Then that’s your answer. 
Looking forward to seeing videos and hearing more when the deal is done!!!
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I sure smiled a lot when I rode him, that should probably hold a lot of water
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Any horse is a gamble, but realize that those older schoolmasters are absolutely priceless gamble.
I was lucky to learn from those as a teenager, along with starting all kinds of horses under saddle.
I would not have learned all I did without having the oldsters show me what we were aiming for, I loved that I could go shows and jump while learning myself thanks to those experienced horses, would not have been possible or safe with the younger ones.
If what you can do today with a schoolmaster is what will make you happy, who knows what you may want years down the line, so taking the chance to be that kind of happy now makes sense.
Schoolmasters really do put a smile on your face and that counts too.
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Yeah this doesn’t make sense. A GP horse who is sound and apparently easy to ride with minor maintenance shouldn’t “need” to go down to 1.10, right?
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I had a horse like #2 as my first jumper after a starter horse and a hunter, and he taught me literally everything and gave me a boatload of confidence that I was able to take with me as I moved up the levels and on to other horses. I would buy #2 in a heartbeat if I could afford it.
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It’s not just the jumps, it’s the trip between the jumps. You will learn so much more from #2.
Greener horses can teach riders to ride a bit defensively and to override.
Although it sounds like you can’t go wrong either way!
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To me, your post read like you are favoring horse 2. That’s who I would pick too honestly.
I would also consider what type of program these two horses are in, and how your situation matches it. Will you have a trainer riding your horse to keep its training? If not, are either of these horses currently in a program where they don’t receive regular schooling rides (or receive as much or as little as you will be able to provide)? Is the older horse used to a certain type of stabling/turn out etc? At 15, they may not be as adaptable - is your barn situation similar?
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Actually, I think it makes sense. He’s 15 years old and may have been campaigned heavily. 1.10m is still 3’7" with sometimes big spreads. That’s still a big jump. I wouldn’t expect a horse with heavy mileage to do much more than that and remain sound and happy. Especially if his job is to tote around an ammy who will make mistakes at that height.
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I did a little more research, his “Grand Prix” record is definitely a mini prix record. So the step down to 1.0m/1.10m seems very reasonable with an ammy such as myself who’s going to bury him from time to time. At my height he is very much a school master. Seller said he starts to get worried at combos when they’re over 1.10.
Either horse would be in a capable program (ultimately my trainer and I are making the decision, it’s just useful to pick total stranger’s brains). We have ample enough turnout that neither would have a change in their current schedule.
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Horse #2 assuming everything checks out.
Contrary to popular myth, you don’t learn together with an inexperienced horse. You learn from sitting on a horse who knows and is willing to share. Nothing like an “OMG is that what its supposed to feel like” moment when you get on a schoolmaster.
Add to that jumping out of bad spots you put them in and tolerating any number of Ammy jokes without holding a grudge? Thats one to make you want to go to the barn and ride as well as learn from.
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There is so much to this.
If you want to learn to play piano or more advanced piano, do you get a teacher with experience, or a teacher who is also a first-timer to the level?
Not to say that two first-timers might not figure out how to plink out a tune, but the quality of the result could be very different for the time and work invested.
There’s a limit to how much two first-timers can help each other. That is a big thing with green-on-green horse & rider situations, imo.
To me any “push button” ride is neither challenging or scary/ fun.
Granted I am not in your discipline of choice. Just going off what you posted I believe you would learn better skills overall in with horse #1.
There can be benefits to learning / growing together and he is young with a good mind.
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Horse is a bit pricier then piano lessons too….
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As a riding instructor, I beg to disagree.
There is the old “not knowing what we don’t know”.
Is cringe worthy to painful to see how cluelessly so many struggle, when a bit of help from someone ahead of them in the learning curve would make life so easy.
Too many have bragged about never taking lessons, learning on their own, not realizing how really uneducated they are and it shows in how poorly trained their horses are.
There is so much more in any we do, not just with horses, that we really can’t understand, even the basics are shaky, if we don’t have someone initially help us.
We should be thankful for all those that learned before us and imparted their knowledge.
Makes life easier for all, human and horse students, to have someone guiding thru at least the basics of every step up.
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I just bought a #2 horse myself to teach me to move up from 2’6 to 1.0 or 1.10. He is older, won’t ever ask him to do higher than 1.10 but I am SO HAPPY I got this horse and not a young green horse. I moved up to 1.0m on him confidently and am having a BLAST. I have learned SO MUCH on him and he has all the buttons as a former 1.30-1.40 horse. He is helping me learn how to do it CORRECTLY and with confidence so when I am ready to buy horse #1, I can truly make him up without ruining a greenie with Ammy mistakes.
He is worth 1million $ to me. I would buy him over and over again if I could. AND he’s older than the model you’re looking at. He is worth his weight in gold. I would go with #2 in a heartbeat. The lessons you will learn and the confidence will be priceless.
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Pshaw. When you’re galloping down to your first 1.10m triple combination, it’s going to be plenty challenging/scary no matter what you’re sitting on (FWIW I’d rather be on the schoolmaster).
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The horse in question( #1) sounds extremely well trained and solid right now and OP will be working with the trainer( if I understand) and I wouldn’t consider that risky or the horse green when moving up to higher jumps when the time comes.
Personal preferences and our own experiences always influence our answers here, so your reasoning will differ from mine , of course.
OP asked WWYD and I answered.
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“He’s 15 years old and may have been campaigned heavily. ” for sure, but a “sound” horse with “light” maintenance should be able to keep up the job, and 15 is hardly old for a jumper. I suspect the horse is less sound than seller states.
Doesn’t mean seller shouldn’t snap him up with a thorough PPE!
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Yes, sorry I got on my soap box, comes with the territory some times.
The old “eyes on the ground” is absolutely the best advice anyone, any place, can benefit from around horses.
Even the most experienced and talented top horsemen avail themselves of someone watching and letting them know what they see.
By the nature of being on a horse, as a rider we will miss so much.
A first good step is to start your next level with a horse that is there already teaching us how that feels, so later we can work to find that feel on other, maybe less experienced horses.
That is what we are considering here, why “both horse and rider learning on the go” is questionable, when there are other ways to learn, easier on all, horse and rider.
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