Tiffany Foster (CAN) saved her best for last. In the final grand prix event of the 2021 season at Thunderbird Show Park, Foster brought out her most accomplished horse and rode to her best result at the venue this year.
Riding longtime mount Brighton, Foster posted a dominant victory in the $100,000 CSI2* Onni Group Grand Prix, crossing the timers' of Anderson Lima's (MEX) course a full second-and-a-half fastest (36.37 seconds). Lauren Crooks (USA) and Louisiana van de Moortelshoeve finished second to earn their third podium placing of the week (37.8). Foster's student Alicia Gadban-Lewis (CAN) and Beneficial took third (39.32).
"He'd go faster than that if I let him," Foster said. "I just can't express how much love I have for him. [Brighton's owners] the Ziegler family [of Artisan Farms] never wanted to push him more than what he was good at. I think that we've really managed him well, and I think the results show that."
As his nickname indicates, "Brighty" has been a star in Foster's stable, and even at 15, the KWPN gelding is still winning with consistency. They bay came in to the BCHJA Fall Finale off a brief rest, after capturing three international wins, including the CSIO5* RBC Capital Markets Cup, just last month at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. In fact, this pair has won six FEI events since July.
"I try to protect him now and just really aim for the classes that matter," Foster said. "So, I gave him last week off and let him rest and then aimed him for this week. And yet again, he delivered."
Foster has been partnered with Brighton for the better part of the last eight years. When she learned that friends of hers, the De Cotiis family of the Onni Group, were sponsoring the grand prix at Thunderbird, it gave her extra incentive to bring out her heavy hitter for the class. She and her veteran partner bested a six-horse jump-off.
"That's his third grand prix in a row that he's won. He's just an unbelievable horse," Foster said. "I don't think I'll ever ride a horse like him again."
source: Press Release
