What's your definition of a "competition horse"?

Chuckieee said:
It is interesting that some people’s perception of a competition horse includes horses that haven’t actually competed.

I thought it was more of a literal description ie the horse has competed rather than one that simply looks like it could or should.

I suppose in my mind, I would not call a Hunter a hunter unless it had been ridden to hounds, even if it was obviously a hunter stamp of a horse.

I think given the descriptions given above, I would tread with caution as I would assume that there was a completion record lurking somewhere.
Click to expand...

Yup me too. If we are describing anything that is going to compete then that includes mine. Just over 14.2hh hairy pony type. She was bought specifically with the intention of competing in affiliated driving trials. As it stands shes currently away being broken and probably 18months off any sort of affiliated competition. I also wouldn't at any point either now or in the future call her a competition horse even though that's her purpose.

To me a competition horse is something bred for the job almost certainly some sort of warmblood, not an ex racer or something of unknown breeding that might at some point do a dressage test or a one day event etc. If either of those types were successful at a reasonably high level then I'm still not sure I'd call them a competition horse. They weren't bred for the job, so they are just a nice horse whose main job is competing.
 
Julia0803 said:
This is really interesting. Prior to reading this I would have marketed ours (if I were to sell him, which I don’t ever plan to!) as a first competition type.

He’s not going to dizzy heights obviously but if you want to start out competing and do well on someone who knows their job, is completely sensible and drama free, gives you a lovely day out and competitive enough to come home with a rosette every time, then he is happy to do that week in week out at prelim/novice level/ 80cm jumping.

Maybe I was wrong but I thought that was what you would be looking for if you’d not competed before and we’re just starting out- sensible, consistent and competitive at RC level. He is competing at that level several times per month, has a traceable record of doing so, therefore logically I would have said he was a low level/first competition horse.
Click to expand...

If I were marketing him, I’d probably say he were a proven & competitive all rounder/RC horse.

It’s swings and roundabouts really andvit probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but there is a decent proportion of the above market that would be cautious of a ‘competition horse’ just in case it was too much for them.
 
I would say a 'Competition Horse' would really only describe horses that are actively competing at affiliated level and above.
I would describe a young horse that's been bred for that purpose but not currently doing it as 'Potential Competition Horse' if selling, otherwise if describing my own I would call it a 'Youngster' basically. My youngster fits that description but time will tell whether he'll be a competition horse and whether it will be with me (ie. not currently a competition rider)
And as Wheels said you can get things like ex-, low-level, novice etc etc. competition horses as well if you want to get technical about the description

My current riding horse who competes in most disciplines (but specialises in SJ, XC and showing) at unaffiliated level I would describe as my leisure horse, which I would say would probably describe a large number of horses. If she didn't compete at unaffiliated level and was instead just light schooling and hacking, I would describe her as a 'happy hacker'.

I tend to like to think of it in 'feed company' sort of way. By which I mean, if I wouldn't dare even think about feeding my horse a feed made for competition horse, or if I did and said feed turned them loopy, then they're probably not best being described as a competition horse.
I know, I know, there are exceptions to that rule, but it's a basic way of thinking about it!
 
I don't think there's necessarily a right or wrong answer to this as it's very much down to personal perception and interpretation. Generally speaking, I think of a competition horse as something often bred for purpose with a consistent affiliated record and the ability to continue to step up the levels. I would expect it to have a certain spark or sharpness which translates into responsiveness and gives them an edge when it comes to the higher movements. I wouldn't necessarily assume they were difficult to ride but would say they need an active rider, rather than a passenger to get a tune out of them.
 
This is such an interesting thread. Leo’s description of his hairy pony doesn’t fit my definition of a competition horse.

HOWEVER if that same pony went on to compete affiliated dressage SJ or anything else for that matter and she managed to show a consistent and progressive record, going up the levels then I would certainly say that she was a competition horse, regardless of her breeding.

In my mind, she would be heads and shoulders above any WB that has not even stepped in a competition arena due maybe to a petrified owner or sickness/lameness. If I’m wrong then I’m on a competition yard full of competition horses who haven’t done a walk trot test between them 😂
 
Goldenstar said:
An F1 car does not have to raced in a Grand Prix to be a racing car and a warmblood with beautiful breeding does not have to complete to be what it was bred to to be .
Click to expand...

But equally would a racing bred TB be called a racehorse even if it never made it to the track?

Just goes to show how different people interpret things.

I refer to one of mine as my dressage horse (now retired), even though she was jump bred. She competed at dressage.

My 3yo I would probably call a potential event/competition horse as that is his intended purpose. If he fails at it I wouldn’t call him a competition horse, I’d call him a riding horse/all rounder/hack/useless monster/whatever

My big chap isn’t really bred as a competition horse. When I got him I’d have called him a hunter if pushed, as that was his type. These days he is in no mans land, but heading towards obtaining the status of competition horse (having won affiliated). In the meantime he will need to settle for being my favourite carthorse.
 
Goldenstar said:
An F1 car does not have to raced in a Grand Prix to be a racing car and a warmblood with beautiful breeding does not have to complete to be what it was bred to to be .
Click to expand...

