No one can answer the question of how far you can go except yourself. The history of all sports is replete with examples of miracles, long-shots and unlikely characters making it to the big time. There are even examples of people much older than you would think could be doing this, doing it. Actually, most all of the great riders are middle-aged or older because while athleticism declines with age, their depth of knowledge and horsemanship grow stronger. Are you your small country's future first-ever gold medalist in Olympic Show Jumping? No one can ever 100% predict the answer to a question like that. If you are that person, then go be that person! The fact that there aren't enough riders to make up a team in your country could work to your advantage if you're that good.

What do you want to get out of being a professional rider? If it's to have a long and prosperous life and career with horses then I would say to forget the number of your age and focus instead on being as healthy and athletic as possible for as long as possible, so you can continue to ride for as long as you want to. That's not to say that you shouldn't go be an Olympic champion. I say that if you can, and you have the want-to, then you should do. Just remember that even the greatest victory is only a moment in time and that what matters is what life is like leading up to it, and then after it's over and you're looking back on your accomplishment.

A good book for advice on being a professional horse person of any kind (but particularly a rider) is called "Win" by Bob Avila. Pay particular attention to what he says in the section "What it Really Takes to Become a Champion". You can get the book on Amazon for around $3, which is ridiculously cheap for the value you'll get from it!

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Bob-Avila...g/dp/0911647570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433821743&sr=8-1&keywords=win+bob+avila

 

One of the bigger challenges to becoming an internationally competitive rider is funding. Horses that can withstand the physical and mental rigors of high level competition can be quite expensive. Working closely with a trainer/coach who can get you there is also expensive.

If you are fortunate enough to have access to the right horses and trainers, then it's all up to your talent and the effort you put in to developing it. Given those resources, natural talent, and dedication to learning the finer points, I don't think it would be impossible to go from zero to very competitive within 5 years.

 

To be a professional you need:
a) a poor understanding of economics
b) guts
c) buns and thighs of steel
d) good health insurance

 

If you're interested in show jumping, there's a lot of money involved in staying competitive so you'll need sponsors or family money. To campaign one horse, I bet you'll be looking at shelling out $65k to $70k a year easy to cover trainers, entrance fees, stabling fees, travelling costs, vets, chiros, etc. Then there's the cost of the horse itself which will be, on average, in a six figure range (its not uncommon for show horses to be owned by syndicates or partnerships because of their high value). And, one horse won't do it -- most professional riders have a string of horses in their stable in various ranges of training so that they will have backups available if the primary horses are unable to compete for whatever reason; they will also likely be buying and selling horses all the time trying out new ones that have the potential to compete at national or international levels (sometimes, I think the show jumping riders are really horse dealers in disguise as they search out the ones that have ability).

You'll need skill and experience on what is arguably very precise riding over daunting courses on strong, forward moving horses. The best way to do that is to connect with a good trainer that can take you under his/her wing and bring you along. There is no set time on how long you have to "train" before you can compete -- it will all rest with your ability to absorb what you are taught and your desire to learn, to study and to practice. Your age, by the way, is not detrimental to reaching your goal although you need to keep yourself fit because you'll be spending many hours in the saddle.

So, if you do your homework and come up with a workable plan for your success, I may be watching you compete one of these years.

 

Another essential book is "The Luck Factor" by Brian Tracy. You can get that one from audible.com, free if it's your first book when you sign up. In fact, it's a good idea to become a voracious reader if you're not already.

It's also true that there's a lot of money involved in this sport. There's money to be made and it takes a lot of money to get there. If you don't have it yourself that doesn't mean that it's not possible for you. Don't listen to people who say it's impossible. You just have to find the people who have the money and get them to invest it in you!

 

I am nearly 21 and I've been riding since I was 7 but only RIDING since I was 14, and I was 16 before I got a horse good enough to seriously compete on. I'm also pretty chicken so it takes me a long time to build up the confidence to increase the heights I jump, and I need to be training a lot higher than I'm competing, again for my own confidence.

Unfortunately just as I was ready to start breaking into the professional showjumping circuit, my showjumper had to retire (he was pretty old), and my young horse wasn't old enough to start jumping, and then last year I had to sell her, so I haven't jumped in two years.

But I can tell you that you need a REALLY great coach, the skin of a rhino, a good horse, and either a LOT of money or the willingness to sacrifice a lot so you can spend money on your horse.

EDIT; and it's NEVER too late to start!

 

Thank you, everybody. I am heartened by your encouraging responses.

I have done a fair bit of calculating over the past few days and I came up with an initial estimate of $120-150k (USD) a year. That is how much it will cost for me to pursue my dream over here, which is a problem because my family is far from wealthy -- although, we do happen to know a lot of wealthy people in our social circle who could potentially sponsor me. I'm still trying to work that out because sponsorships are supposed to be mutual arrangements, and I'm at a loss because I have nothing to offer them in return. Guess I'll have to do some research to figure this one out.

