I’m taking a non-horsey friend to a Grand Prix soon, and she asked me this question. I realized I have no idea. What would a horse competitive in the FEI showjumping sell for? Would it make a difference whether they are “easy” or harder to ride?
Thanks for any input!
Wow. The pricing runs the gamut. It’s kind of like asking how much a winning race horse goes for? It depends on how much someone paid for it, where it races, how it places, who the jockey was and whether someone wants to buy the winner. Is it winning at some claiming race on some track in the boonies or whether it’s winning the Triple Crown series, Breeders Cup etc… It’s the same for Grand Prix jumpers.
There are very wealthy people who pay millions for medalist winning Olympic horses that go to the very high end Grand Prixs and I know a horse that sold for $30K and within one month was winning and getting high placings in the $25,000 Grand Prixs. And someone had to develop that jumper and nurture that talent. But many talented horses don’t make it to the top due to injury or attitude and many get sold before they get to the top.
And one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Sometimes a change in program, rider or even a tack change can make a loser a winner and vice versa.
So to answer your question…it depends.
An international winning GP Jumper? start at the top end of 6 figures and go north would be a good guess.
A sold A and AA Saturday afternoon GP horse? depending on where you are at can be anywhere from mid/high 5 to mid/high 6 figures.
I guess the questions are - what level of competition?, whats the level of the rider, east coast/west coast or mid?
Maybe there are 2 separate questions.
What is the insurance evaluation on the winner of today’s show, or what would he sell for if he went on the market tomorrow?
What did each trainer actually pay for each horse and at what stage of training was the horse bought?
You can’t really know for sure. But invariably #1 is going to be a lot more than #2!
at the beginning of their career as a GP - anywhere, a solid performer well over a million, try millions
Cylana sold for $3 million didn’t she? Granted she was a bit older when sold but a very proven GP contender.
It might, in that a difficult/quirky horse might take a bit longer to sell to the right person, even if a proven GP horse. And a relatively easy&proven horse may have very large/hard-to-refuse million(s)-dollar offers from people with deep pockets.
Or a quirky horse might need to be sold to the right person in the first place to prove to everyone that it’s a solid GP horse, in which case it could be somewhat less money if it’s been unsuccessful with other people.
Horse with definite “potential” for international/FEI GPs, say already jumping 4’/1.20m+ courses or local GP at shows with scope for more, can be in the hundreds of thousands already. When they’re super green/just starting out, they might be in the mid-high five figures, which quickly goes up as people figure out what they have and get the horse trained and looked at by GP riders.
OP did say " competitive in FEI Showjumping" and most GPs these days are below FEI levels and not held under FEI rules so that makes a big difference in price. Like a zero. Oh, many of the really high value horses are not insured or are under insured ( 11% or so of 2-3 million every year in premiums would choke even those budgets) so that’s not a dependable guide.
You can get a proven lower level GP, non FEI caliber horse for below 100k if you dig hard enough, get lucky and have the rider/ trainer to get it around. It won’t be an easy ride and may not be sound without help but they are out there.
OP didn’t ask about prospects, that’s a different story but it’s years of training before it can be called proven, ends up costing as much if not more then an already finished horse and that only IF it gets there.
Thanks, everyone. This is helpful. It sounds like there are a lot of variables, but bottom line is they can go for a million or more. I wasn’t sure how they compared to hunters, since top hunters have gotten so expensive now.
Top Jumpers start where top Hunters stop due to better purse money and International opportunities not available for Hunters, which is a niche discipline not found outside North America… bigger buyer pool in a worldwide market.
Don’t forget the 15 million sale… http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/…ice-showjumper
Anything in the upper echelon out there and competing with the best of the best are worth lots of $$. The above example is extreme, but you are easily looking in at least the low to mid 6 figures and absolutely that price can go higher.
Your question isn’t super clear. Are you looking for pricing on a horse who’s purchasable for an entry level 1.40m horse? you could easily look anywhere from $25,000-65,000. Fully experience and competing GP horse is anywhere from the lower 6 figured to high 6 figures. I am riding one of my trainers geldings right now who’s for sale for $325,000 right now(she sprained her ankle and can’t ride, so I’m riding him for her). There is a Junior amateur who’s looking at him right now and I’m pretty sure he’s sold, but that’s essentially what you’re looking at. Prices will vary to from area to area and country you’re in and the demand.
@AKCH the OP just wanted a ballpark figure for an FEI Grand Prix show jumper so she could tell her non-horsey friend when they go together to watch a Grand Prix.
I get asked by colleague / friends all the time about how much the horses they see at the Olympics or on TV from Spruce Meadows cost - and I always say “millions”. There was an interview with Mclain or Beezie a few years ago where it was mentioned it was hard to find a 1.60m jumper for less than $3,000,000!
During the recent WEG one of the commentators said the horses competing were at least 7 figures.
Whoa, someone needs to tell Alexandra in the comments to calm down :lol:
i believe the rumor mill said that the Springsteen’s paid between $5-$7 million for Vindicat after the 2012 Olympics where he brought home team gold.
For FEI level you’re looking at upper 6 to lower 7 figures for something already going and winning. The top, top horses can go for 10 million +
Something that can win at the regional and national GP would be mid 6 figures or a little less (depending on age, etc).
Jeeze I should’ve come here to sell my grand prix horse, apparently I could have easily gotten mid 6 figures:lol:
For most of the horses you see competing at most FEI 2*/3* grand prixs? low-mid 6 figures.
FEI 4*/5*/Nation’s Cup (not a whole lot of those in the US)- low 6 to millions depending on consistency and talent. Your big name professionals and big name amateurs are going to have paid more than the odd man out.
This thread got me thinking (no intention to hijack), how much profit is left over from winning these grand prixs at the end of the day?
The cost of maintaining these horses (vet, shoes, chiro, massage, etc); shipping (flight to Europe, trailering across North America); property (top-notch facility) must make it so that winning grand prixs are not THAT lucrative.
Do you stand to make most money from selling? Training?
As they saying goes, the best way to make millions with horses is to start with a billion 
A lot of the high level riders have sponsors to help with costs.
Sponsorship and yes, buying and selling the ones that aren’t top flight. Most top horses are not owned by or paid for by their riders. If you pick something up in Europe for 75k euro and bring it here and slap a $300,000 price tag on it, you can make a very nice living for yourself.
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