I know, a lot of things right?! 
But, I am talking about horses!
For the jumper ring?
The hunter ring?
Just curious to know opinions. Thanks!
I have an 11 year old imported former Level 6 Jumper here in conditioning who will be a sensational Amateur horse. 17+h, sound, sane, and super sweet. He could probably be had for 30k before WEF. If I had the money, heād be mine.<3 <3
Iāve seen some pretty nice horses for under 30, but you really have to look.
Depends on the area. In my area (Northeast) youād probably get a middle aged 1.10-1.15 horse that has good results, or a young, very lightly shown horse with potential for 1.30. Same thing for hunters - reliable first horse up to 3ā but not the winner, or a niceish (probably still not the winner, but depends on age/breeding) prospect. Obviously thereās a few nicer ones that are priced low for whatever reason, but Iād say thatās the average.
Iāve heard of made 1.30 horses being had in the midwest for around that price though.
Depends on who is selling it to you. 
30 or so OTTBs. 
A friend of mine recently paid 15k for a very competitive AA jumper winning in large AA rated shows. Good size, warmblood and not a difficult ride. You have to look hard, but there are bargains to be had.
S
Sorry, let me specifyā¦I am talking about 1 horse only either hunter or jumper to be used in the AA show ring.
We have sold a large green that was Reserve Champion at this first AA show for 30k. So qualified for Pony Finals (in January) and had the whole year in front of him. He was ok and really more of a large green than a division pony. But 7 yrs old, 14.2, pretty, easy, etc.
Also sold a 5 yr old Hanoverian we imported for 35k. Only done local shows, but had great mind and was a fantastic A/A or Childrenās Hunter prospect.
The big selling point for both was how easy they were. The pony rode like a made pony with auto changes and the horse was a kick and point type even though green.
I just purchased a horse last season that happened to be a sale horse in our barn. Paid well under 30k for him and he has been a fantastic 3ā- 3ā3 hunter double in the eq type. Has been champion or reserve almost every time out at A and AA shows. Heās not for everyone but if you are willing to look and be patient they are around (even in the New England area!).
With 30K to spend you have a few choices. And IMHO thatās a pretty decent amount of cash.
You can buy an older school master with some maintenance issues which is what I would do if I was heading for the jumper ring or -
You can buy a young hunter prospect that needs some training and miles. I would do this and have for a fancy hunter horse. A nice mover and good jump that will win at the A shows is definitely doable.
It takes time to shop and you must be open to possible shipping (can be within your 30K)
In my experience,
A nice but barely broke 3-4 year old from Europe, all import costs included.
A good 1.10-1.15 jumper that may be a bit of a tricky ride, in the 12-14 year age range or may need a little maintenance/have a vetting flaw
A solid 3ā hunter that could be the winner locally, would get greens and pinks at the AA level
A young jumper prospect with scope to jump 1.20-1.30, but currently just starting out a career around .85.
A young hunter prospect that may have the ability to be the winner, but again, just starting out at the baby green level.
I also think it depends on who you know, who your trainer knows, what part of the country youāre in, and what you can afford after you buy the horse.
When I look on big eq, for that price, I see nice, young green prospects or older solid citizens up to 3ft with a good record. Same for jumpers. Breed plays a part too. Must you have a WB or doesnāt it matter? Iāve seen some very fancy TBs with potential to move up and good records for that much.
I really just think you have to know what you can spend after you buy the horse, and which direction you want to go.
So the above comments seem about right, fairly consistent.
Brings back to mind, the poster who was wondering if people were passing her horses up because they were priced too low- four figures, green but talented, lightly shown, sound, amateur suitable and at least one (if not more) was legit quality to be competitive in the hunters/A shows.
We purchased a 7 year old Warmblood from Europe that had show experience in the 1.30m, was incredibly honest, and a beautiful mover for around 30k (including all import costs/transportation/bloodworkā¦).
The horses we tried in the US within our budget were nowhere near the caliber of the horses in Europe. They either had little experience or training, were only scopey enough for the Ch/Ad stuff or maybe a few 1.20 classes, or had some serious maintenance issues.
I voted for Europe!
From my experience shopping in the under $40k range (for a hunter)ā¦
If you want something that has the ability to jump 3ā-3ā6", you will have basically a few simple options. 1) A green horse that doesnāt have many miles, but is pretty fancy and has potential. 2) A schoolmaster that is still pretty cute, but is older (14 years+) 3) A middle aged horse that is less fancy but safe, will get you in the ribbons but you arenāt going to be getting champion 4) A complete wreck of a horse that a con artist tries to talk you into
I ended up with a 10 year old mare who is very safe, not your typical hunter look, but cute once she starts moving and jumping. She cost us right around $35k and was able to place 3rd in adult u/s at our first a show and pinned in every jumping class. To us, this was the best value for the money, but the other options are definitely viable (besides the last one).
For the lower divisions you have much better and fancier options. Plus, age is a less of a factor because the jumping puts less wear and tear on them over time. For example, if you pay $30k for a elderly 3ā6" horse, you may only have a year or two before they start needing tons of time off and maintenance. Whereas a properly cared for 2ā6" horse can compete at that height well into its late teens and possibly early 20s.
For less, friend got a GP jumper on his way down. Major maintenance neededā¦I think she had to give him some time off too. So there is some risk there.
Described as ānot a dead-head,ā and since he knows what heās doing so heās pretty sure he should just take care of distances, etc. 
I canāt wait to see them.
West Coast?
Some pretty decent jumpers, show in at the A/AAās in the Childs/AA Jumpers or 1.0 meter classes, but by no means packers. Of course, there are GREAT deals out there. My old barn sold a Derby prospect to a BNT in the West Coast for about 25k I believe. She was wonderful, won local hunter derbies and hunter classes. She was absolutely gorgeous also, but again she was green!
Again, there are great deals out there for horses with experience under 30k, but those are what we used to sell for that price out of my barn. You could get a pretty bada** fox hunting horse for under 30k that could cross over to Hunter, but you would porbably only pin up to 3rd or so, unless the judge liked the āFox Hunterā way of going. We had a couple of our Fox Hunters turn into some pretty great show ring horses.
Purchased my last horse for 40, 5 yrs old, green, barely jumping courses, 4 ft promise (Ended up doing fine in First Years/Juniors/AOs and definitely not his limit but we sold him)
Looking at a similar FANCIER horse for 25 right now. I just have a trainer with a really good connection across the pond and cut out the middle man.
It really is who you know.
I have a jumper for sale for a little more than that and we have not been able to sell him. I donāt want to make it out to be an advertisement, but I will give you some info to know what type of horse you would get. He is a 13 year old 17.1 hand gelding. Been there, done that, has shown in high and low AO jumpers, easy as can be. Quiet and knows his job, will pack around a beginner in the child/adults. People either want him to be younger or to be cheaper.
As far as hunters, you could find something dead green but has the potential to be a winner at the big shows, or you can find something older and not as fancy but trustworthy.
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