August 10, 2023 
When it comes to consistent contenders, few combinations can match Tiffany Foster (CAN) and her partner of ten years, Brighton.
Since making their international debut in 2015, the pair has made a business of winning, climbing 52 podiums and collecting 27 victories and over €725,000 in prize money.
They’ve won all over the world–from Vancouver to Versailles, Windsor to Wellington, La Coruna to Calgary and more than a dozen non-alliterative cities in between.
And they’ve done it with remarkable consistency.
At the bay gelding’s bread and butter height of 1.50m, Brighton has a 65% career clear round average, finishing in the top 10 in 60% of his international appearances, according to Jumpr App. His “worst” year—2018, when he earned a 53% top 10 finish average over 15 rounds—is on par with many international horses’ best years.
And his best years span the course of his entire career. Brighton jumped clear in 71% of 17 rounds in 2017, 100% of 2 rounds during the 2020 pandemic, and 86% of 7 rounds in 2021.
Foster’s faithful contender is now 17, but he’s still winning.
On Wednesday at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC, the veteran pair added the CSI3* tbird Speed 1.45m to their resume.
Nineteen combinations came forward to contest the Peter Holmes designed course. Sixth in the ring, the Canadian Olympian and longstanding partner set the standard early as the first pair to complete the winding speed track fault-free and under 61 seconds–as it turned out, they were the only pair to manage the feat.
Ireland’s Robert Blanchette and Chardonnay took second in 61.13s with zero faults. Colombia’s John Perez and Desperdao DN finished third in a distant 67.61s.
“This horse is so fast, I save a half-second over every jump just because I know that his footspeed is really fast, and he’s a super efficient jumper,” Foster said. “The jump itself is really fast. I think it’s probably one of the fastest horses in the air that I’ve ever seen—definitely that I’ve ever ridden.”
As Brighton approaches the end of his career, Foster has used him more sparingly in her string. They’ve only jumped six international classes in 2023 and none above 1.50m. Yet, he’s still maintaining an 83% clear round and top 10 finish averages (Jumpr App).
“I try really hard with him, especially in the last few years, [to] aim him for classes that I think he can be competitive in, that are going to be easy for him,” Foster said.
“He’s such a competitive horse, so you’d like to enter him in every single class, because you always know that you have a chance to win. But I try to pick things that I think are going to be easy for him, and I think that’s kept his heart in the game as long as it has.”
