Prices of top class event horses? (youngsters)

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sunshine112

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Just wondering, how much approx. do they cost. For example 5yr whos done pre-novices well and would possibly go 3*?
What about 6 and 7 yrs who have done more?

Is it possible to get a really good 6yr old for under £30k?

When you look at the adverts rarely any of them have prices on them which makes it a bit difficult sometimes.
 
In my response to this post I'm going to put a cavet in first that event horses are slightly odd creatures, in that unsuspecting characters can really take you by surprise and exceed expectations. There will be many examples of top performing horses purchased for relatively small sums. Take those horses out of the equation and imagine you are going shopping for that potential superstar ...

From recent experience,
It is almost flipping impossible to find a real star potential 4yo with a budget of 15K - you can get them (especially if you are willing to compromise/take a punt) but need to do a lot of networking. Go out with 20-25K and the process opens up a few more avenues.

Take a 5yo with a good PN record showing strong ability for competitive 3*, then you would need at least 25K in your pocket, in reality possibly more. This years Go for Gold Catalogue and Sales prices might be worth a look - bearing in mind there were only 4 or 5 real top quality horses there (and many more that were either just smart horses, or had dodgy vetting/xray results)

A 6/7yo that is still showing what it takes to go 3* (and a good experienced jocky would have a fair idea at this stage) then tbh they are few and far between on the market, and those that come up you need the ££££
 
Eeeek yes you could stumble across a £500 diamond in the rough and have a star on your hands as I think eventing is as much about attitude as it is talent.
However from someone who has spotted that elusive combination already £££££, I dread to think! 30k seems an awful lot of money to me though for a young'un so surely?!
 
Wow! Maybe I am advertising my mare too cheap then?
I have an exceptionally bred young mare. Fantastic temperament. Stunning looks. Beautiful on the flat and will go to Medium. Jumping 1m sj courses now with scope to go 1.20m. First time out xc schooling she jumped the Open course without batting an eyelid, all in a snaffle. One phone call.....
Anyone want a 5yo Eventer to produce? :)
 
15-25k should buy you a really smart baby which is unproven but has all the credentials to do the job. Within that range, price depends on who has it and how much they want to sell it - if it is nice, they may be perfectly happy to hang on to it as they may make more as it progresses. Of course, you may get lucky and find a gem for less, they certainly exist and I'm sure this thread will be full of people telling you how little their 3* horse cost as a youngster, but you have to be clever AND lucky, and spend considerble amounts of time searching through metaphorical haystacks, to do so.

Once they start competing, if they live up to expectations the price will only go up of course. From one producer I can think of, two of last year's six year olds, nice horses with excellent records and obvious scope to go on, sold for 40k and 100k, the third she hung onto. Another one she took on to sell for someone else, not as smart in my view but well thought of by many people and with a first rate record, was sold for 30k. But this producer generally spends around 20k (never more, sometimes less) on the raw product so she is not going to sell them cheaply unless something goes wrong.
 
Interestingly I've just seen a green 4yo with the breeding and ability to be top class (as far as anyone can tell) sold to a top UK yard for a lot less than everyone is quoting. It looks plain stood up, but is a different creature under saddle.
 
Kitty paid £60k for Bondi Beach who had a good record as a 5yo and was super smart but very sharp.
 
How much would a 7yo be worth that started eventing last year and finished up last season completing the 6yo CIC*? Nearly every event was double clear and placed, one win at PN. Just had a few SJ's down at Osberton which was my dodgy amateur riding not the horse! 4 BE points, oldenberg x from Ireland.
 
Gamebird said:
Interestingly I've just seen a green 4yo with the breeding and ability to be top class (as far as anyone can tell) sold to a top UK yard for a lot less than everyone is quoting. It looks plain stood up, but is a different creature under saddle.
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Maybe we are looking in different places? I was actually just wondering how those prices are made up? I know that there is a 'special' kind of horse required for 3* (to be competitive rather than take part) but the prices quoted here are amazing. A friend of mine imports very very smart warmblood horses of all kinds who are consistently jumping 1.30m+ and with a bit of XC schooling they would go all the way to 3* and the average price of those horses is £8.5K?
 
