May 31, 2019 
The hashtag is trending on Tiffany Foster’s Instagram.
Thirteen-year-old gelding, Brighton, has given the Canadian rider plenty to be thankful for over their career. Her latest reason to say #TGFB is the $36,500 CSIO5* Artisan Farms Nations Welcome at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC on Thursday.
Of the 35 combinations to contest Peter Holmes’ course, 12 advanced to the jump off. Foster and Brighton posted an electric time of 32.7 seconds to take the win.
“He is very fast, very competitive, very dependable. Just like the coolest, best horse ever,” gushed the Canadian Olympian, “Whenever we go to the show Brighty just pulls through with something. If it’s your only clear round it’s coming from Brighty.”
It’s the hometown hero’s first showjumping win ever at Thunderbird Show Park, and it was done in true Foster fashion. Because when she dreams, she dreams 5* big.
“This year I said this is what I’m going to do: I’m going to bring my three best horses and win something. Boom, day one,” Foster said.
Despite Foster’s winning ambitions she was initially unsure if she wanted to try and match the time clocked by the competitor before her.
Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX), winner of the morning’s CSI2* tbird Welcome and the CSIO5* $8,5000 Happy Welcome, set the time to beat in a blistering 33.5 seconds aboard Tarzan d’Ivraie. They ultimately ended up second.
“I mean I thought for sure he (Arturo) was going for the hat trick today. When I watched him with his white horse with its tail ringing like that I thought, I don’t want to go that fast. I’m fine with second and my life,” Foster laughed.
She put any doubts to rest with a fast start over the first three fences, a long gallop from a square oxer to the Artisan Farms vertical, followed by a sweeping left turn in a leave-out seven strides to an oxer.
“That first line—I know him really well, and anything gets going to the left gets his stride exponentially longer! I told [World No. 8 Kent Farrington] that I thought I could get seven [strides to the oxer], and he [wasn’t sure], but by the end, he said, ‘You’re going to have to do seven if you want to win!’
“I knew Brighty could do it…if I can deliver then he can normally definitely win.”
This title in particular was an extra push of motivation. Brighton is owned by Artisan Farms, the sponsors of the class. Foster’s groom, too, had her eyes on the coveted tbird Artisan Farms cooler.
“I had a lot of people who really wanted me to win this class,” Foster admitted.
In third was fellow Canadian team member Nicole Walker with 10-year-old gelding Excellent B and a time of 34.5 seconds.
Tune in on Sunday, June 2nd at 2:00pm for the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Canada live on tbird TV (Canada broadcast) and FEI TV (international broadcast).
Keep up with all of the 2* and 5* action in the Fort Grand Prix Ring at Thunderbird Show Park on HN LIVE!
