Friday: Foster and Electrique Charge to Victory in Steel-Craft Doors 1.50m
Tiffany Foster (CAN) recorded her second international win of the week Friday at Thunderbird Show Park, besting a four-horse jump-off aboard 5 Roosters’ Electrique in the CSI3* Steel-Craft Doors 1.50m.
Foster is seeing success at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to her string. After winning the CSI3* tbird Speed Thursday with 17-year-old Brighton, her second victory came with 9-year-old Electrique. Foster has been riding Brighton for a decade; she got the ride on Electrique during the winter season in Wellington.
“I think that as a rider, you you feel so much confidence on the horses you know. So I’ve had Brighton for 10 years—can’t know a horse any better than that,” Foster said. “I also have Hamilton, Northern Light and Figor, whom I’ve had all since they were seven or eight…You feel better on those [horses] that you don’t know as well when you have such a strong top string that I have right now.”
Foster and Electrique won the first international class of their partnership at Spruce Meadows last month. They quickly added to that tally at tbird. The pair crossed the timers of Anderson Lima’s (MEX) course in 39.95 seconds. Jaclyn Duff (CAN) and Eblesse finished second (42.46) seconds, while Kara Chad (CAN) and Igor GPH were third (4/40.24).
The class may have been won at the final jump. Foster and Electrique came with plenty of gallop to the last oxer. It appeared as if the distance might be a bit far away, but Electrique cleared the spread with ease.
“We’re definitely giving the last jump to Electrique,” Foster said.
“Fortuitous” is how Foster describes her pairing with the 9-year-old liver chestnut mare, who originally was the mount of Kent Farrington (USA). Farrington, who is also a part of the ownership group of Foster’s five-star mount Hamilton, regularly helps Foster scout horses.
“Kent bought her as a 7-year old, and he rode her into the beginning of her 9-year-old year. She won a bunch of classes with him as well. She’s a super fast, super competitive horse,” Foster said. “He was having sort of an injury actually with his groin…and he just kept sort of re-injuring it every time he tried to ride her.
“It kind of all just came together really at the right time, because Kent obviously helps me find horses, and he was like, ‘I don’t know where to find a better one than this. I have it in my barn,’” she added.
While Foster and Electrique proved to be a good match, fine-tuning their partnership has been a process. Despite being a mare with a bigger-build, Electrique has proven to be quite “sensitive.” Foster experimented with adjustments to her bit and bridle, as well as to her warm-up routine. This summer, things have come together. According to Jumpr App, Electrique is finishing in the top 10 at a 50% clip at 1.50m.
“It took me a little bit of time to kind of figure out all the buttons,” Foster said. “This is the name of this game, right? You’ve got to be patient, [and] you’ve got to just see what works. She doesn’t look like it, but she’s a very, very sensitive horse. And so all these little things affected her, it turns out, and now I feel like, ‘Okay, I’ve got the formula. I’ve got the formula pretty good.’”
CSI3* Steel-Craft Doors 1.50m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Electrique / Tiffany Foster / CAN / 5 Roosters / 0/0 39.95
2. Eblesse / Jaclyn Duff / CAN / Windermere Stables Ltd / 0/0 42.46
3. Igor GPH / Kara Chad / CAN / A.J. Postma / 0/4 40.24
4. Un Diamant des Forets / Jim Ifko / CAN / Eventyre Farms Ltd / 4/42.31
5. Luikan Q / Brian Morton / CAN / Spruce Meadows Ltd / Attache Stables / 1 81.67
Saturday: Chad Tops Charitable Uryadi’s Village Winning Round
Kara Chad (CAN) has had the ride on Easy Boy d’Aubey Z for less than three months. But you wouldn’t have known it watching the pair in the CSI3* Uryadi’s Village Winning Round Saturday at Thunderbird Show Park.
