It’s been a long road for Aaron Vale and Carissimo 25 this year, winding through Abu Dhabi, Rome, elsewhere in Europe and now Dublin. But he and the brilliant chestnut reached the personal pinnacle of their partnership (so far) with a third-place finish in the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland on Sunday.
Aaron missed the title in the 500,000 Euro class by mere fractions of a second—but was impressive in his performance.
At age 56, Aaron is hitting his stride internationally after long being a winner in competitions around the U.S.
“Aaron’s career has been just outstanding for decades, but to be able to do it on one of the world’s greatest stages, which he did today, and he has this year, is just fantastic and he deserves it,” said U.S. coach Robert Ridland. He mentioned that as Aaron has been getting to know the horse better, the Floridian and his mount have been “going in an upward trajectory.”
Aaron was on the American team Friday that took the Aga Khan trophy for the Nations Cup, then focused on the grand prix with the chestnut Holsteiner owned by the Carissimo Group.
Aaron Vale and Carissimo 25.
Only seven of 40 starters made the tie-breaker. Watching Aaron go from the penultimate fence, a vertical, to the Rolex oxer at the end of the course, it appeared as if he might be able to make the last obstacle in seven strides. But it worked out to eight strides in 38.76 seconds instead, leaving the runner-up spot to Ireland’s Mark McAuley with GRS Lady Amaro (38.74), and victory to the last to go, Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs on Conner Jei (38.69). He is the third Swiss rider since 2017 to win the class.
Martin Fuchs and Conner Jei. (Sportfot)
Asked whether he could have done the last line in seven strides, Aaron said, “I was hoping to, but I think my horse just jumped up in the air a little high at the vertical, and I just didn’t see it (a distance).
“It felt fast; it just wasn’t fast enough today.”
Discussing why he didn’t get the seven, Aaron said, “I’ve been jumping Nations Cups and been a little unlucky. One down in some grands prix, so I’m a little out of practice on the jump-offs. I just needed a jump-off more recent before today to get it done.”
He noted, “I saw Mark go in the jump-off and he laid down quite a track. I pretty much did everything I planned to do in the jump-off. It was our first run on the clock for some time, but I felt like we nailed the course.
“I knew it was close. I thought maybe I’d done enough to catch Mark, but just missed. My horse jumped amazing. Mark and Martin were amazing. What a great day of jumping and what a crowd. I’ve never been to a show like this.”
When the commentator from RTE broadcasting asked about something he saw on Aaron’s shirt, the rider said, “I love my horse,” echoing what was embroidered on his collar.
Only seven of 40 starters made it into the tie-breaker over Alan Wade’s artful course. The last line in the first round – the Rolex triple with two strides between verticals and one stride to an oxer, set four strides before an airy vertical, took the greatest toll, with a turn to the final fence, the chalice oxer, also adding to the total for more than a handful of riders.
The course map for the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland.
McLain Ward was the second-highest-placed U.S. rider in the class with a rail in the first round to finish thirteenth on Callas. He was a winner the day before, however, taking the 1.5 meter grand prix with Contagious. Virginie Casterman, who works for McLain, won the $5,000 Grooms Award for the Dublin show, courtesy of Karlswood.
The full house of spectators for the Rolex feature cheered for every rider, but was even more enthusiastic about Mark, understandably. He was riding an Amaretto D’Arco mare bred by his uncle, Denis Hickey, and produced by his cousin, Patrick.
“Martin was always going to be the danger,” said Mark, noting that when the Swiss rider was clear in the initial round, “I knew he was going to be last in the jump-off. He was always going to be the one to worry about. I don’t feel Iike I could have done much more.”
Martin Fuchs and Conner Jei, owned by Adolfo Juri and Gerhard Stamer.
He commented about Amaro, “The mare was fantastic. She gave it her all. I’m delighted to finish second in this grand prix. It’s the second time she’s been second. Hopefully, next time she’ll win one.”
Martin, who flew over the last jump, said he knew he could take a risk there because his horse has such a big stride, and that was the place where he could win it.
“It was very tight, because Mark had an incredible round, and also Aaron really put the pressure on me.”
The 0.5-second margin of victory was the narrowest ever in the class. According to EquiRatings, the next-closest was the 0.11 seconds edge for another Swiss, Werner Muff, when he won with Daimler in 2017. Robert Ridland went a bit further and said “Can you imagine the top three in a 5-star grand prix as important as Dublin being separated by 0.07 of a second? That was an amazing jump-off.”
Mark McAuley, Martin Fuchs and Aaron Vale.
Martin said in a sense the victory helped make up for his disappointment at the Olympics with another horse, Leone Jei, where he rode much of the individual final without his left stirrup, and then had the last fence down to miss the jump-off.
“It’s nice to come back to an incredible show like this and be winning a 5-star Rolex grand prix,” said Martin. He was planning to stay an extra day so he could celebrate at the legendary Temple Bar, with “Irish music 24/7.”
(click here for results)
