Oldest horse you know still competing?

slumdog

slumdog

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As you know I have an 18 year old showjumper who hopefully will have a good few years in him yet so this is something that always interests me. I do worry about his age and I'm very conscious of warming him up correctly etc, although a friend made a good point that years ago before passports, if you bought a horse as a 10 year old then you would treat him as if he was 10, whether in reality he was 10, 5 or 25!

So I came across this pony http://youtu.be/5Nt6nUzzurw he's 30 this year and still doing 1m30 Pony Showjumper classes!
What's the oldest horse you've seen competing?
 
pretty sure I've seen that pony at HOYs about ooo 7 years ago thought he was old then there was another one in the same class that was 20 odd too. Pony last forever though :P.
 
My 14.2 welsh x is 19 and still out competing most weekends, have even planned to BE affiliate her next season for the first time (first time I've been able to afford it!). She's showing no signs of slowing down yet and gets little special treatment, only a joint suppliment, really hoping she'll keep being as happy in her work and will continue competing for a few years yet!
 
I used to run a high end riding school/lease operation and we had quite a few that were '15/18/22 and holding'. Those were the ages they used to 'stick' at then every now and then they'd move up a group. One pony was supposedly 22 but my friend and I, both into our 30s remembered him already being 20 ish when we'd been in Pony Club! These horses did two lessons everyday, at least one jumping, six days a week.

Both the good event horses I owned myself raced, then evented, then competed in other spheres, then finally hacked well into their 20s.

In fact, all the old horses I've known, that's been the secret. They keep working, but very consistently and at something they're good at. Attention paid to footing, general management etc. and any necessary vet maintenance sooner rather than later. No long holidays or drastic changes in work load. No significant attempts to change their way of going, even to 'improve' it. Old horses have got as far as they have by having a system that works for them, I say don't fix what ain't broken. :)

I love older horses. They are always super cool and have interesting things to teach us.
 
The horse (about 16.1) in the stable next to me at Cricklands Championships was 31, and she got placed, same age as her rider.
 
my old 12h2 was placed in the hoys 128cm class (1m10 first round) well into his 20s. not sure if he is still around (would be 27) but last i heard few years ago still winning 1m classes with his eyes closed. I agree those that last the longest are those that are kept working with good attention to their management etc.
 
My trainers stallion was jumping 1.40m classes aged 18. He was dropped down aged 19 and jumped smaller classes with me for a year. In that time he had one pole down once (including training) and jumped a double clear in every class bar one.

He is now 20 and doesn't compete any more as I can't afford to run two horses - but I still jump him over fairly big fences at home and I am convinced that if I got him fit he'd go and jump double clears round 1.20m easily.

He is the chestnut in my signature. :) Wonderful horse and the father of my mare.
 
My 13.2 show jumping pony was still doing the local circuit well into his 30s. Wouldn't say he ever had a high degree of management but probably wasn't over competed since in those days very little indoor competition. A horse that won the VHS championship at Olympia a number of years ago was either 30 or nearly 30 and still showing quite regularly after being a police horse.
 
I'm very proud to say my 20yo is currently competing, and affiliated, in all spheres! We do BE, BS and BD, and although I've dropped him down a couple of levels jumping, he is about to upgrade to Medium dressage 😄.
What tarrsteps says is very relevant -I try to keep his workload consistent, no long breaks if it can be helped, and always always listen to what he is telling me re ground etc. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't work hard (4x week) and probably only competes once a month but to take part in a BE90RF this year thoroughly made me blub! When he tells me he no longer enjoys it we will stop but anyone who saw him cavorting pre-XC at his last BE event would agree he still loves his job!
Am so very proud of this horse who I've had for 14years and owes me nothing.
 
I ride a 21 year old and compete him sj and ode up to 75cm. He has actually improved this year and had a few wins and placings.
I am very carefull with his management. He needs as much turnout as possible and consistent work. He feels better if rode 7 days rather than 3. I also have him on premierflex, tumeric and linseed for his joints.
 
Great thread OP! Many thanks :)
These stories make me feel really positive as I bought my horse when she was 14, she's now 17 & although she isn't a veteran just yet she is still a lot older than done of the other horses we compete against when out & about. She's tough as boots & I hope she will be going strong in many years to come. She's a real pro at jumping & has taught me so much (& saved my skin many a time!) jumped her 1.25 at home for the first time recently which was a boost to my confidence! I'm hoping if the weather holds out that we can use the winter to train so by next season we can affiliate.....don't write off older horses- they are the best teachers.....& in my experience also the cheekiest as they have years of experience of 'training' us meer humans! :)
 
My old lad is 31 he stopped competing at about 25 and fully retired at 28 :)
I also have a 21 year old mare, I stopped SJ her last year as she got a bit stale, she'd only ever SJ until I bought her at 14 years old but she now loves XC and still regularly competes. In fact we came 2nd last week at a local hunter trial and won highest placed Veteran!
I also have a 20 year old gelding who still competes in all disciplines, mainly SJ and XC ;)
 
TarrSteps said:
I used to run a high end riding school/lease operation and we had quite a few that were '15/18/22 and holding'. Those were the ages they used to 'stick' at then every now and then they'd move up a group. One pony was supposedly 22 but my friend and I, both into our 30s remembered him already being 20 ish when we'd been in Pony Club! These horses did two lessons everyday, at least one jumping, six days a week.

Both the good event horses I owned myself raced, then evented, then competed in other spheres, then finally hacked well into their 20s.

In fact, all the old horses I've known, that's been the secret. They keep working, but very consistently and at something they're good at. Attention paid to footing, general management etc. and any necessary vet maintenance sooner rather than later. No long holidays or drastic changes in work load. No significant attempts to change their way of going, even to 'improve' it. Old horses have got as far as they have by having a system that works for them, I say don't fix what ain't broken. :)

I love older horses. They are always super cool and have interesting things to teach us.
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We had the perfect pony for my sister when she was 9/10. He was 25 when we got him, was 25 when he was PTS 8 years later, and when people who'd learnt on him saw him they normally said "Oh, we had Red when he was 25"...
 
I love reading threads like this.. i too hate the fact that people can write horse off when they are around 15.. my horse is now 17, hes happy halthy and going the best he ever has. This year we competed at BS and i was so pleased with him. i hope to have many more years of fun yet and know that he will tell me when he isn't happy. I have had him 11 years and yes i do worry sometimes that the day will come when he isn't happy but all the while that he is i am enjoying time with him to the max.. :) age is just a number and provided you look after them well, get the vet in when needed and are careful about surfaces etc and warm up and down, i say crack on! :)
 
I love all these stories. My sister and I were at a yard where none of the horses seemed to age, each year we'd ask how old Penny was and every year she was 17. When after being at the yard for about 8 years we bought her, still supposedly aged 17. We gave her back to her original owner 4 years later when she was outgrown, and even handing her back the owner insisted she was 17. :)
My sisters current horse is coming up to 18 and it's taken him 18 years to calm down enough to even consider competing him, so next summer for the first time in his life he'll start doing some dressage and show jumping and I'm sure he'll love it.
 
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