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Tim Gredley and Unex Valente soar to top of Puissance

Nov 3, 2012

Great Britain's Tim Gredley proved to be one of the world's bravest riders this evening when he galloped up to a 7'6" wall aboard his talented mount Unex Valente. The pair was already champions of the $50,000 Puissance at Alltech National Horse Show, 129th edition after being the only horse and rider combination to clear the 7" wall. Although they were unsuccessful during their final attempt, the crowd was on their feet to cheer on the brave rider.

Eight entries gathered for tonight's class to jump the wall. For the first round the jump was set at 5'9", but as the height rose the number of riders left continued to dwindle. First it went up to 6'3", then 6'6" and finally for a brave final three, 7'. Having successfully completed all three of the first heights, Gredley was the first to make the daunting gallop towards the in-gate with Unex Valente, owned by Unex Competition Yard. The pair made it look easy, clearing the wall with all the pieces intact.

Jessica Springsteen was next with Temmie, owned by Stone Hill Farm. They had been perfect up until 7', but then the luck was not on their side and the blocks came tumbling down. The experienced Aaron Vale followed Springsteen aboard Wodka L, owned by Thinks Like A Horse. Unfortunately, they did find a great distance in and they also lowered the height of the wall, creating a tie for second place.

By being the only rider to clear the wall at 7', Gredley already had the victory in hand, but Gredley did not want to stop there. They reset the wall to a daunting height of 7'6". Gredley made a good approach and Unex Valente cleared it with his front legs, but didn't have quiet enough jump to finish the effort and brought down a block. They were still the victors though, and the crowd went wild

$50,000 PUISSANCE

1 UNEX VALENTE TIM GREDLEY

2 TEMMIE JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN

2 WODKA L. AARON VALE

4 BALOUGRIS SL Z CHARLIE JAYNE

5 CLYDE DANIEL BLUMAN

6 CHICAGO VH MOLENEIND OLIVIER PHILIPPAERTS

6 CANTUS D HILLARY SIMPSON

Source World of Showjumping