| Which type of jumping horse sells better, the | | | | seller. Costume jewelry sells better than authentic |
| hunter or the jumper? This is a question that | | | | jewelry. Good hunters are like precious stones, |
| intrigues the horse professional and casual show | | | | hard to find, but worth it when you do discover |
| rider alike. We can look at several factors to help | | | | them. |
| us come up with a suitable hypothesis without | | | | Jumpers are more available and thus less |
| actually conducting a horse sales census. The first | | | | expensive. Less expensive means more people |
| being the amount of riders looking for a particular | | | | can buy them. This leads me to say that jumpers |
| type of show horse. The second being the | | | | are the better seller, but at far less of an |
| amount of availability of those different types of | | | | average price. Hunters are fewer and far |
| horses, and thirdly, the amount of classes offered | | | | between, but command more money for |
| at the horse shows for both the hunters and | | | | ownership. I believe 30% of my annual sales are |
| jumpers. | | | | from the hunter category. |
| I sell an average of about seventy-five horses | | | | Well, all right I can do addition. If you add up 45% |
| from my barn in Wellington, Florida each and | | | | and 30%, that equals 75%. Where are the |
| every year. I sell both hunters and jumpers. I get | | | | remainder of my sales coming from? That's easy, |
| the most requests for good, averaged priced 3' | | | | the newest category, the equitation divisions. This |
| hunters. This category is extremely popular, and | | | | division is growing faster than both the other |
| there seems to be a shortage of this type horse. | | | | divisions, and no longer can you group this type of |
| Does this mean that the 3' hunters actually sell | | | | horse with either the hunter types, or the jumper |
| better? I'm not really sure if they sell better or | | | | types. The two more common show disciplines |
| people just can't find suitable specimens. Does a | | | | have morphed into a super hybrid known as the |
| lack of product mean that type of sale horse is | | | | equitation horse and he is a specialist. More classes |
| the better seller or just that those types of | | | | have emerged from the equitation ranks than |
| horses are a rarity? | | | | from anywhere else. Gone are the days where |
| Jumpers are more abundant. I sell at least 45% | | | | you could show your junior hunter in the Medal |
| of my total sales in jumpers. For whatever | | | | finals or the U.S.E.T finals, or your jumper in the |
| reason jumpers are easier to find. Firstly, they do | | | | hunter phase of the Washington. You need the |
| not have to be as quiet as the hunters do, | | | | super hybrid. We have too many phases, and flat |
| secondly, they do not always need to be as | | | | sections, and regional classes and finals for one |
| pretty. The third reason is that far more horses | | | | horse. We all need the superstar all division, all |
| can get by in the jumper ring without looking | | | | terrain, equitation horse. |
| foolish, while their hunter counterparts are judged | | | | So what sells the best? I think jumpers might sell |
| subjectively and must comply with many written | | | | the most merely because the lower level ones |
| and unwritten standards. | | | | are easier to come across. I believe hunters are |
| Lack of quality hunters seems to drive the price | | | | more difficult to locate and thus command higher |
| of this type of show horse up. It is harder to find | | | | prices. I believe equitation horses are the |
| the perfect diamond as opposed to the imperfect | | | | super-hybrid of both the hunter/jumper worlds, |
| stone. Anyone can call a horse a hunter, but only | | | | and will eventually take over as the leading sales |
| the customers can reveal whether a horse will be | | | | horses. However, if you group hunters and |
| accepted or not in that genre. I believe the | | | | equitation horses together under one category, |
| average hunter is definitely more rare than the | | | | my belief is that hunters sell better. |
| average jumper, but not necessarily a better | | | | |