Canadian National Team Member Tiffany Foster defended her championship title in the Imperial Winning Round 1.50m competition at the Spruce Meadows ‘North American’ Tournament. Riding the same mount that won her the Imperial title in 2016, the 11 year-old gelding by Contendro II, Brighton, once again captured victory in the Winning Round competition.
Still on high from last night’s win in the Pepsi Challenge, Foster kept the momentum going for an all or nothing ride around the shortened track. Foster commented, “I know this horse so well and after walking the course, I knew the first round would be pretty tricky for him. Normally, in this type of competition, the plan is to go fast to seal your order in the winning round – but I knew my horse well enough that I just need to go clear and get him into the jump off.” She continued, “I knew the jump off really suited him so after taking it easy in the first round it was obvious I would go in the near the start of the order – which ended up being my main advantage because I had a great plan. If I had the opportunity to see anyone else go I know I would have tried to modify the plan; which, in the end, would have been my downfall.” Tiffany crossed the finish line with a time of which put her and the gorgeous bay gelding ahead of the pack to seal the win by nearly a second.
The second place finisher was American great McLain Ward taking his superfast mount, the 15 year-old Zangersheide gelding, HH Carlos Z into the winning round with the advantage of the anchor position. Out of the 30 competitors to walk through the clock tower, 11 would perform clear rounds to seal their positions in the second round. Ward piloted HH Carlos to the silver medal position, arriving through the finishing timers 0.74 seconds behind the amazingly talented Brighton.
Another American veteran to finish on the podium was the great Leslie Howard aboard the mare she holds in high regard, Donna Speciale, a 9 year-old Dutch Warmblood by Cavalier. Howard also rode her athletic mare to a double clear score with a time of 41.93 seconds, 1.29 seconds behind Ward.
Join us tomorrow for what is undoubtedly going to be a spectacular Sunday at Spruce Meadows. Where family fun, unique shopping, international fare and the Sun Life Financial Derby are all sure to keep you coming back every year for more!
Full results here.
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