Aaron Vale and Quidam’s Good Luck Win $50,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix at HITS Ocala
Ocala, Florida (January 25, 2015): HITS regular Aaron Vale of Williston, Florida, turned on the afterburners in the $50,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix jump-off Sunday to knock out the competition and win the class on Troy Glaus’ Quidam’s Good Luck. Forty-five horses competed in the first round over a course designed by Manuel Esparza of Mexico City, Mexico. Thirteen qualified for the jump-off. Going second in the jump-off, with the likes of Mclain Ward, Ian Millar and Candice King behind him, Vale rode clean and fast to win. “I know if we leave the jumps up, he’s got a good chance,” Vale said of the 9-year-old bay gelding Quidam’s Good Luck. Vale said the horse has a jumping style that’s “fairly extravagant – the way he kicks his hind end up and flicks his tail at the same time.” Vale and Quidam sped around the abbreviated course, setting the Great American Time to Beat at 38.330 seconds for others to chase, and ultimately earning the blue and a $15,000 prize check. “We’ve had a great week here showing over Manuel’s courses,” Vale said. “Flowing across the ring with time alloweds being a little tight, it really encouraged you to go forward. He did a good job of making it technical but making you have to go forward at the same time.” Five more riders were clean in the jump-off but none were able to match Vale’s time. Mclain Ward from Brewster, New York, and Double H Farm’s HH Ashley, came close with a time of 39.886, securing their second place spot. Ward said, “I kind of lost sight of the last jump heading into the sun and took one extra pull, but she was good.” On a different horse, his and Susie Heller’s Dulien Van De Smeets, a fault put Ward in eighth place with a time of 41.040. Ian Millar of Perth, Ontario, who rounded out the top three with a time of 40.289, said jokingly after the class, “Aaron (Vale) gave us all a riding lesson.” Also clean in the jump-off were Jared Petersen on Derek Petersen’s Titus 2:11, coming in fourth, Juan Pablo Betancourt on his Troya Retiro, for fifth place, and Millar again, on Team Works’ Star Power, in sixth place. About Equine Couture
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$2,500 Pyranha Amateur Jumper Classic Low
$7,500 U-Dump Jr/A-O Jumper Classic High
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About HITS, Inc.
HITS, Inc. produces high quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the Village of Saugerties, HITS has been producing shows since 1982 and is now a nationwide company with world-class circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York, and Virginia.
While hosting the richest weekend in show jumping at HITS-on-the-Hudson, HITS also formed the Triple Crown of Show Jumping. This includes the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Mortgage Call, in Thermal, California, the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix in Ocala, Florida, and Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Wells Fargo, in Saugerties, New York.
For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com. Stay connected with HITS, join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Media should contact the HITS Media Team at 845.246.8833 or e-mail Media_Info@HitsShows.com.