While stasis and stability are often a sign of health, they can also represent spoil and stagnation. At what point do we look at the equestrian industry, specifically at the hunter discipline, and decide on which side the seesaw is swaying? Are we strongly supported by our vice-grip on tradition and history, or have we tipped into a state of atrophy born from complacency? 

A look back at the sport of hunters in 2024 is full of continuity: a four-peat winner in the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Derby Championship, the same rider/trainer combination win in both divisions of the Platinum Performance/Green Hunter Incentive Championships, rider repeats win in the 3’6″/3’9″ Incentive Championship, the same rider wins all three WCHR Spectacular events. Skill, quality and excellence are never fleeting, so these results are not surprising. But they are emblematic of the static state of the hunter discipline. 

The top of equestrian sport was wildly successful in 2024. Participation numbers in premier horse shows steadily increased. Participation numbers in the majority of national shows increased. Regional shows struggled, but that is a new experiment without enough conclusive data to evaluate. Horse registration numbers are up. The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association projects a balanced budget, and the U.S. Equestrian Federation boasts membership topping 500,000. The business of the horse business is booming. 

Flagship facilities sparsely mark the landscape in California, New York, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Texas. They may be few, but they are mighty, and some are superlative. Millions upon millions of dollars are poured into showgrounds on a yearly basis in an effort to update footing, stabling and infrastructure, and to improve the user experience. Profits are deferred as cash flow is redirected into improvements. It is a business not for the faint of heart nor the undercapitalized as we see corporate investors retreat from the realities of equestrian facility investment. 

Over decades, expenses have consistently increased as consumers absorb the hard costs of hay, feed, bedding and stabling in a country where open land suited for recreation and farming becomes increasingly scarce, as do people to work the land. One quarter of the way through the 21st century, hay costs have tripled in some areas, as feed has more than doubled. Shipping goods and animals incur high costs of fuel, freight and insurance, which is passed on to the consumer. 

These things we can count on; these things we have come to expect; these things we learn to accept. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Leading The Hunters Into The Future

Has competition changed? On the face of it, the hunter ring appears different. Attire has morphed into sleeker, tighter athletic wear. Helmets have improved to become essential life-saving gear. Tack is prettier. Horses are fitter, fatter and foreign pedigreed. Courses are colorful and occasionally technical. 

But, in essence, the hunter discipline has not fundamentally changed in many decades. In fact, it may be argued that it has been simmered down to a beige sauce of bland repetition. Placid, cadenced round after round over predictable tracks are the rhythm of the hunter ring. The smoother, the better. Consistency is rewarded, sometimes at the expense of athleticism. 

Fans and spectators, unless card-carrying hunter fans and/or parents, are scarce. So, we are entertaining ourselves. We have not endeavored to expand our fan base or to catch the next wave of riders as they peruse other menu options such as eventing or show jumping. Our premier events—hunter spectaculars, derby finals, night classes, championships—have substantial online appeal. They are easy to consume from the comfort of the couch. In its current form, we struggle to envision a hunter stadium full of cheering fans similar to what we see in other disciplines. Now is the time to open our eyes and create a sport with crowd appeal, which will involve straying from established norms. 

Who will lead the hunter discipline into the future? How do we break the ties that bind us to the beaten path of routine and tradition and recreate ourselves to survive? Each year, the silo of opportunity gets narrower as costs rise, horse shows disappear, and the stench of horse abuse haunts us. Doping is still rampant in the hunter ring; it’s just harder to get away with. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Assuming The Mantle Of Change

Paris 2024 was the Olympic coronation ball for equestrian sport. With the advent of streaming options, viewership reached an all-time high by hundreds of thousands. Who among us will ever forget the triumph and trials of our fabulous show jumping team? Round after round of horses with astounding athleticism ridden by talented Americans whose grit, determination and camaraderie led them to the podium. Who among us will forget the cross-country gallop across the misty Grand Canal at Versailles? 

It was an event tailored to our fans and a shining portal for the public. The Fédération Equestre Internationale just announced a broadcast deal with Warner Brothers Discovery to provide extensive coverage of key worldwide equestrian events, offering millions of viewers access to our sport. The Olympics provided equestrian sport with a platform to escalate visibility to unprecedented levels. 

How does the hunter world ride the wave of public popularity? It is time to stop playing to the same crowd and discuss ways to make the sport less esoteric and more exciting to spectators. Do we have the leadership in place at this inflection point? Critical thinkers, visionaries, thought provokers? Change is disruptive and potentially costly. If we interrupt routines, adjust scoring systems, change the field of play, resistance is inevitable—especially to those who profit from the current system. It is difficult to espouse change if it threatens our livelihood or lifestyle. 

The board of directors of the USHJA, our sport organization that represents national hunter/jumper/equitation sport, contains seven show managers out of 16 directors. Forty-four percent of our sport association governance act or have acted as show managers, a significant overrepresentation of this group which comprises less than 5% of our membership. When the interests of equestrian industry clash with the interests of equestrian sport, the fix is in. 

Last year saw new leadership at USHJA after the previous president was asked to resign due to claims filed by an anonymous whistleblower. Soon thereafter, the executive director of the organization was replaced. The reason behind the significant and rapid shift at the top was never disclosed to the membership, nor was there much chatter about it in the public domain; no one seemed to be bothered. Do the 43,000 members of the USHJA believe that the organization is significant in guiding the direction of hunter/jumper sport, or are they looking to USEF to sculpt the future? 

The USHJA membership may be disenfranchised to the point of apathy. They belong to the organization because it is a requirement, not because they believe it will lobby for their best interests. As a group committed to the hunter ring, it is incumbent upon all of us to assume the mantle of change for the best interests of the sport, not the industry. 

The ranks of jumper sport are increasing while hunter sport appears to be waning. Exhibitors gravitate toward a discipline without subjectivity; there is no questioning of a score after a jumper round. It does not matter who owns, rides or trains the horse. The rail stays up, or the rail comes down. There are diverse jumper divisions that provide numerous options to amateurs and juniors at varying price points. A revamped pony jumper division hopes to provide opportunity to our youngest exhibitors through a regulated, safe pathway to building skills in the jumper ring, hopefully at a moderate cost. As hunter people, we need to acknowledge the complaints about our sport and address them now. Judging systems need re-examination; the cost of horse showing for lower-level riders and horses should be less than the upper level. Horse welfare concerns must be our No. 1 priority. We need to build trust and popularity as we recraft our sport into a more popular event for participants and observers. There are great thinkers and innovators in our ranks. There are horsemen, marketers, financiers, entertainment experts and visionaries. Can we consider variables used in other equestrian events: music, height, speed, teams, betting, national series?

We want a clean hunter sport that has a future in the equestrian world—one that is not only for the wealthy, one that does not prioritize victory at any cost to the animal. Let us make 2025 the beginning of a new era of show hunters—where the more things change, the more things become possible. 

Sissy Wickes is a Princeton University (New Jersey) graduate, a lifelong rider and trainer, a U.S. Equestrian Federation R-rated judge, a freelance journalist and an autism advocate. Her resume includes extensive show hunter and jumper experience. She chairs the USEF Judging Task Force and the USHJA Equitation Task Force, and she also sits on the USHJA WCHR Task Force, as well as the board of directors of the Retired Racehorse Project and Hill Top Preparatory School. She is the executive director of the Road To The Top Foundation. 

This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.