Show jumping competition returns to Thunderbird Show Park this week with the Fort Classic, the first rated show of tbird’s 2020 summer season. Canadian Olympian and perennial fan favourite Tiffany Foster raced to a decisive victory aboard her veteran partner, Brighton, in the $5,000 Maui Jim Welcome 1.45m, while Jenna Lee Gottschlich (CAN) and Aladin de Brimbelles laid claim to the $5,000 U25 1.40m.

The Fort Classic is an Equestrian Canada Gold rated show, featuring $75,000 in prize money. Highlights of the week include Friday’s $5,000 U25 1.40m and $5,000 Maui Jim Welcome 1.45m along with Sunday’s $40,000 ATCO Cup.

Of the 21 combinations to contest Canadian course designer Peter Holmes’ track, only six managed to navigate the first round without fault. Foster and Brighton were the class pathfinders as the first pair in the ring and the first clear effort. The Pan American team gold medalist went on to master the track with two more of her four mounts, but opted to save both Northern Light and Hamilton for Sunday’s $40,000 ATCO Cup.

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