Friday, Feb. 7, 2025

The Chronicle’s Overall And Hunter Horse Of The Year: Babylon

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Ask Babylon’s connections about their favorite moment during his year dominating the small junior hunters with Paige Walkenbach, and they’ll pause. Maybe it’s the two scores of 95 he earned at Capital Challenge (Maryland) late in the year—their highest scores all season. Or maybe it was at Devon (Pennsylvania), where Babylon won the 16-17 division and small junior grand championships, while Walkenbach’s large junior hunter, San Pedro 15, also won his division. 

But for Babylon’s trainer John French, it was the final competition of the year, the National Horse Show (Kentucky). During Babylon’s four years in the 3’6″ ring—first under French’s saddle, then owner Ariana Marnell’s and finally, in 2024, Walkenbach’s—he’s become the horse half the show grounds will trot to the main ring to watch, which leads to immense pressure on all his connections. At the National, that pressure faded as Walkenbach and the flashy chestnut truly melded, winning not only the division and grand junior hunter championships, but the overall grand champion as the top hunter out of all the divisions at the show. 

“It was one of the first times I wasn’t even nervous helping her. I just felt that a lot of that had gone away,” said French of Walkenbach. “She really knew him now and had done indoor shows with him. There was a new level of confidence with her and him. I didn’t feel the pressure. I felt that he was going to do whatever he was asked. And it was a great show and a great way to end the year.” 

In learning to ride Babylon, Paige Walkenbach had to get used to his deceptively big stride and adapt her style to his preferences. Kimberly Loushin Photo

The Making Of A Partnership

Walkenbach’s longtime trainer Jim Hagman dreamed of matching his student up with Babylon for years before it happened. He saw French riding the horse on a video before he saw them in person, but the next time they were at the same show Hagman put a bug in his ear about his special student, who he thought would be a great match for the horse. 

“I said, ‘John, if it ever was a possibility, I have a student—you don’t know who she is yet—and I think that she has the things you can really respect and appreciate, feel and attitude and work ethic and all of that, and maybe would be ready for him. I said, I know he may never be available, because the Marnells—it’s their masterpiece; it’s their museum—but he’s a young horse, and maybe we can collaborate,’ ” said Hagman. 

(Wonder where Babylon came from? Click here to read “Babylon: The Making Of A Superstar” and see some cute foal pictures.)

As Marnell amassed mountains of accolades with Babylon during 2022 and 2023—including being named the Chronicle’s 2022 Overall and Hunter Horse of the Year— Hagman kept reminding French about Walkenbach. French took notice of Walkenbach’s riding at Devon in 2023, when she rode San Pedro 15 to the large junior hunter, 15 and under, championship. During indoors of that year, Marnell decided to turn her focus to the jumpers, and Babylon’s future officially became uncertain. There were offers to buy the gelding, but Marnell and her mother, Lyndy Marnell, wanted to keep Babylon in the family and in French’s program at KPF in Wellington, Florida. During the Washington International (Maryland), French pulled Hagman aside and said after talking to the Marnells they thought that Walkenbach should try the horse. But Hagman hadn’t even discussed it with his student or her family. 

“After that I had a private conversation with [Walkenbach’s mother, Pam Walkenbach], and she looked at me and said, ‘What?’ She was so excited,” Hagman recalled. 

After all, Babylon wasn’t exactly unknown to Paige and Pam. One of the first times they saw him was when they’d gone east from their home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, in 2022 to try horses. 

“We saw Babylon come in the ring, and my mom’s like, ‘How can we get one like that?’ ” said Paige. 

The day after Babylon won the grand junior hunter championship at Washington, Paige tried him in a covered ring at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center. Ariana and Lyndy watched from their car so as not to put undue pressure on Paige, then complimented Paige later on her riding. That supportive dynamic would come to epitomize their relationship. 

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“Ariana has been incredible,” said Hagman. “She’s her biggest fan, and she’s always there with her horse. It warms my heart to see how supportive Ariana is for her.” 

For the last seven years Hagman has coached Paige at shows primarily on the West Coast, as his Elvenstar is based in Moorpark, California, but starting in 2023 she went to the Winter Equestrian Festival (Florida) for a month and spent some time on the East Coast after Devon. For 2024 and 2025, her last two junior years, Paige planned to show primarily back East despite her West Coast connections, and pairing up with Babylon solidified that decision. 

“If you’re a top figure skater, you’ve got to go where the biggest competition is,” said Hagman, who has been alongside Paige at every horse show. “It’s the same with horses. [In California] we have high quality, but we don’t have a lot of depth like on the East Coast. So for her last two years, we said, ‘Let’s do this,’ and it fit right in with Babylon.” 

“If you’re a top figure skater, you’ve got to go where the biggest competition is. It’s the same with horses. …. [A]nd it fit right in with Babylon.”

Jim Hagman, trainer

That’s required tremendous commitment on the part of Paige and her family. During the winter circuit Paige goes to her brick-and-mortar school Monday through Thursday morning, occasionally going to ride with Sherry Templin after school to keep her legs strong. Then she and Pam catch a plane from Arizona to Florida to arrive late Thursday night. Paige shows Friday to Sunday, squeezing in schoolwork between classes and lessons, then flies home Sunday afternoon. 

