Five Questions for John French

by Erin Gilmore | Sidelines Magazine, October 2009

John French was effectively crowned king of all that is hunters at the inaugural USHJA ASG/Software Solutions International Hunter Derby at the Kentucky Horse Park in August. With the incredible 12-year-old grey gelding Rumba (owned by Tom and Stacey Siebel’s Mountain Home Farm) John led the finals from beginning to end, wowing the crowd with his smoothness, accuracy and style over a course that was dubbed “the grand prix of hunters.”
The talented trainer and resident of Redwood City, CA is also a World Cup Finalist in show jumping, which might have helped him while clinching this highest of honors in the hunter world. Not one to stop at equine accomplishments, John is also a very talented singer, as he proved at the Menlo Charity Horse Show this year, where he sang the national anthem before a crowd of over 300.   

Sidelines: Do you remember your first experience with horses?
JF: My mother taught riding, and at an early age she used to strap me on a pony. She’d pony me on a horse and take me cross country. I remember the lead line, the pony I rode and things like that.

Sidelines: What made you choose riding as a career, instead of another career, say, as a vocalist?
JF: I always wanted to be a professional as a kid. I idolized riders like Bernie Traurig and Rodney Jenkins growing up. My parents wouldn’t have been able to have the very his, top level horses I wanted to ride. I wanted to be a pro because I knew I would need to make my own way to the owners and clients that would have horses of that caliber.

Sidelines: If you could have the ride on any hunter, past or present, who would you choose?
JF: Besides my horse? (laughs) Well definitely Rumba if he counts! I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a special relationship with any other horse as I’ve had with Rumba. He is just amazing, and I’ve won so much with him, there’s just no other horse that comes to mind that could possibly compare.

Sidelines: You've talked before about the feel of Rumba's jump. Can you put into words just what that feel is like?
JF: Rumba already has such a great rhythm and natural canter. There is a softness about his jump yet he jumps over everything with incredible scope. The last couple strides to the jump I don’t want to touch his mouth much, so I float the reins a little and let him lower his neck so he can reach down and push off. There’s not much I have to do except not interfere. He’s not a hard one, and there aren’t too many tricks about him.

Sidelines: What is the best thing that the Derby Finals did for hunters?
JF: I think it just restored an interest in the hunters. People really enjoyed watching it. This was something that particular people remembered as being like the hunters they used to watch, when it was in an open field and the jumps were big and interesting. So many people came to me and said this was something they had missed in the hunters, and it was so great to see it again.

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