Teehee. 
It is!!
My last three oldsters…one jumped 3’ reliably till he was about 23. He never felt off or never refused a fence, but I felt it was kinder to let him retire from jumping. My next one started feeling funny and not “right” jumping at about 20. My current guy jumped till he was 21, and now I just do dressage with him at 23. And trails.
my first heart horse, Dutch WB mare; 19 jumping around 2’6 - 2’9 courses with her eyes closed. jumper through and though, such speed and she really took you to the fence and made adjustments when you were too scared or dumb to make them yourself.
she had low mileage in her early double digit years as she was crash and burned as a young horse in Europe, imported as a broodmare, then restarted in her mid teens and was a WONDERFUL school master. Gah I am tearing up looking at this photo. She was my adult re-rider love beyond love.
I think she is limited to flatting and crosspoles now at… 25? I am tall, she’s 16.1ish. My dream horse is still modeled after her. A thick 16.1h+, WB mare, dark bay with chrome - forward ride, jump hunting, but also nice enough to throw a decent 2nd level + Dressage test.
He’s gorgeous! My 1.30m jumper told the animal communicator that he won’t be in his prime until he’s 20. 
I can only hope he’s right!
Agree! My friend Caroline McClung (Dowd) did Badminton with her 18 year old mare Lazy Dot back when eventing was a true 3 Day.
Agree that it is less about age and more about fitness, conditioning, maintenance, and helping the horse feel his best.
My 18 year old still does 1m classes with me and we jump around 3’-3’6 at home a few times a month. We are careful about over jumping and he only shows 3-4x a year. It’s all about maintaining!
Supposedly my guy was a tad bit feral in his younger days. I always say I wish he was 10 (or 15!) years younger, but I’m not sure I would be able to ride him 
What a fun resurrected thread!
No one better tell my 22yo OTTB that he’s heading into “old” territory! He just carried my teen daughter over her first 1.40m jumps at home! Also took her into her first ever 1.10m and 1.15m classes last summer and won every class he set foot in except for the one where she went off course. He did his last big FEI prix at the age of 19, I think? Would have kept going (there was zero reason to step down) except Covid hit and the closest 1.40m+ classes were 18 hours away. Wouldn’t be surprised if he stepped up to the 1.20 and maybe even 1.30 with her this year! Love the old campaigners that love their jobs!
I’ve posted these before, I’m sure, but these videos are both from when my mare was 20.
I retired her because of career things for me, but I still was jumping her around occasionally at my parents’ place when she was 22 and she was still raring to go and dragging me down to the jumps
My heart mare is 29 this year and still jumping. Mostly 2’6" and under, but she’d happily jump bigger if allowed. She’ll also still happily do the leave-outs when allowed too. She’s amazing. We’ll keep letting her do her thing as long as she’s sound and loving her job. We don’t jump her a lot, and if it doesn’t seem like a good idea one day we listen to her. She’s a typical redheaded mare so she’s not going to do anything she doesn’t want to do lol.
Yes, agreed. It’s not that there’s a magic year (like the old advice not to wear miniskirts after age whatever). It’s that the horse has pain or physical limitations. And when or if those come on are entirely unique to his body and history, and you likely don’t know his history. If a horse stops refusing to do a job from one season to the next you owe it to him to get a good vet workup and see what’s wrong. It’s not that he suddenly can’t do 3 foot but can do 2 foot. Whatever is brewing will hurt him and potentially degenerate at any level of work. Find out what it is, then evaluate and treat
It’s not just that he’s reached a year of automatic retirement. He may indeed need to step down but you should know exactly why and what he can still do
Tell that to Tina Turner.
Exactly
Update- he’s now 30 and is still in work. Mostly jumps crossrails but occasionally gets to do this for fun 
Hey, look! A rolltop with astroturf on it!
I just mentioned that jump on a different thread. Lol.
Not old per se, but H&M Indiana just placed 3rd in a 1.60m class at 15 years. Arguably still in her prime, but a true testament to care (amongst other factors).
224!!! FEI starts and 11 wins…that’s a pretty substantial career. Hope to keep seeing her for many years to come!
I believe one of Spooner’s GP horses did big stuff till 19 or 20 too. There are many examples. There are also 7 year olds who have to retire. It all depends.
I think HH Azur is 17 this year, and she’s still winning at the top level with McLain Ward.
His other great mare Sapphire was still winning until she was 16 or 17, I believe.
I just recently got the Jumpr app on my phone, and it shows all sorts of interesting stats on the horses and riders, including number of classes, clear round percentages, yada, yada. You can sign up to follow different riders and get alerts on their show results.
I have 27 yos jumping on down to young horses. It’s all about the care and former care. But even former care can be fixed sometimes. Most Grand Prix horses don’t hit their stride til mid teens. Talk to your vet. 
I’ve had to retire 15 year olds from jumping and I’ve had some really old ones compete in pretty high classes. Just depends on the horse. A friend of mine is still actually competing in the 1.20s with a 15.2 hand TB who is 25 and he is very very spunky and clear and flats beautifully. He gets pretty normal maintenance too just adequan and annual hock injections, nothing crazy.
Some horses are really just so amazing.
Depends on the horse and its soundness, flexible was still jumping GPs at 20, many horses at GP level (even Olympic) are 14-15.
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