Tiffany Foster and Brighton Clinch $73,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI5* Victory at WEF

Wellington, Fla. – Feb. 9, 2020 – Show jumping action continued Sunday at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the International Arena with the $73,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI5*, which offered contenders another chance at prize money on the final day of weekly competition. A total of 52 horse-and-rider combinations took center stage aiming to conquer the first-round track, with seven partnerships earning a slot over the short course. In the end, Tiffany Foster (CAN) posed the greatest odds of winning as the only athlete with two horses eligible for the short course, and succeeded with Brighton as they soared through the course fault-free for the second time as the swiftest duo to claim the lead spot in the victory gallop.

Course designer Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) created a track fit for the occasion that consisted of 16 jumping efforts and a 76-second time-allowed. Serving as the trailblazers with a clear round right off the bat, Alexandra Thornton (GBR) and Charielle logged the first fault-free trip and then waited for 13 rounds for another challenger to force a jump-off, which ultimately was achieved by Foster with Brighton thanks to a successful trip that left all the fences intact. Quick to add his name to the list, Bertram Allen (IRL), who has had an impeccable WEF debut in 2020 with a series of wins under his belt already, joined the returning roster aboard Lafayette Van Overis, and fellow Irishman Shane Sweetnam was the final athlete to qualify for the jump-off by the halfway break riding Deleyn. Following a long draught of clear rides, Bliss Heers (USA) and Christos added a fifth partnership to the list, and Foster subsequently qualified another horse, Galino, to increase her odds of winning. Second-to-last to ride, Lucas Porter (USA) and Hope Street were the final successful challengers to bring the total number of returners to seven.

Trimmed to eight fences, D’Ambrosio’s abridged tie-breaker pattern offered horse-and-rider pairs an efficient track consisting of a series of rollback turns and space to gallop that provided opportunities to cut time. Once again finding the successful path first, Thornton and Charielle navigated the short course in a swift 36.77 seconds to set the pace, but were handily overthrown by Foster and her first mount, Brighton, and their expedient maneuvering of the track in 34.59 seconds, more than two full seconds quicker. As the second phase progressed, the Irish contenders turned in valiant performances in attempts to overthrow the leaders, but both were less than one second slow on the clock. Similarly, Porter and Hope Street sliced across the course with quick footspeed, but tripped the timers in 35.13 seconds as the final duo to secure the win for Foster and Artisan Farms, LLC’s Brighton. Finishing on a time of 34.90 seconds, Allen and Ballywalter Stables’ Lafayette Van Overis earned the reserve honors, while Porter and SPR Fund One’s Hope Street nabbed third place thanks to a clear time of 35.13 seconds.

*Bertram Allen and Lafayette Van Overis*

Foster, who is a Canadian Olympian, and Brighton are no strangers to the winner’s circle together, having achieved success as the victors in the €93.300 1.60m Grand Prix of Samorin CSI4* and the Sun Life Financial ‘Reach for the Sun’ 1.50m at Spruce Meadows, among other standout results throughout their long 7-year tenure. Sunday’s victory is the second for Foster in the CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic series. At the conclusion of WEF Week Three, she topped the $37,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI3* with Northern Light, owned by Artisan Farms, LLC and Foster, ahead of a field of 66 exhibitors. The Week Three class was only the second contest at the 1.50m height for Northern Light, while Galino, Foster’s other mount Sunday, impressed with a spot in the jump-off during his 1.50m debut.

The CaptiveOne Series will conclude during Week Eleven, during which the $137,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic Final CSI4* will take place under the lights Saturday night in the International Ring. Though Sunday is the final day of WEF Week Five, Week Six will bring a new crop of riders to the International Ring for the Saturday Night Lights feature, when hunter riders take over for the $100,000 USHJA/WCHR Peter Wetherill Hunter Spectacular.

FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE

Tiffany Foster – $73,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI5* winner

On her thoughts on the class:
“I went pretty early on my first horse [Brighton] and he is a real veteran. I’ve had him since he was 7 years old and he is 14 now, so we know each other really, really well. He is a naturally super fast horse, and generally speaking I don’t really worry about the time-allowed but I’m actually happy I went early because it became a bit of a factor later on. He is fast on his own so that always helps, and it is easier once you’ve gone around once to go around with the second horse. I was thrilled with my second horse [Galino] because this is the first 1.50m he has ever jumped. My baby is growing up!”

On the first course:
“The trickiest part of the course was you jump the line of the triple to the six strides, and then you kind of rollback off a short turn away from the gate to a very long three strides. You had to really ride those three strides – I don’t think there was anyone that got there pulling. You continued along to the big triple bar and then the four strides to the skinny were very short. I think it was a really great line and a technical line that tested the horse’s rideability. Luckily, I had two horses that came back really well, so the kicking part was easy and they both came back well for the skinny. I think for a lot of people that was the trickiest part.”

On her string of horses:
“All of these horses are owned by Artisan Farms, and they are just the most incredible supporters and sponsors. They really let you develop the horses at their own speed, so when you do that you end up getting to know them so well and you are happy to take those risks because you know they are ready. That’s a testament to the owners and their patience. We have been slowly developing the horses, but now they are all coming into their own. The younger one today, Galino, is 9 years old and the one that won a couple of weeks ago [Northern Light] is also 9 years old.”

On the CaptiveOne series:
“I think it’s great to have a series thanks to CaptiveOne that we can follow along. It is a wonderful class and I’m really thankful to the sponsors for putting up the money because it absolutely makes it worth jumping. It’s nice to have a good jump-off class that is not only speed, so it is great that they are supporting us like that.”

RESULTS