Canada sent three riders to the Olympic Games in Paris this summer 鈥� and all three have left their mark at Thunderbird Show Park (tbird) in recent years.
Most prominently, 91原创 rider Tiffany Foster participated in her third Olympiad, after riding for Canada in Rio in 2016 and London in 2012.
Foster was a last-minute athlete replacement by Team Canada for her fellow rider, Amy Millar. Foster rode on a horse called Figor, but unfortunately did not make it to the final.
"The venue and competition were incredible and truly showcased our sport in all of its glory," Foster told the 91原创 Advance Times.
She indicated she is not done with dreams of Olympic riding.
"It was inspirational and motivating to continue to work hard to be ready for the next Games in L.A. in 2028," Foster said. "I have a couple exciting horses for the future that I will aim for the World Championships in 2026 and then the Olympics in L.A."
A rider at tbird since she was in her teens, Foster has trained and competed at the 91原创 venue for years, and she'll be back again soon.
Foster flew back from Paris and was set to compete at tbird for two weeks starting in the first week of August. After that, she was headed to the Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary in the first week of September, then back to tbird for their competition in the third week of September.
Also jumping for Canada were Mario Deslauriers and Erynn Ballard.
This was Ballard's first Olympics, but she's carried the Canadian flag at events such as the 2022 FEI World Jumping Championships, the 2023 FEI Longines Jumping World Cup, and the 2019 Pan American Games.
And of course, she's competed many times at tbird, notably winning the MLSJ Grand Prix there earlier this year, taking the gold with a pair of fault-free runs.
Of the Olympic trio, Deslauriers is the Olympic veteran, a competitor who first represented Canada at the Games in 1984 in Los Angeles.
A Quebecois rider who has competed across Canada, Delauriers has taken part in equestrian jumping events at the Seoul, Tokyo, and Paris Olympic Games, as well as at PanAm competitions. And like Ballard and Foster, he was competing at tbird earlier this year.
Both Foster and Ballard won their first Grand Prix 5* titles at tbird, with Foster winning in 2023 and Ballard in 2024.
Tbird is one of only four venues in Canada that host show jumping events at that level.
