She is ranked the best female rider in the world, but Langley’s Tiffany Foster is quick to point out she is actually 17th overall in combined male and female international standings.
Foster is preparing to return to the familiar surroundings of Thunderbird Show Park (tbird) for the May Canadian Premier National and Major League Show Jumping competitions in late May.
”I don’t really feel like there any additional pressure being the highest ranked female,” Foster told the Langley Advance Times.
“It’s a cool thing to accomplish, but our sport is equal strength, male versus female, and there aren’t any awards for being 17th,” she laughed. “It’s definitely not something that envisioned when I was a little girl, but I sent my sights on it later in my career and I’m proud that I have accomplished that goal.”
Foster began taking lessons when she was eight, at the North Shore Equestrian Centre, then moved to tbird in her teens to train with Brent and Laura Balisky, where she ended up working for them, riding, teaching and managing their stables until she was 21.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: A first five star Grand Prix win for Langley champion rider Tiffany Foster at tbird
“I love to compete at Thunderbird, and it’s so great they are hosting a 5* and 4* event,” Foster commented. “They are always improving the facility, and their welcoming spirit is the thing that gives it the charm that it has. Everyone looks forward to riding there.”
This year, she expects her riding partners at tbird will be Northern Light (Nora), Electrique (Ellie), Com Es Ta (Ester), Brighton (Brighty) and Nindino (Goose).
“The first three on the list are all mares,” Foster noted. “They are all very dependable and solid horses, and they are all very competitive.”
Foster and Brighton, a 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Langley’s Artisan Farms, have been competing together for 11 years, and last month the pair won the $97,000 Grand Prix, The Estates at TerraNova, in Florida.
“Brighty is still in great form,” Foster remarked. “He will, of course, retire some day, but he will keep going as long as he feels happy and comfortable.”
Foster plans to enter Goose, who is nine, in the 2* classes to prepare for Spruce Meadows in Calgary.
Foster’s schedule included a couple of events in Europe prior to the shows in Langley, then the Spruce Meadows Summer Series and “hopefully [representing] Canada at the Olympic Games in Paris in August.”
Her method of handling travelling through so many different times zones?
“I try to sleep as much as I can on the plane,” she explained.
READ ALSO: Tiffany Foster plans to make Langley her summer base
Foster said work was continuing on a new stable down the road from tbird that will serve as her base during the summer.
“I am extremely excited about returning to Langley,” Foster commented. “The farm that Wendy Valdes is building is turning out to be a spectacular facility.”
From May 22 to 26, for a third year, tbird hosts MLSJ Canadian Premier, the first leg of the Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) circuit, a five-star event with $1 million in prizes up for grabs, with both individual grand prix and team events. Saturday May 25, the $200,000 CSI5* MLSJ Team Competition runs 5-7 p.m. and the $340,000 CSI5* Grand Prix 1.60m runs on Sunday May 26, 2-4 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://tbird.ca/tickets/