91原创's Tiffany Foster arrived back home on Wednesday, Aug. 7, from the Paris Olympics where she represented Canada with Figor. 

Less than 48 hours later, she jumped to victory with Northern Light in the CSI3* Heavy Metal Equipment 1.50m qualifier at Thunderbird Show Park. 

鈥淚鈥檓 a little jet lagged,鈥� confessed Foster. 鈥淚 asked Chris [Pack], why do all these classes have to be at night?鈥�

While most Olympic athletes are taking a beat to recuperate from the intense demands of qualifying for and then competing in the Paris Games, Foster鈥檚 homecoming plan was always an immediate return to the ring at tbird.

鈥淭hunderbird means a lot to me. My good friend and client, Wendy Valdes, [and I] are building a farm here and really trying to relocate here. Thunderbird is a huge part of why that鈥檚 possible, so I鈥檝e kind of pledged to be here for any international show that they do 鈥� even if it means landing off the plane and coming straight here.鈥�

As of Friday evening, Aug. 9, the three-time Canadian Olympian has made her trip worthwhile. Riding Northern Light and Electrique, Foster bookended with first and third place in the Grand Prix qualifier. 

United States' Kyle King and SIG Chirai took second.

鈥淓lectrique is a super fast horse. I didn鈥檛 go full throttle knowing that she has the Grand Prix coming up on Sunday, [Aug.11], but Kyle shaved like two seconds off [my time], which I didn鈥檛 totally appreciate,鈥� smiled Foster.

She had a second shot with Northern Light and despite not having ridden the mare in two months 鈥� stable rider Megan Southam kept 鈥淣ora鈥� fit while Foster was competing at Spruce Meadows and in Paris this summer 鈥� the pair wasted no time finding their rhythm to reclaim the lead in a time of 40.7.

鈥淭he cool thing about Nora is she鈥檚 experienced. She鈥檚 13 years old. I鈥檝e had her for five years now, so we know each other really well, and I know that you can come on a really blind angle with her. So I was pretty sharp [to fence] two, sharp into the double. I made a good turn to the green [oxer]鈥� and then I could take a pretty good shot to the last.鈥�

In 2023, Northern Light helped Foster capture her first five-star Grand Prix win, a milestone victory achieved at tbird.

She鈥檚 shown the mare lightly this season and dropped her down a division with the intention that the mare will fill the shoes of recently retired speed specialist Brighton.

鈥淪he鈥檚 been an incredible horse for me. She鈥檚 jumped a lot of clear rounds and five star Grand Prix. She kind of tells me sometimes that she would rather jump a little smaller,鈥� said Foster.

She added that they have some younger horses moving up, so Nora will be in the 1.50m role more often since it's easy for her. 

Foster will aim to make it a double winning weekend in today's CSI3* Steel-Craft Doors 1.50m Grand Prix, which starts at 2 p.m.