so... what is a competition horse?

Jools1234

Jools1234

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as the title really this sort of follows from another thread as peoples opinions on what a competition horse is seem to vary widely, and how long does it take to go from unbacked to competition horse?
and how does a 'competition' horse vary from any other horse?
 
tis a grandiose term when a horse is up for sale;) (can mean anything from it saw the inside of a showring once to it's been to the Olympics)
 
Oooo - dangerous question that has been asked on here before! Caused quite a bit of controversy and I think I remember someone even flounced over it! Interestingly most people seemed to think that it was a horse competing BE Novice/BS Newcomers/BD Elementary or above, although a poll of CR members seemed to indicate that the majority had horses competing below that level.
 
My personal belief is that it's a horse who is taken to shows regularly to win.

I show Ned once in a while, but honestly, I just want to get round in one piece!
 
They jump 4ft fences - could go higher..... within 12 weeks of being backed - not like normal horses that become established on the ground and get introduced to poles and then pop a few little fences within their first 3 months of being worked.
 
I used to ride past a horse that had been round Badminton in his youth. He was now a happy pasture puff living out 24/7 with his mates. Was he still a competition horse? Once a competition horse - always a competition horse? Or was he downgraded to 'plug'?
 
A competition horse is one which competes, I should think. IMO it should mean one which is competitive, as in has a shot at actually winning.
 
I'm my view its a horse in full work competing at affiliated levels on a regular basis.

As for how long it take well to me it does not matter if its a child's pony or a top SJ horse, backed lightly at 3/4 , for a few weeks, some gentle hacking, turned away then brought in to work slowly .

No real jumping till in its six year. A small course yes, but not large fences etc. and for dressage not working at medium before 6 going on 7
That's my view anyway.
 
Another good saying is 'placed everytime out' - with my first horse used to say this for a laugh after she had got a second at her first show!!
 
Agree with cortez, although I'd add either at a decent affiliated level, or with the potential to do so.
Gingerwitch, Pmsl. You forgot to add one that behaves in a stressy, nutjob way, all comp horses are raving loons with quirks.
 
I'd consider a competition horse to be one whose primary purpose is to compete. My mare goes out jumping regularly & often goes clear / gets placed but, as her primary purpose is family pet, I don't consider her to be a competition horse.
 
A competition horse is a horse that competes regularly with success. Most are horses bred with a certain job in mind. Many riders choose to aim their talented young horses at four and five year old classes, to do these they need to be working at a fairly decent standard as three and a half year olds so there is some controversy as to whether these are good for the young horse or not.
Competition horses to need the will to win and this in turn can mean they are often quirky.
A true competition horse thrives on going out and being seen.
 
A horse doesn't need to be left to 6 to start jumping. If its aimed at top level, that should be the goal. And if along the way that includes age classes, no problem. If you lose sight of the future high aims, & push the individual when its not ready for the sake of age classes, it rather defeats the whole purpose of them. No point having a winning 4/5yr old that doesn't fulfil its potential later because it did too much too soon. Years ago my old boss pointed out quite a few young horses doing very well bd for their age, & said despite their potential for top level, he'd put money on them never making it. And he was entirely right, none have.
 
Faracat said:
I used to ride past a horse that had been round Badminton in his youth. He was now a happy pasture puff living out 24/7 with his mates. Was he still a competition horse? Once a competition horse - always a competition horse? Or was he downgraded to 'plug'?
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Quite. Our old TB was a very good PTPer in his time. Sometimes we catch him in the field having racing dreams with his legs going 'gallop gallop jump gallop'. But even when he was in full training his owner and trainer treated him like a horse first and foremost and as a result he's settled quite happily into his 'retirement' with us.

Depends on the type of competition too ;) It seems to be only certain disciplines where 'talent' is expected to show itself through being completely wired and 'quirky' ;) ;)
 
To me the term "competition horse" is a term attached to the horse by its owner and is based upon their own ambition for the horse. Horses do not know that they are "competition horses" they just carry on reacting to the experiences tbey are exposed to and either accepting / enjoying those experiences or not. I have always thought that the "quirky" thing wss probably a lot to do with tbe fact that a talented professional rider would be most likely to have ability and resources to deal with the horse to take it to the top, whereas most "ordinary" riders would look for an easier horse to work with. There are some people who call their horses "competition" horses - they school them intensively, clip them excessively, rug them to the eyeballs, groom them within an inch of their lives, and they may compete 4 or 5 times a year at grass roots level! So i conclude that the label "competition horse" is very much in the eye of the beholder - its irrelevant to the horse and I tend to take it with a pinch of salt - any seriously good horsemanwho aims to be a successful competitive rider would probably just get on with trying to find the best way of bringing on the horse as an whole individual animal and would adapt the horses training and routine accordingly, and if that meant 24/7 turnout to bring out the horses potential so be it!
 
