America’s Equestrian of the Year Shares Heartfelt Tribute to His ‘Children’ Following Prestigious Win

In a sport where nail-biting moments always keep the spectators at the edge of their seats, there’s ample space for warmth too. Since its inception, the equestrian realm has offered glimpses of several human-equine pairs bond beyond competition. And recently, a name that made headlines in the US has proven himself to be a person who is not defined by his competitive spirit only.

The champion hunter-rider known to have woven magic with his strides for over two decades now has had a prolific 2023. But his achievements culminated with the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year title. Having attained the most prestigious title, he opened up on doting on his ‘children’ in a recent interview.

Equestrian John French exemplifies adulation for his stallions atop a podium’

The official Instagram page of the US Equestrian posted a post-award ceremony clip featuring the champion rider. Invited on stage to share his views on receiving the honor, he chose to give credit to his gorgeous equines instead. The caption reads, “…winning three of the country’s biggest hunter competitions. And he gave the three horses that got him there all of the love”. In the video, John French said, “To me, it’s like having…since I started these horses…it’s like having children. And they made it to Princeton”. These horses sure are the Ivy Leagues of his heart.

Further on, he elaborated on each of his child-like equines, starting with Paradigm. He said, “he’s pretty cool”. About Milagro, he said, “He’ll try anything…He’ll jump from any angle”. Moving on, Babylon also received a shout-out when French said, “.. really special to me. He was a little bit like me as a kid. He’s always getting in trouble…. He takes everything off the other horse”. From his speech, we pictured Babylon as more self-willed than the others. But his performance with rider/parent John French deserves accolades.

Babylon’s mischievous self has a powerful performer hidden within

If someone enters John French’s barn, the only pair of eyes no one can walk past are of Babylon’s. If he senses anyone in the aisle, he’ll surely stick his neck out of the stall. While his impishness is something that keeps everyone on their toes, his career achievements also demand trumpets.

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After winning his first WCHR Professional Challenge at Capital Challenge (Maryland) in 2021, he secured the win in 2022 as well. He also won the National Horse Show (Kentucky)’s grand championships in 2022. The Chronicle’s 2022 Overall and Show Hunter Horse of the Year secured the silver at the $100,000 WCHR Central Hunter Spectacular (Michigan). But some of his wins include the Capital Challenge, Washington International Horse Show (Maryland), the Winter Equestrian Festival (Florida), and the Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships—East (Michigan), WEC-Ocala (Florida). French fans hope that he continues to bring his heartwarming stories to the front again and again.

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