Kara Chad (CAN) and Easy Boy d’Aubey Z. (tbird/Kim Gaudry)
The duo looked like longtime partners as they made light work of the uniquely formatted two-round competition, taking the win with a final time of 38.91 seconds. Katie Kruger (CAN) nearly captured her second win of the week with Goodwill VB, ultimately settling for second (41.39 seconds), while John Perez and Julio de Toxandria Z were third (41.75).
“He’s only nine years old, but he’s super, super talented,” Chad said. “He’s a good jumper [and] loves to be competitive. So, he’s an absolute dream to have.”
The top 10 combinations from the first round returned for the winning round, jumping Anderson Lima’s (MEX) short track in reverse order of standing on a clean slate. Perez made the most of the opportunity, moving up to the podium after returning in 10th place.
Chad, however, needed no such boost with “Eddie”; her clear and quick first round earned her the chance to return last for her second course. She made up the time and pulled away with an efficient rollback to the third fence on course as well as a big gallop to the final three fences, including leaving out a stride to the final vertical.
“He has such a big stride for a little horse. He just jumps everything out of stride, so it’s easy to go fast on him, I guess you could say, and he likes that rhythm a bit more,” Chad explained. “It also helps when you are in these winning rounds to be the last person to go, because you know what you need to do to give the win a go anyway.”
Eddie understood the assignment.
“You’ve got to know your horse,” Chad said, “and I know that as soon as you ask him to open up his stride, you’re like two strides ahead of [where you were!]”
The CSI3* Uryadi’s Village Winning Round featured the Clear the Jump initiative. Every time a horse-and-rider combination cleared the namesake vertical, a donation was made to Uryadi’s Village, a family-style, permaculture-based village for orphaned children in Soddo, Ethiopia. Their mission is to “care for, love, and listen to each and every child, while creating a replicable model for empowerment that encourages local engagement.” Saturday’s event raised more than $34,000. To learn more, visit UryadisVillage.org.
CSI3* Uryadi’s Village Winning Round
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Easy Boy d’Aubey Z / Kara Chad / CAN / Alexandre Zambaux / 0/0 38.91
2. Goodwill VB / Katie Kruger / CAN / Caledonia Stables / 0/0 41.39
3. Julio de Toxandria Z / John Perez / COL / John Perez / 6/0 41.75
4. Carre d’as Lili / Sebastien Devrainne / FRA / Sebastien Devrainne / 4/0 42.27
5. Castros / Meredith Ellis / CAN / Meredith Ellis / 4/0 42.76
Jaydan Stettner (CAN) and Ielinea JTL. (tbird/Kim Gaudry photo)
Stettner Stars in MarBill Hill U25 1.40m
Anderson Lima’s (BRA) course in the MarBill Hill U25 1.40m proved a difficult code to crack Saturday afternoon. The speed test saw just a single clear round from its 19 competitors, with the win going to Jaydan Stettner (CAN) and Ielinea JTL.
The pair finished their round with a clear score card, crossing the timers in 67.24 seconds. Stella Chernoff (CAN) and Connador finished second as the fastest four-faulters (4/65.01). Nyah Chernoff (CAN) finished third with Fair Play d’Esquelmes (4/65.32).
“When I got out [on course] and I was riding, I was was quite surprised at how many decisions you really had to make out there,” Stettner said. “I thought it was a pretty hard course, considering there was really only one turn for anybody to make to be quick. Otherwise, it was a foot race, basically. But [my] mare jumped spectacular.”
Stettner has had Ielinea JTL for two years and credits the mare for helping take her riding to the next level.
“I’ve had a few horses throughout the years, but she’s the one that expects you to be there with her,” she explained. “So it’s been really nice for me to have to think about that when I’m showing, and it pushes me to be better every time I get on her. And [it’s helping me be better] for the young ones I’m bringing up as well.”
A native of Saskatchewan, Stettner’s early focus was in the sport of figure skating—that is, until her parents moved to a farm, and her father expressed an interest in owning horses.
“My mom said, ‘Well, we’re not buying horses just to feed them and look at them. So somebody’s got to ride!’ And that’s basically how I got into it,” she said.