I see your logic but if a horse was advertised as a competition horse then I would expect that there would be a competition record for me to have a look at
 
it's an interesting thread and def one to ponder on in terms of writing or reading adverts.
I call Kira a dressage horse, that's all she does and she does it pretty well... considering she's bred to be a lawn mower or pull a cart! I don't know quite what else she would be described as otherwise?!
 
I saw an ad for a potential BSJA pony today, he was 13yrs...

However, the twit could be described as a potential competition horse. Baroque PRE, half sibling competing at Grand Prix level in dressage. I feel a bit guilty with her, she's a hacking horse who ultimately will be a failure at endurance which is what I was after, but it doesn't bother me.

She's my girl, I can live with being a happy hacker, I hate dressage with a passion, I just can't bring myself to do it. She's also jumped the six bar gate on the outdoor school because she fancied some hay that was being wheeled passed.
 
ycbm said:
I'm not sure that's true? Many of them can be bimbled about quite happily. It's clear, for a recent example, that Valegro can be ridden by a tiny eleven year old, but is most definitely a competition horse. I've had flat racers which bimbled happily as hackers, one of which, by Law Society, had won a group one race (I think that's what it's called, £40,000 prize money in 1995, so a big race). Not all competition horses are 'needs a job' horses.
Click to expand...

I agree. At my old yard there was a horse who had competed up to 4* but now retired down to bimbling. He was, and always had been, a plod and needed waking up to compete otherwise he would happily bimble
 
I have a very hairy very heavyweight cob that has in the past won affiliated elementary dressage... he probably should be able to go as med this year (I’m not keen on competing) but none of this makes him ‘a competition horse’ in my eyes for me a competition horse needs to be bred for the job AND successful at a higher level.
 
blitznbobs said:
I have a very hairy very heavyweight cob that has in the past won affiliated elementary dressage... he probably should be able to go as med this year (I’m not keen on competing) but none of this makes him ‘a competition horse’ in my eyes for me a competition horse needs to be bred for the job AND successful at a higher level.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree that your heavyweight isn't a competition horse and neither was the cob I sold before Christmas who could do elementary pretty well. And mine wouldn't have been a competition horse even if he had been doing advanced. But there are a lot of one-off chance bred horses around which move at least as well as many purpose bred horses, and it doesn't make any sense to me that if they succeed in competition that they wouldn't then be a competition horses.

As an example, Tim Stockdale's international showjumper Wiston Bridget was by a very ordinary quality Hanoverian called Rosewall Grandure who stood just round the corner from me for a few hundred quid, natural covering only. I had two of his offspring, friends had others. She wasn't bred to jump at a high level, yet she competed internationally. Was she not a competition horse?

I'm also confused about why a purpose bred horse and a similar looking chance-bred horse which show equal potential but haven't yet competed wouldn't both be called potential competition horses. I'm not talking about daft hopeful adverts, but of horses where people who know what they are talking about are looking at them and recognising potential.
 
To me a competition horse is one that has a traceable competition record at above novice level. under 7/8 can be a potential one. anything else is a warmblood type/or breed type
 
ycbm said:
As an example, Tim Stockdale's international showjumper Wiston Bridget was by a very ordinary quality Hanoverian called Rosewall Grandure who stood just round the corner from me for a few hundred quid, natural covering only. I had two of his offspring, friends had others. She wasn't bred to jump at a high level, yet she competed internationally. Was she not a competition horse?

I'm also confused about why a purpose bred horse and a similar looking chance-bred horse which show equal potential but haven't yet competed wouldn't both be called potential competition horses. I'm not talking about daft hopeful adverts, but of horses where people who know what they are talking about are looking at them and recognising potential.
Click to expand...

Yes she was. Ordinary or not hannoverians have been line bred for generations to be competition horses, ie specifically bred to be one, and she was certainly out doing the job. That horse bred to another hannoverian would create a hannoverian foal, a competition horse. A random bred horse bred to the same hannoverain could produce anything from its mish mash of genetics.
 
I thought Wiston Bridget was part bred shire? So Hann x carthorse?

Similar category would by Mulrys Error, another carthorse x

(All said with great admiration for these types who go on to perform)
 
Imo a competition horse is generally one that is affiliated and is a job orientated horse, usually been bred for the job or is a “professional” ride (obviously amateurs ride competiton horses too lol). Generally has a % of tb in there as well or looks typey.

Billy is a competition horse. He was bred to event, looks like a competition horse and if life hadn’t got in the way he’d be 3* Eventing, ability isn’t an issue for him. 1* as a 6 year old clear xc and was youngest horse at pc open champs clear xc. And that was with me, an amateur. He’s probably at adv med dressage stage atm.
I bought a horse specifically to compete. The fact that he’s easy to keep, train and ride is a bonus!

Personally I wouldn’t call your standard native or traditional cob a competition horse, or even a horse at eventing 80cms. Older horse at 90s I’d call an all rounder.
 
Last edited:
This thread is really interesting, in terms of when someone classes their own horse as a competition horse. I wouldn't class any of mine as competition horses, even if they were out doing GP whatever or going round badminton. Because my primary purpose for owning them is not to compete, and I'm fairly sure that if I declared one to be competition horse it would instantly become unsound for competing purposes ;).