Darremi, difficult to say without seeing the horse, but 4points in a season isn't indicative of a top class horse, unless held back by jockey. Depending on the horses rideabity I'd estimate somewhere between 15 - 25k
 
Baggybreeches said:
Maybe we are looking in different places? I was actually just wondering how those prices are made up? I know that there is a 'special' kind of horse required for 3* (to be competitive rather than take part) but the prices quoted here are amazing. A friend of mine imports very very smart warmblood horses of all kinds who are consistently jumping 1.30m+ and with a bit of XC schooling they would go all the way to 3* and the average price of those horses is £8.5K?
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Your price is slightly higher than mine but we're in the same ballpark ;). And yes, imported warmblood with dual eventing/SJing bloodlines. Pretty much flawless confo and nice to do too. Had a bit more about it under saddle, but no more than I'd expect for a horse that would go places.
 
ihatework said:
Darremi, difficult to say without seeing the horse, but 4points in a season isn't indicative of a top class horse, unless held back by jockey. Depending on the horses rideabity I'd estimate somewhere between 15 - 25k
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I know my limitations!! He only had three novice runs before the CIC* and he was double clear in all of them, but we were actually anchored by a fair few time faults because I didn't want to rush him round the XC as he only started eventing as a 6yo.

Here he is:
picture.php


I would never sell him, but I am just curious :-)
 
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That is Running Order, formerly with Doug Payne in the US and now with William Fox Pitt. I used to read Doug's blog now and again, and I am sure I remember that this horse came really cheap off the track, as an ex racehorse. I think a few of the top US riders have found great horses this way including Phillip Dutton.
 
I'm reading this thread with interest, as I bought a very unfurnished 5 year old on his breeding and a few photos. He's a classic sports horse, 3/4 TB cross 1/4 ID. I'm very reluctantly thinking of selling him as I just don't have time to bring him on, and if you don't get them out in preparation for eventing, you can't expect much for them. My heart says keep him until next year when (I think) he will be a very good prospect and worth a lot more than this year. Now he's with an event rider for schooling, he's exceeding all expectations, so its even more of a dilemma!
 
Interesting thread.we have a 6 yr old mare with impeccable breeding ( by a Grand Prix stallion out of a mare who's dam has bred 3 international horses). Last year only did BE100's with a very good record, just missed the top 10 at both 5 yr old finals, and has just done her first novice double clear. Only about 16.00hh though.
 
Darremi said:
That is Running Order, formerly with Doug Payne in the US and now with William Fox Pitt. I used to read Doug's blog now and again, and I am sure I remember that this horse came really cheap off the track, as an ex racehorse. I think a few of the top US riders have found great horses this way including Phillip Dutton.
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I know- he barely touched the track though, and was exported to America as a jumper, before being sold on again. I think 'cheap' in this context isn't the same as what we consider 'cheap' for an ex-racer.

I'm happy to be corrected though!
 
Lolo said:
I know- he barely touched the track though, and was exported to America as a jumper, before being sold on again. I think 'cheap' in this context isn't the same as what we consider 'cheap' for an ex-racer.

I'm happy to be corrected though!
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Apologies LOLO I suspect you are quite right and I was wrong. I just assumed when he said off the track it meant one of those 500 dollar horses. But I checked the Racing Post database and he ran half a dozen times in Ireland over fences so he probably did cost a fair bit.
 
You simply cannot have these discussions on the internet as it's very much 'know it when you see it'. It also depends who has the horse, how much you can actually see it do, what other jobs it might be suitable for, how wide a range of riders it might suit, conformation, if it will vet (if it won't, kiss your money good-byefor a young horse these days), and how canny both the buyer and seller are.

'Special' is quite rare and not always obvious. Actual 'bargains' are much more rare than most people want to believe but, by the same token, production is an essential part of a good end product.
 
wench said:
Even horses that are "just" going around BE90/100 seem to be going for £10K
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Where are you looking at these prices? I was thinking about selling my boy but there were absolutely loads under £5K. Given the work required to get to PN/Novice and the cost to compete its hardly worth selling.

Its hard to tell, even with a 4 yr old sometimes whether they will be top class, brain, trainability and soundness have a massive impact!
 
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