Roanoke Grand Prix

On Saturday night we attended the Roanoke Grand Prix, part of the Roanoke Horse Show, in Salem, VA.  It was the Aaron Vale show, once again, as he took both first and second prizes. It was a $50,000 class, so Aaron's haul was worth the trip from Florida.  He also won the $7500 Welcome Stake and the $5000 Speed Class earlier in the week.

It was Vale's 11th win at Roanoke.  Of the 22 horses, only 5 went clean the first round and the indoor arena is tiny, outfit with 10-foot jumps.  An 8 foot vertical was the trouble spot for many riders.  Ramiro Quintana's Graf Lando was a respectable third.  Conor O'Regan riding out of Upperville, VA was fourth on Solerina and Patent Pending and Harold Chopping rounded out the top five.

Vale's Tibor won the class and last year's winner, Paparazzi was reserve.  It was a fun evening. Great crowd, lots of action.  It did not disappoint.

(photo, Roanoke newspaper)