I would describe Arty as a sports horse though, since she is a generically sporty model of equine. Pebbles meanwhile is, and always will be, a hairy pit pony....And if she goes 4*eventing, well then she'll be a hairy pit pony who beat the odds, but still not a competition horse.
 
Leo Walker said:
Yes she was. Ordinary or not hannoverians have been line bred for generations to be competition horses, ie specifically bred to be one, and she was certainly out doing the job. That horse bred to another hannoverian would create a hannoverian foal, a competition horse. A random bred horse bred to the same hannoverain could produce anything from its mish mash of genetics.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you understand the range of warmbloods which are available. Some are deeply ordinary horses, full warmblood or not. Bred from extraordinary stallions. As were all the Rosewall Grandures around here. Many, I had two myself. Good riding club horses, nothing more. Not all warmbloods are by GP stallions out of Kűr mares, some are being bred for the riding club market from cheaper non elite stallions. And Wiston Bridget was indeed part shire and not bred to jump internationally at all. She was a chance bred 'competition horse' in my eyes.
 
Last edited:
ycbm said:
I'm not sure you understand the range of warmbloods which are available. Some are deeply ordinary horses, full warmblood or not. Bred from extraordinary stallions. As were all the Rosewall Grandures around here. Many, I had two myself. Good riding club horses, nothing more. Not all warmbloods are by GP stallions out of Kűr mares, some are being bred for the riding club market from cheaper non elite stallions. And Wiston Bridget was indeed part shire and not bred to jump internationally at all. She was a chance bred 'competition horse' in my eyes.
Click to expand...

I do understand. I also understand they are purpose bred and breed true. Which was my point.

Having looked it up, it appears that Wiston Bridgets dams breeding isnt known, but she herself was registered with the AES as hannoverian. No idea if she was graded or not. All of the warmblood studs allowed outcrossing at some point. But it still wasnt the result of 2 completely unknown horses creating a sporty looking foal and declaring it something its not. The sire may have been ordinary in his performance/looks etc, I have no idea. But there are certainly names even I recognise in his breeding.

A horse doesnt have to be extraordinary to be a competition horse. But as far as I'm concerned they do have to be bred for the job and they have to be out doing the job.
 
ycbm said:
I'm not sure you understand the range of warmbloods which are available. Some are deeply ordinary horses, full warmblood or not. Bred from extraordinary stallions. As were all the Rosewall Grandures around here. Many, I had two myself. Good riding club horses, nothing more. Not all warmbloods are by GP stallions out of Kűr mares, some are being bred for the riding club market from cheaper non elite stallions. And Wiston Bridget was indeed part shire and not bred to jump internationally at all. She was a chance bred 'competition horse' in my eyes.
Click to expand...


Damn, this should have read ordinary stallions not extraordinary stallions!
 
Leo Walker said:
A horse doesnt have to be extraordinary to be a competition horse. But as far as I'm concerned they do have to be bred for the job and they have to be out doing the job.
Click to expand...



I've seen too many damned good competition horses performing at top level from chance breeding to ever rule out everything which wasn't purpose bred from known lines from that term, myself, but fair enough, we have many different definitions of what people think are competition horses on the thread, room for all :)
 
You see I dont think you can breed a competition horse. I think you can breed a competition type horse but its not a competition horse until it has proven itself in quality competition against others of its type. So regardless of breeding any horse can be a competition horse if it is placed competitively against others in quality classes. I do think you can breed the type more likely to succeed but you cannot guarantee it will ever be a competition horse
 
I changed my definition of a competition horse last year. We had an NH guy in to work with a stoppy difficult mare and he described her as a 'competition' horse, which baffled me at the time as she was green and unschooled really. But a few months later I totally understand what he meant - she is SO competitive, she absolutely thrives on being put under pressure, and if theres a ring of horses she wants to be the flashiest/best jumper/fastest. She loves a crowd watching her and she just ups her game the harder things get. She just loves the competition atmosphere and I would totally describe her as a competition horse now.
 
for me it is competing with consistency at any level, with the ability to win.....regularly. My chap is not a competition horse breeding wise, however, he is extremely consistent, many wins to his name and also a pet....very tricky question when you think about it as interpretation can mean so many things.
 
I guess on reflection to me it’s a type ... like a cob is a type and a hunter or a hack is a type... a hack need never have hacked a hunter need never have hunted but I’ve never met a cob who hasn’t cobbed about something .
 
Leo Walker said:
To me a competition horse is something bred for the job almost certainly some sort of warmblood, not an ex racer or something of unknown breeding that might at some point do a dressage test or a one day event etc. If either of those types were successful at a reasonably high level then I'm still not sure I'd call them a competition horse. They weren't bred for the job, so they are just a nice horse whose main job is competing.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. As an example -take a smartly bred warmblood, who spends it's life competing at a low level, and put it against Alf, who is a big common lump with no breeding to speak of, but has a pretty stellar record up to PSG. I know which one I'd consider to be a competition horse!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top