Ocala was abuzz with excitement as packed stands and a beautiful Florida night set the stage for the highlight event of the week, the $200,000 Grand Prix CSI4*. A star-studded field of 34 horse-and-rider combinations representing 13 nations contested the class, but in the end it was Ocala’s own Aaron Vale (USA) who claimed the victory aboard The Carissimo Group’s Carissimo 25 (Cascadello x Clinton).
Saturday night’s course was nothing short of spectacular, featuring new obstacles and vibrant floral arrangements. FEI Level IV course designer Anderson Lima (MEX) presented a demanding track that proved to be a true test, with just eight combinations jumping clear to advance to the jump-off. In the head-to-head showdown, the top three placings were ultimately decided by mere fractions of a second.
Israel’s Daniel Bluman was the first to return, carrying momentum from his win earlier in the week in Thursday’s $62,500 UF Health Grand Prix Qualifier CSI4* with his other mare, Gemma W. On Saturday night, he continued that form aboard Abigail Wexner’s Corbie V.V. (Cornet Obolensky x Chacco Blue). “It’s always hard when you have to go first in the jump-off, and you have several fast riders coming after you,” Bluman expressed. “My plan with ‘Corbie’ was to hold her in the beginning so I could let her go at the end. If I start a little bit too fast, then I would lose a bit of my control, but overall, she jumped amazing.”
Bluman set a strong early pace with the 11-year-old Zangersheide mare, stopping the clock in 37.96 seconds and putting immediate pressure on the remaining contenders.
World No. 8 Nina Mallevaey (FRA) followed with one of her quickest partners, My Clementine (O.B.O.S. Quality 004 x Kashmir Van Schuttershof), owned by the Rein Family LLC. Mallevaey guided the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare through the short course, leaving out strides in nearly every line to finish just one-tenth of a second behind Bluman in 38.07 seconds.
“This is the first show back this year for My Clementine,” Mallevaey shared, adding, “I’ve been riding her for about two years now, and when she gets in the ring she’s a real fighter. It’s our first show of the year, and we didn’t miss anything!”
Several riders attempted to catch Bluman’s leading time, but it wasn’t until the penultimate ride that the leaderboard shifted. Aaron Vale entered the ring aboard Carissimo 25, determined to seize the win. “I watched the ones before me. I watched Daniel do the nine, and thought that looked a little slow, and I wondered how forward the eight would be,” Vale explained. “The rollback to the vertical, I walked a nine after the second jump, but people were telling me I did silly numbers like a six there. After Daniel was leading, I saw all the numbers and thought I had to take a real chance coming back to the third fence, and I got that turn done. Then the rest I just stayed within the normal numbers. We all went fast to the last jump. I usually have a number in my head, but there, I have no idea what I did,” he laughed.
Vale and the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding flew over the final vertical and through the timers in 37.58 seconds, just three-tenths of a second faster than Bluman, to secure the win.
“The crowd here is great. Everyone knows the riders and knows the horses,” Vale added. “Some of the bigger names are in town, and the crowd appreciates that. Overall, every Saturday night here is special.”
Michael Holmes, M.S.A., UF Health’s Senior Vice President and Gainesville Regional President, reflected on UF Health’s mission and the evening’s competition, saying, “We are honored to take care of anybody in our community. We love competition. We love elevating the game. We love new research and the opportunity to push forward. Congratulations and an outstanding job to all the athletes.”
