John French Still Running the House with $50K International Hunter Derby Win at HITS

Thermal, CA  – The second week of the 2016 National Sunshine Series included a combination of spectacular events, great weather and three FEI CSI-4* classes along with a $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. Riders, trainers and owners, along with their family and friends, settled at HITS Desert Horse Park to enjoy the experience.

Saturday’s Derby course, designed by Rian Beals of Saugerties, New York, was bright, beautiful and nothing short of supreme-caliber competition standard. The riders were also thrilled to show beneath the lights of the newly updated Grand Prix Ring.

“I really enjoy building the courses for the hunter derbies,” said Beals. “We can get creative with the natural elements used in the fences to create a very interesting challenge for the horses and riders.”

A crowd gathered at an exhibitor party during the derby to watch riders and horses go head-to-head for the prestigious title. John French would be the rider to take home the victory in Saturday’s Hunter Derby with Center Court, owned by Hiller Farms, LLC.

“It was nice showing in the Grand Prix ring, and all of the horses all seemed to jump well,” said French. “The course was nice and allowed for some areas with tighter turns that you could try—that’s good when there is a variation of what you can and can’t do in the course; the jumps were very nice as well.”

French and Center Court took the blue with an overall total score of 374, nearly twenty points above the competition.

“My plan was to play it a little safe— I wanted to be handy but also prudent,” said French. “[Center Court] was super smooth, and although we didn’t take all of the height options, it worked out well getting a high score from the judges. It’s also really nice to have this kind of prize money for the hunters on the west coast.”

Second place went to Hope Glynn riding Lake of Stars, owned by Sabrina Hellman. Third place was Sami Milo and Lulavani, owned by Cavallo Stables, LLC.