didn’t show a lot this winter so he’s just getting started back into it. We showed him last week and I thought today he jumped great. It was a nice course for him – a little gallop-y. He’s just a good horse. He’s careful, fast and fun.

„Rolls is very fast across the ground,“ continued Jacquin. „I think from the double to the end jump, a lot of people had to go out to come back to it, and I just happened to see it right on the lick so I was able to stay on the inside track and get right to it.
He was really good today.“

Week Two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival runs through July 17 at the Flintfields Horse Park and will continue to welcome riders and thrill spectators over the next three weeks throughout the first series of competition, which runs July 6-31.

The second week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival has completely sold out of stabling space with limited spots remaining for Week Three, July 20-24. Act now to reserve stabling spots for August, and do not miss out on the chance to compete during the all-new FEI Great Lakes Equestrian Festival series in August.

Series Two kicks off on August 10 and runs through August 28 featuring three weeks of hunter and jumper competition with a FEI CSI2* rating Week Five and Six and a FEI CSI3* rating during Week Seven culminating in the $100,000 Grand Traverse Grand Prix on Sunday, August 28.

The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival is set on 88 beautiful acres and showcases five world-class competition rings in addition to spacious schooling rings. The property features don’t stop there as the park offers convenient on-site campgrounds and weekly nights of entertainment for a truly unique attendee experience.

For more information, please visit www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.

Source: Press release GLEF