Featured
Professional
John French
J
ohn French is a quiet guy, and very
focused. He has a plan and each
day at the horse shows, he sticks to
the plan, right to the plan. He goes
from ring to ring riding some of the
best horses in the country and on
occasion, riding some that are not.
“My biggest problem is saying no. I
love the people but especially love
the horses and when one is offered
to me I have a hard time turning it
down although I do that a lot. I ride
an average of forty rounds a day
but on occasion I have ridden sixty-
five. My ideal is twenty-five to thirty,
that’s where I am the best,” he says
as a show day draws to an end.
He has finally taken a few minutes
to sit ringside and watch the other
professionals ride their good
Here comes the French
hunters. Then he stands up, takes a
deep breath, picks up the reins of a
nice hunter and prepares to jog into
the line, most often in the front. He
is consistent, patient and unfailingly
kind to the horses every time he sits
in the saddle and they reward him
with good trip after good trip.
His first good horses, in his opinion,
were actually two, Delevan, owned by
Sarah Secor and Chesapeake owned
by Pat Warren. “I had just become
ShowBiz Feature
22
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