French and Babylon Repeat WCHR Professional Challenge Victory
John French and Babylon. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography
John French rode Marnell Sport Horses’s Babylon to victory for the second year in a row in the $25,000 World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Professional Challenge, sponsored by The Gochman Family, at the 2022 Capital Challenge Horse Show. The class was the highlight of the schedule on Wednesday, October 5, at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Riders qualified for the $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge by finishing in the top four in professional hunter classes at the show or ranking in the top 10 nationally. The class consisted of a first round for all 26 competitors and a second round for the top 12 horse-and-rider combinations.
French and Babylon, a seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Crumbie, led from the start with an average of 92.33 from the three judges’ positions. They returned to better that position and win by more than nine points when they received scores of 95, 95, and 94 in round two for an average of 94.66 and a total of 186.99.
John French was joined in his winning presentation of the $25,000 World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) Professional Challenge, sponsored by The Gochman Family, by David Gochman, Becky Gochman, Gary Duffy, and Jennifer Hinman. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography
“We had a pretty good lead, so I didn’t want to take any daring risk and run or hand gallop really fast to the last jump,” French related of his second-round ride. “I sort of played it safe. I just counted on him jumping the way he did, and I think the judges rewarded him for how smooth and well he jumped.”
Circumstances have changed for both French and Babylon since their victory in 2021; French had hip surgery following a severely broken femur in May, and Babylon has been competing in the junior hunters with owner Ariana Marnell. French did not show Babylon in the professional hunters this week, choosing to just compete in the WCHR Professional Challenge since the horse will show in the junior hunters later this week.
“Ariana is a very good rider. It was good for me to see somebody else ride him,” said French, who has been riding Babylon since the horse was four years old. “It made me realize that he’s all grown up now, and I don’t have to worry about any of the things that happened in the beginning, a little bit of his greenness. He’s just a confident, seasoned contender now.”
A native of Maryland and now a resident of Wellington, Florida, French enjoys coming back to Capital Challenge Horse Show every year. He noted, “There’s so many special classes for hunters here, and it really showcases the hunters.”
Source: Capital Challenge Horse Show