Gingerwitch said:
They jump 4ft fences - could go higher..... within 12 weeks of being backed - not like normal horses that become established on the ground and get introduced to poles and then pop a few little fences within their first 3 months of being worked.
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Need a 'like' button.
 
charlie76 said:
Competition horses to need the will to win and this in turn can mean they are often quirky.
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charlie this is the sort of comment i need explaining to me, when a horse is jumping a course of showjumps or going round a xcountry course (or anything its does to compete) how on earth does it know it is competing against others? and if it did how does it know what it has to do in order to win?
 
It's difficult to explain but horses that are competing at a decent level have a level of what can only be described as a type of arrogance, a 'look at me ' about them. It's what the top horses in the world are made of whether it be in eventing through to racing.
Take valegro for example, the ultimate picture of harmony BUT none of us would be able to sit on him, we would find him far too Sharp.
 
IMO a horse purely kept for competing, that wouldn't be kept if competing was no longer viable... I think the young horse classes all have mainly competition horses in, and the 4YOs arnt competing above that threshold, but still most of them will be kept and trained for the competition.
 
rara007 said:
IMO a horse purely kept for competing, that wouldn't be kept if competing was no longer viable... I think the young horse classes all have mainly competition horses in, and the 4YOs arnt competing above that threshold, but still most of them will be kept and trained for the competition.
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Escapado?

I think of a competition horse, as an equine that has the athleticism, temperament and paces needed for the intended disciplne. Those factors may impede the horse's suitability for an average rider.
 
You could take any old nag out to competitions everyweek, but IMO, this would not make it a "competition" horse.

To me, a competition horse is one that is either competing at top level with an ambitious amateur (not necessarily winning, due to competing against pro's, but being able to do the job reasonably) OR one kept at a pro's yard, going out to competitions on a regular basis, and doing well/winning.

A similar post was in CR approx 18 months ago. I got in trouble for describing a "competition" horse as an allrounder.
 
wench said:
You could take any old nag out to competitions everyweek, but IMO, this would not make it a "competition" horse.

To me, a competition horse is one that is either competing at top level with an ambitious amateur (not necessarily winning, due to competing against pro's, but being able to do the job reasonably) OR one kept at a pro's yard, going out to competitions on a regular basis, and doing well/winning.

A similar post was in CR approx 18 months ago. I got in trouble for describing a "competition" horse as an allrounder.
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Just to add to this, why aren't people happy with all rounders anymore? Everything is either a dressage horse , an eventer etc etc. What happened to having a good quality all rounder?
 
monkeybum13 said:
Just to add to this, why aren't people happy with all rounders anymore?
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Mine is an allrounder, sadly here I'm talking strictly about his belly dimensions and little else, not competed for nearly two years due to injury :o

(hoping to do some local dressage in a few weeks, just as soon as I've stopped being lazy and got around to clipping him! :D )
 
Watch a demo with Geoff Billington a few or so ago and had a lesson. He was speaking about what him and other top SJ do with there youngsters, he said NEVER would they put a youngster against the clock in its 1st 12 months of training, he was jumping a 6 year old and he also said he would not put that age of a horse over a bigger fence than NC. So those who said they don't believe horses should not be left to jump a real SJ course till six , well that's not what a SJ at the top of his game is doing, he also spoke alot how John W trains the same as him, they must be good friends. He said you push to young, you ruin the horse.
 
I consider a true competition horse to be competing on a regular basis and going through the ranks...with a training program geared upto progressing with long term goals.

They also have to be knackered by 8, owned by people who have a very large ego and little regard for the mental well being of the horse...who is after all bred to do the job and should therefore beable to jump 4 foot at 4 because they are 'special'
 
Many good points made, but surely this all depends what type of competitive sport the rider/owner wants to compete in? A 4* eventer/endurance horse or M&M show pony would equally fit the competition horse description to me.

To me the competitive horse has the athletic and mental ability to do a job and that is it's sole purpose for being kept by the owner.

Mine would excel at competitive eating and hackgrazing - when ever those become Olympic Sports :p .
 
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