The idea behind this blog series is that riders and owners do not earn – for example – 330,000 euros for a Rolex Grand Prix or 110,000 euros for a Longines World Cup qualification on a Sunday afternoon, but one or two percent less. And that this percentage then goes to the breeders of the prize-winning horses. The breeders who don’t earn any money from their passion themselves. Who are not shown together with the rider on a big screen in the middle of the arena. Who are often not even on a starting list. And whose name is never called out.

D-Day on June 17

While the prize money in show jumping at 5* level is reaching astronomical proportions, breeders are not losing their passion, but they are losing their money. Some are giving up and the number of registered foals is in structural decline. Something needs to be done about this now. All breeding organizations agree on this, as was shown in the last episode of this series. On June 17, the topic of “breeders’ premiums” will therefore be on the agenda of a meeting between the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) and the World Equestrian Federation (FEI).

However, this is only possible if the parties involved actually want to implement the deduction of the percentage from the 5* prize money. This is not possible without the cooperation of riders, organizers and horse owners. I have confronted them with this question. Here are the answers:

Francois Mathy Jr.: “logical to reward them”

“We have never discussed this topic at board meetings or general meetings,” says the chairman of the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), Francois Mathy Jr. “I can therefore only express my own opinion. I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Breeders are essential to the sport and they invest a lot of energy in breeding the next generations of horses. So yes, it is logical to reward them when the horses they have bred prove successful at 5* level.”

In order to make an official statement on behalf of the IJRC, Mathy would first like to see the specific proposal for the introduction of breeder premiums. “Then we can discuss this within the IJRC and state our official position.”

Willem Greve, international show jumping rider: Streamline administration

Fellow show jumper and winner of the Western European League of the Longines FEI World Cup, Willem Greve, is not opposed to breeder’s premiums either. “If Greya or Highway TN win a lot of money, I really have nothing against something going to the breeder of such a horse,” says Greve. “It’s a laudable goal to recognize breeders for good work. Even if the pride that one’s own breeding product achieves top performance under a good rider seems priceless to me.”

Shaking the “tree of administration”

“The only question is: where will the money come from? Riders and owners are already taking a lot of financial risks. And before a horse has reached 5* level, it has already cost a lot of money. I therefore wonder whether such a breeder’s premium should come from the prize money. Can we not even shake the tree of administration? Riders, owners and show organizers are paying their fingers to the bone with levies to the World Equestrian Federation (FEI) and the national federations. An equestrian sports association should focus its expenditure more on the competitions, the riders and the breeders and less on its own organization,” says Willem Greve with a view to a possible streamlining of the administrative apparatus.

Equestrian Organizers: “Uniform approach difficult”

On behalf of the Equestrian Organizers, Secretary Kim Hostetter responds. “We very much understand that the recognition of breeders is an important issue and that rising costs are currently a recurring theme across the industry. At the same time, it is important to note that event organizers have made significant additional investments in recent years, both to recover from the impact of COVID and due to higher compensation and rising costs across the full range of activities. This reality is already putting significant financial pressure on events.”

Different corner frames

“It is also important to recognize that the event landscape is very diverse. There are events that take place several times a year at fixed locations, but also those that are only organized once a year. The financial situation, opportunities and challenges differ significantly between these types of competitions, which makes it difficult to apply a uniform approach to all organizers.”

“In this context, the introduction of an additional allocation of prize money raises many practical, financial and administrative questions. In our view, it is not self-evident that this is something that the organizers should determine or enable individually. Such a change would, in our opinion, require an FEI-wide discussion and a clear framework involving all parties.”

Delayed response from owners: no interest in supporting breeders

The request for cooperation in setting up breeder premiums has been with the organizations concerned since December 2025. Initially, the Jumper Owners Club did not respond to emails at all and only replied by text message after I tried to reach them by phone several times. After sending a series of SMS and WhatsApp messages, I received a message last week that a reply would be sent on Monday. It finally came on Tuesday morning: “The JOC would not support a levy on competition prize money to fund a premium for breeders“.

So the owners of the million-euro horses are actually sitting on their money. And are proving to be the toughest nut to crack.

Dirk Willem Rosie, Managing Director HorseTelex

About this blog series

Dirk Willem Rosie is the former editor-in-chief of the Dutch equestrian media Paardenkrant and Horses.nl as well as co-founder and CEO of HorseTelex. He is a breeder himself, including Caroline Müller’s 1.60 m show jumper Kyraleen and the two-time Bundeschampionat finalist and successful Small Tour stallion Matisse GG OLD.