McLain Ward accepted the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s International Equestrian of the Year title and the International Horse of the Year title for stellar jumper HH Azur this weekend during the organization’s annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., while John French took the National Equestrian title and the trophy for Paradigm, the hunter who took National Horse of the Year.
The awards were voted on by USEF membership. Although standouts from a wide range of breeds and disciplines were nominated for the honors, the winners were not surprising, considering not only their accomplishments, but also the fact that hunter/jumper members are the biggest component of the federation.
McLain, who also was International Equestrian of the Year in 2017, rode 11 horses at the international level during 2023.
At the beginning of the season, he won the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva and the Rolex Grand Prix of ‘s-Hertogenbosch at the Dutch Masters with HH Azur, better known as Annie. She is owned by McLain and DoubleH Farm. They were only the second combination ever to win two consecutive legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping since its inception in 2013.
McLain Ward and HH Azur. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
Annie, McLain’s ride for victory in the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup finals, retired after Aachen, but Ward kept going. He helped the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team to a win in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup in San Juan Capistrano aboard Contagious and secured another victory in the Grand Prix aboard Kasper van het Hellehof. He rode Callas to a top result for the team in the Mercedes-Benz Jumping Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, followed by another strong performance for the pair at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona.
He rode Contagious in the Pan American Games,helping the team secure the USA’s qualification for the Paris Olympics with a team gold, and earned individual bronze as well.
“We are very honored to receive this award because it is chosen by our US Equestrian community. It is a reflection of our team’s hard work, and how that work is having a positive impact,” said Mclain in his acceptance.
“You might ask why I started this speech with the word `we’ instead of `I’. The reality is that [it is] because of the individuals and professionals around me, both past and present, that any of our accomplishments have been possible. The people around me have been some of the most brilliant and knowledgeable minds who have not only been the reason for that success in the sport, but have also, more importantly, made sure our horses have had a wonderful quality of life because of the care they receive.”
He gave special acknowledgement to his associate of more than 35 years, Lee McKeever.
“My first thought was that I was not truly the horseman behind our success,” said McLain.
“My job in this operation has always been to ride, train, and compete, but Lee is the true horseman,” McLain contended.
“I believe that true geniuses don’t often realize they are a genius, and that is true for Lee. He wakes up every morning thinking about the horses, and he spends his days figuring out what they need to be the best in the sport and, much more importantly, in their lives.”
John French added the National Horse and Horseman trophies to a resume that already included a long list of achievements, among them the 2012 WCHR Lifetime Achievement Award and a place in the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame.
In 2023, John won three major events on three different horses, all of whose hunter careers he started himself. He added to his list of career successes by topping a field of 83 competitors to win the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium with Meredith Lipke’s Paradigm.
John French and Paradigm.
He also won the $100,000 WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular on Kent Farrington LLC’s Milagro and the $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge on Marnell Sport Horses’s Babylon — his third consecutive WCHR Pro Challenge win. He also received the inaugural Jeff Wirthman Memorial Trophy as the Winter Equestrian Festival’s Leading Hunter Trainer by money won in 2023.
“I would like to really thank Kent Farrington,” John told his audience, “because four years ago, I pretty much thought I was going to wind down. I don’t think I would have had the success without the team that I have. I couldn’t do this on my own and I don’t see myself doing it on my own. These last few years with having a team and having someone like Kent; hopefully, now maybe I can go on for several more years. I really hope so.”