OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Williston-based rider Aaron Vale and Thinkslikeahorse’s Gray’s Inn won the CSI four-star $200,000 Live Oak International Grand Prix on March 15, 2026 at Live Oak Stud.
There were 23 entries contesting the first-round track designed by Olaf Petersen Jr. Vale was one of eight rider/horse combinations to jump clear and return for the short course, and five of those riders and horses would jump double clear, with Vale’s margin of victory being only .46 seconds better than runner-up, Ireland’s Francis Derwin and the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Flexi K. Ireland’s Robert Blanchette and the 15-year-old Westphalian mare Chardonnay placed third, .69 seconds behind, Daniel Coyle and Incredible were fourth and Hunter Holloway and Henry Jota Ariel were fifth in the tightly contested class.
Vale will be riding this week, representing the United States in the Longines League of Nations at the World Equestrian Center on March 21, 2026. Vale was part of the U.S. team that won the event in 2025…