OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The applause will be significantly louder for one rider who enters the grand arena at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala on Saturday evening.
The fan favorite is 56-year-old Aaron Vale whose home is just 20 minutes up the road from WEC in Williston.
“I’ve lived in Williston probably 15 years now permanently,” said Vale during an interview earlier this week.
Vale owns Thinkslikeahorse Farm, a full-service training facility in Williston with a stable of hunters, jumpers and equitation horses. He’s considered one of America’s most celebrated Grand Prix riders with more than 285 wins.
Vale and three other equestrians – Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, and McLain Ward – comprise Team USA in the second round of the Longines League of Nations (LLN) competition being held this week at WEC.
“There are five shows total in the series with the final in Barcelona, Spain. This is one of the qualifying events for the teams to get to Barcelona.”
https://youtu.be/BiUDnzgETcU
The international jumping competition began last month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. From Ocala the LLN moves on to Switzerland, followed by the Netherlands. It ends with the championship in October in Barcelona, Spain.
The elite equestrians who have literally ridden all over the world have been praising the quality of the facilities at WEC.
“WEC is amazing. I can’t believe they built this for us to jump and show our horses at,” said Vale. “It’s been just a tremendous addition to the community. It’s brought in the ability to host a world class, championship-level horse show. This is on par with the Olympics or a world championship. This facility lends itself to unbelievable things happening.”
On Saturday in the LLN team finals, Vale will be riding Carissimo 25, an 11-year-old gelding.
“I’m on a new horse that looks like he’s top level,” said Vale who despite his accomplishments is managing his own expectations for Saturday’s results. “It takes a while for horse and rider to get on the top level even though the rider has done it before. It’s a good test for us this week.”
We’ll be rooting for you Aaron.
Saturday’s Longines League of Nations competition begins at 4:30 p.m. Reserved seating is sold out. Standing-room-only tickets may still be available. You can also watch it online.