Paige made use of those three riding days each week during the Wellington series, piloting Babylon to the small junior hunter, 16-17, circuit award—with San Pedro 15 winning a circuit award in his division too—which kicked off a memorable season that would culminate in being named USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year. 

Rising To The Challenge

At Paige and Babylon’s first show at WEF, they won three of their four classes. But that’s not to say that Babylon’s a push-button ride. 

“I remember in our first lesson, he was so lazy I was like, ‘Oh boy,’ ” recalled Paige. 

In learning to ride Babylon, Paige, 17, had to get used to his deceptively big stride and adapt her style to his preferences. While San Pedro 15 and some of her other horses prefer a deeper seat, that didn’t work as well for Babylon. 

“At first Paige, I think from doing a lot of the eq, it was a lot of, ‘Sit down, sit up, sit back,’ ” said French. “[Babylon] would think, ‘Oh, you want to slow down.’ There were several classes at the beginning where he just broke to trot because he didn’t know that ride yet. Paige has gotten so good at riding a little bit lighter and knowing that you can wait and stay light in the tack.” 

Paige had plenty of success in the show ring before partnering with Babylon, mostly on horses like Ever So Often and Princeton who were newer to the hunter ring when they paired up. She’d never had a junior hunter nearly as established—or famous—as Babylon, and she found herself with a new challenge, dealing with a different kind of pressure in the ring. 

At their final show of the year, the National Horse Show (Ky.), show president Jennifer Burger (second left) presented (from left) Paige Walkenbach, John French and Jim Hagman with Babylon’s grand junior hunter championship. Kimberly Loushin Photo

“It’s obviously such a blessing to ride [Babylon], but it comes with that pressure, which I think a lot of people don’t keep in mind,” she said. “They just think, ‘Look at this girl who gets to ride Babylon. It must be great.’ I mean, it is great, obviously. But it can be intimidating because there’s a lot of pressure. I honestly just take deep breaths. John’s assistant Kim Davidson is great with me. She always gives me pep talks and tells me to just have fun with it. 

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“I’m definitely a perfectionist, and it’s been a hard year in that sense, especially with wins and achievements, which are great, but it makes you think that it’s necessary all the time,” she continued. “It’s been a little challenging this year, especially toward the end. There’s a lot of anxiety, [so I] learned to give myself a break at the time I need it. I can’t be perfect every single round; it’s just impossible. Something I learned with Jim is to be gritty and to keep pushing, even if I have a little mistake in the round.” 

Hagman pointed out that Paige grew up riding in the California show environment, where regional championships abound, so she’d had plenty of practice managing her stress in those environments. He said Pam and Lanie Walkenbach, Paige’s sister, provide a great support system to help keep Paige grounded. And French aimed to keep things light while keeping Paige focused. 

“From the get-go, we just had to let Paige know that she just started riding this horse,” said French. “It takes a while; she’s not there all the time. I think she’s done an amazing job with the amount of time she is in the saddle with him. She puts enough pressure on herself, and I’m sure she feels pressure. We try to let her realize that you’re going to make mistakes, and that’s the process of learning.” 

Staying At The Top Of His Game

Babylon’s long tenure with French, from the end of his 4-year-old year until now, means the two know each other well. And French has learned that the key to keeping the horse at the top of his game is keeping him happy. If Babylon’s not the first one turned out in the morning, he makes his objections known, and French aims to ride him in the ring only two or three days a week to keep his mind fresh, opting for trail rides or hacks in the field or rides around the track at KPF. 

The key to keeping Babylon at the top of his game is just keeping him happy. Mollie Bailey Photo

“We have a rider, Vanessa Papin from France, who rides very well on the flat who rides him occasionally,” said French. “I think it’s good because he knows me so well—when I’m on him he’ll think, ‘Oh, can we take a break? I don’t want to work that hard.’ And I like him so much, I’m too nice to him. He knows he can get away with some things. Occasionally I think it’s good to put Vanessa on him, and she’ll make him work the entire time, and when he tells her, ‘No, I want to take a break,’ she’s going to make him keep working.” 

Additionally, French and Paige keep Babylon’s show schedule light—he generally doesn’t show more than two weeks in a row—which is aided by the fact that Paige has two other horses she shows in the division. 

French said he’s had the horse in his program longer than any other horse he can remember, which has helped them form a strong bond. He compared his relationship to Babylon as a parent whose child is excelling in an Ivy League college. 

“You’re like, ‘Well, I must have done something right because he turned out so well,’ ” he said. 

“What makes him so special [is] he really does enjoy it, and he really loves what he does,” he added. “Like this year at Capital Challenge, I remember getting on him. I rode him up to the ring at 5:30, 6 in the morning. He walked up to the ring, and he was just so excited. You felt like he was so excited to be doing this. On the ramp he was like, ‘Wow! We’re back here again!’ with his ears just pricked the whole way. That’s what’s so special about him. He’s always wanting to do it, always happy about doing it.” 


This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.

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