I just have one small question: Do most equestrian athletes generally compete in just one discipline, or can they compete in dressage, eventing and show jumping if they're well-versed enough in the sport to participate in all three events?

 

3 day events consist of Dressage, show jumping and cross country so you should be good at all 3.

 

Not too old. Most will depend on how good you are and learn, how much money you have and if you can afford good horses. Training, showing and paying a coach is expensive. I think it takes about 50K to go to a world competition.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that pure dressage is very different to eventing dressage.

I was briefly a working pupil for an Olympic rider who represented Australia in eventing, and then decided to focus on pure dressage for a time. As I was his pupil, he had a young up-and-coming event horse, and was still actively competing in Grand Prix dressage. His eventing horse is now (I think?) a 3 or 4 star horse, and was a 1 star horse when I was there.

I talked to him at length about horse temperaments and his view is that while dressage horses need to have the presence and power to perform, they also need to have a good, quiet, trainable temperament, because a single spook can ruin your entire dressage test. Eventing horses need to be a little hotter, but still trainable and willing.

His event horse was a lunatic, but also (oddly) the only horse there I actually got on with. I had some degree of dislike for every single other horse he had on his property. I think that's partly because Aspire had more Thoroughbred blood than the others, and I like the TB temperament, and not the warmblood one so much.

Showjumpers are often allowed (and encouraged) to be VERY hot, and at least 70% of them are dirty (rearing and/or bucking) when they refuse.

So to compete in those three disciplines you need to be able to handle a range of different temperaments, ride in a range of different ways, and be a fearless and effective rider. I'm not scared of horses' behaviour, but I AM scared of solid fences, and I don't have the patience for the extreme amount of repetition that pure dressage requires, so my chosen discipline is showjumping, where the horses are often not as well behaved, but the fences will fall if you hit them, and the repetition required is less.

I will say, though, that there's nothing quite like riding an FEI dressage horse. I've only had the privilege of doing so twice, but that horse was incredible, and I will never forget the experience.

 

All it takes to be a professional rider is for someone to pay you to ride their horse. It is that plain and simple.

What it takes to be a top class show jumper or evented basically boils down to three things.
First talent - it can be learnt but a natural ability is also needed.
Secondly - money. If you want to get to the top, one horse is not enough. You need to have several so if one goes lame you have others coming on.
Thirdly - luck. Being seen winning at the better class shows, having the right contacts, your face fitting with selection teams.

Nowadays show jumping, or, come to that, any equestrian sports are so competitive to get to the top level is not just a matter of working hard, it is all of the above.

Good luck to you.

 

Dom Schramm, on Evention TV, answers all of the above questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsTtT1HCE0

 

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "competitive" and "professional". If you are talking about competitive at an international level and professional in the sense of getting paid enough for riding to live off it, I would say you will have a pretty hard time to accomplish that from zero in a period of 5 years.

I am also not so sure where you are pulling the number of $120 - 150K from. I am certain that you can get a really good riding foundation on a lot less than that.
My suggestion would be to not buy a horse right away, but first to get a good, solid foundation with the best trainer you can afford. What's the point of buying a Formula 1 race car when you don't even have a driver's license?
Riding different horses will greatly improve your skills.
Depending on how much work you put into this and also how much talent you have, you can move on from there at your own pace.

You can still buy a horse or look for a suitable horse to ride (many profsssional.riders do not own the horses they ride) when you have figured out what you want to do, what you are looking for, and have found a mentor that you can work with and trust.

I am not sure which country you are from, and how well your country sponsors its athletes, but it is standard in all but the most prestigious disciplines - even for international athletes - to have a job that pays the bills and do sports on the "side" (if you can even call it that).

I know that's probably not what you'd like to hear, but I would strongly advise you to have a Plan B for what you are going to do in case the riding career doesn't work out.
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I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "competitive" and "professional". If you are talking about competitive at an international level and professional in the sense of getting paid enough for riding to live off it, I would say you will have a pretty hard time to accomplish that from zero in a period of 5 years.

I am not sure which country you are from, and how well your country sponsors its athletes, but it is standard in all but the most prestigious disciplines - even for international athletes - to have a job that pays the bills and do sports on the "side" (if you can even call it that).

By 'competitive' and 'professional', I mean representing my country in international and regional competitions, which will be significantly easier for me considering that we barely have an equestrian contingent at all (although we have do have an equestrian committee - just hardly any competitive riders).

It isn't my intention to ride for a living. I have absolutely no interest in doing that, plus I have other avenues for a proper career (I'm a science student and will be continuing my education when I move, so there's that). That's actually my Plan A. Riding is just a passion of mine, not something I plan to centre my life around.

 

Also as they say: "a horse without a rider is still a horse, but a rider without a horse is nothing".

A lot of the game is luck and finding that horse that works for you.
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