@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.
@AffirmedHope I agree-Alexandra is really on the edge about those stirrups!!Calm down, dearie!
Back to the price discussion…
Property records (prior sale costs etc) and documents are very easy to find in Palm Beach County - go to their appraiser and just search an address. There are a TON of multi million dollar farms both occupied and for sale. It is definitely a whole different world out there. Some of them are quite interesting (from someone who has done a lot of real estate law at least, I know usually boring stuff) like the multi million dollar facility with a $10 quit claim deed that is now for sale again - same trainer through a couple sales, just different backers. Lots of transfers to and between LLCs.
Goodness. Alexandra got very excited. Especially since that article came out five years ago.
Regarding both horses and real estate, the prices for the best in Wellington get pretty astronomical. But they keep changing hands, so there must be people out there who have the money to spend.
Since Jan promptly sold Palloubet I think that answers that question. 
Yeah I would say this is true. Exceptions aside, an up and coming younger horse or say a 12yr old who is steady but not a winner can be 250k and go way way up from there to around the 15 million tops paid for a horse in 2013.
oh yeah I see that got referenced haha it’s funny because every specific horse i have in mind is a tops deal, so I think any and all questions regarding the market should just go through Tops :lol:
Is that the same one that went to one of the Saudi (or similar) guys? I think their team wears maroon jackets. Or was that another horse that went for a similar price? That looked like a nice one that went right around and really wanted to jump clean for his new rider.
Qatari.
Then the horse was injured and not seen in FEI competition again? or am I thinking of a different horse?
this was a NZ horse
And the article itself touches on the cost of campaigning such a horse
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10724381
yup. But in all fairness that can happen to any of them. But while he was showing, he looked like the real deal, so in that sense he went a long way to justifying his price tag.
Question = Answered.
:D:D
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