Now, the 22-year-old is looking to graduate from the University of Regina early with a degree in human justice, so she can fully focus on riding. For now, a U25 win is the highlight of her summer vacation.
“Being here is one of my biggest accomplishments right now, really,” Stettner said. “I’d love to eventually get into the bigger level—1.50m, maybe 1.60m one day…[I have] big goals.”
MarBill Hill U25 1.40m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Ielinea JTL / Jaydan Stettner / CAN / Jaydan Stettner / 0 67.24
2. Connador / Stella Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch and Cattle Co / 4 65.01
3. Fair Play d’Esquelmes / Nyah Chernoff / CAN / Stump Lake Ranch and Cattle Co / 4 65.32
4. Onyx / Georgia Knight / CAN / Joelle Froese / 4 65.61
5. Ecolano vs Romano / Georgia Knight / CAN / Georgia Knight / 4 68.24
Sunday: Foster is Best Again in The Keg Grand Prix
As Tiffany Foster exited the Fort Grand Prix Arena sporting a red rosette and a winner’s cooler, a young fan shouted out to her.
“Did you win?” she asked.
Foster shouted back at her, “Yes!”
In fact, Foster ran her FEI winning streak to three Sunday at tbird, besting the CSI3* The Keg Grand Prix aboard Electrique. Foster and the 9-year-old mare won both of the 1.50m classes on offer at the Summer Fort Welcome, and they have won three of their last five international starts. According to Jumpr App, the pair jumps clear at the height 50% of the time.
On this occasion, they outpaced a seven-horse jump-off, crossing the timers of Anderson Lima’s (MEX) short track in 40.56 seconds. Kara Chad (CAN) and Igor GPH finished second (41.31s), with Havana and Kassidy Keith (CAN) third (42.09s).
“I think we’ve landed in that good area where we know what each other is doing…In a relatively short amount of time, I feel like we’ve really gelled,” Foster said. “She’s an amazing horse. She’s such a competitor. I have a tendency every once in a while to sometimes decide to pull in the jump-off, and on her, she’s like, ‘No, I’m going to show you the way. You’ve got to keep going. Let’s go. Come on.’”
Foster and Electrique separated themselves with stride, as the chestnut mare positively ate up the ground on a course filled with long, galloping lines and sweeping turns.
“It’s that great combination of a massive stride, an agile horse and a careful horse,” Foster said. “She’s really competitive, because she turns left, she turns right, she drops strides—she does everything you ask her to do. I honestly couldn’t be happier with her. I just love her.”
Depth certainly defines Foster’s string at the moment. Seventeen-year-old Brighton won earlier in the week in the CSI3* tbird Speed, and 9-year-old Battlecry also jumped double-clear in the CSI3* The Keg Grand Prix. In the coming week at the CSI3* Summer Fort Classic, Battlecry will jump again, and Foster will bring in two additional horses. Another set will compete on the east coast.
“Any time that you have this many amazing horses, you can be a bit strategic in what you do and place them in the right shows and not put them where you don’t think they’re going to succeed,” Foster said. “This year, I’m just getting to know some of [my horses]. I’ve got five that are nine [years old] and under. So, it made really good sense, to do these two weeks here at Thunderbird. This is an incredible place to develop a horse, and this is a really good level of jumping.
“Hopefully I am picking the right things, but I think, so far, so good,” she added. “I hope that next year I’ll be able to go to all the shows all over the world.”
CSI3* The Keg Grand Prix 1.50m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Electrique / Tiffany Foster / CAN / 5 Roosters / 0/0 40.56
2. Igor GPH / Kara Chad / CAN / A.J. Postma / 0/0 41.31
3. Havana / Kassidy Keith / CAN / Kassidy Keith / 0/0 42.09
4. Flinton M / Kendall Bourgeois / USA / Cameron Brown / 0/0 43.41
5. Battlecry / Tiffany Foster / CAN / Artisan Farms LLC / 0/044.09
Complete results here.
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