PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 13, 2006

OCALA, FL (March 13, 2006) -- First in the jump-off is never an enviable position, but Aaron Vale managed to turn it to his advantage by setting a pace that put just the right amount of pressure on his rivals in the $100,000 Grand Prix of Ocala presented by Great American Insurance Group.

Vale threw down the gauntlet with a clear round in 40.83 seconds aboard Artur 28. The time could be beat as Kylee Jo Johnson proved aboard Landintendant, but chasing Vale’s time led to mistakes along the way for four of the six riders to follow him.

Leopoldo Palacios, course designer for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia and technical delegate for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, set the test for the field of 38 starters. Palacios set a fair course that had plenty of options for the riders.

With eight horses lined up for the jump-off, the spectator crowd at HITS Ocala was guaranteed an exciting finish to the seven-week circuit. The jump-off was sure to be fast, and with Aaron Vale in the first slot, the pace was set right from the start.

Palacios' jump-off course looped almost full-circle around the Grand Prix ring. The last line included a long gallop to a double-combination and then a gallop back to a tall vertical finish.

Aaron Vale and Artur 28 really covered the ground in the galloping. "I was slower than I wanted to be at the beginning of the course, but I knew that his gallop was so strong that we would make up for it at the end." With 40.83 seconds lighting up the board, the chase was on.

The next three riders felt the pressure of Vale's fast time, and the rails started to tumble.

Patty Stovel and Shandor 41 had three rails down for a 12-fault performance in 45.19 seconds.

David Wright picked up the pace with a time of 42.53 seconds aboard Campari, but a rail down at the double-combination meant he was no threat to Vale.

Canadian Frankie Chesler and Picolien Zeldenrust had two knockdowns in 46.48 seconds, passing Vale on his way back into the ring with his second mount Serval.

Another clear round for Vale in a slower time of 43.10 seconds secured him the top two spots in the competition with three riders to go.

Canadian Keean White really galloped to the last with Arriscraft Rocca. His time of 42.06 seconds allowed him to push past Vale and Serval, giving him second place in the competition.

Chuck Waters followed up with a clean round aboard 747 in a careful time of 47.42 seconds.

Kylee Jo Johnson and Landintendant were last to go. Landintendant likes to go fast, and Kylee Jo was not about to hold him back. "That horse was my main worry," said Vale. "He is a really fast galloper, and the course was long with plenty of galloping."

Kylee Jo and Landintendant blazed through the course, beating Vale's time by a nose and three hundreds of a second. However, a rail down at the third fence let Aaron Vale relax and enjoy his win in the $100,000 Grand Prix of Ocala presented by Great American Insurance Group.

This was Aaron Vale's fifth Grand Prix win during the seven-week circuit, and his second consecutive win in the $100,000 Grand Finale aboard Artur 28. Vale rode Artur 28 in a couple of smaller classes during the week to prepare for the big event. "He was coming off of a seven-week break, so it looks like we fired him up just in time to have him ready for the day."

Other major award winners at HITS V Ocala Winter Finals included:

HBO Children's Medal (Pony) - Alexandra Carlton, Madison, CT
HBO Children's Medal (Horse) - Morgan Hale, Odessa, FL
HBO Junior Medal - Michael Danner, Tampa, FL
HBO Adult Medal - Alysha Leonard, Maitland, FL
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (18-35) - Cadence, ridden and owned by Ann Garnett, Charlottsville, VA
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (36-45) - Twist of Gold, ridden and owned by Bonnie Thaler
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (46 & over) - Happy as a Clam, ridden and owned by Victoria Fletcher, Inverness, FL
Adequan® Open Hunter Division Champion - Untold, ridden and owned by Jodi Czaplick, Long Island, NY
Marshall & Sterling Children's Hunter Classic - C'est La Vie, ridden and owned by Katherine Crenshaw, Delvalle, TX
Marshall & Sterling Adult Hunter Classic - Cadence, ridden and owned by Ann Garnett, Charlottsville, VA
$25,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic - Julia Weiss, Grennwich, CT riding Lizzapei, owned by Kara Delaurentis
$25,000 Team Barber Junior / Amateur-Owner High Jumper Classic - Myra Simard, Montreal, Canada riding Dutch Treat
Equus Entries Leading Grand Prix Rider Award (a beautiful superbowl ring encrusted with precious stones) - Aaron Vale, Aiken, SC
Best Pony Rider - Tilden Brighton, Rumson, NJ
Best Child Rider - Victoria Efird, Ada, MI
Best Junior Rider - Kacey McCann, Palmyra, PA
Best Amateur Rider - Megan McGuire, Whitehouse Station, NJ
Best Adult Rider - Anne Connolly, Wayland, MA

For complete horse show results please visit http://www.hitsshows.com.

$100,000 HITS Grand Prix of Ocala presented by Great American Insurance Group - Sunday, March 12, 2006
HITS V - Ocala Winter Finals, Ocala, FL
Course Designer: Leopoldo Palacios, Caracas, Venezuela

MEDIA CONTACT: Mary Creech, HITS Media & Public Relations, 319 Main Street, Saugerties, New York 12477-1330. Tel: 845-246-8833, Fax: 845-246-6371, E-Mail: mcreech@frontiernet.net. Web: www.HitsShows.com