After the retirement of Tiffany Foster's longtime partner Brighton, it was time to find a successor that could follow his hoof steps.
But Foster already had Northern Light in mind, a 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare who has proven herself time and time again 鈥� most recently in her victory in the CSI three-star Heavy Metal Equipment 1.50m at the Summer Fort Welcome last month at Thunderbird Show Park.
"We have some of these younger horses moving up, so we've kind of made a decision with her owners (Andy and Carlene Ziegler) to slot her a little bit more in this 1.50m role, just because it's very easy for her," Foster explained.
"And with Brighton retiring, when you bring Nora into a class like this you're bringing a gun to a knife fight."
Implying that Northern Light is the next Brighton is high praise for the mare. However, Brighton didn't win a five-star grand prix. Northern Light gave Foster her first win at that level when they topped the CSI five-star MLSJ Grand Prix at tbird last year.
"She's been an incredibly horse for me," Foster complimented.
"She's jumped a lot fo clear rounds and five-star grand prix, but she kind of tells me sometimes that she would rather jump a little smaller."
According to Jumpr App, Northern Light's best rounds have been achieved at 1.45m and 1.50m, just like Brighton.
"The cool thing with Nora is she's experienced. She's 13 years old, I've had her for five years now so we know each other really well, and I know tha tyou can come on a really blind angle with her," Foster said.
Expect to see Northern Light at future tbird and international show jumps as she finds a more permanent place in ranking classes.
"She knows. She's so smart. She's very intuitive."
Tbird's next big show jumping events take place during the starting Sept. 10.
