COMPARED to dressage and eventing, there is minimal doubt that the top prize money in the sport horse world lies in show jumping.
Seven horses earned seven-figure sums in 2025 and three riders earned over two million euros. Scott Brash easily topped this group with more than €3.5 million won.
Hippomundo’s most recent annual prize money-based rankings show how quickly fortunes change. For example, only Checker 47 retains his 2024 top-10 place and the rankings were headed in 2025 by Hello Jefferson.
H&M Indiana, the 2024 poll-topper slid to 90th place last year on €242,321. A lifetime fortune when Boomerang was cleaning up in Spruce Meadows and now only good enough to earn a top-100 place.
Rounding out the top 10 is Laura Kraut’s Dublin Grand Prix winner Bisquetta, and it’s clear to see that a major win on the Global Champions Tour or lucrative five-star Grand Prix will drive rankings results.
It is good news for Irish riders, with three - Daniel Coyle (17th), Denis Lynch (18th) and Shane Sweetnam (20th) - featuring in the top 20. Less than €6,000 (€5,695) separated Coyle and Lynch in the final tally and all three earned over one million in prize money last year.
Other top-10 ranked Irish riders to make the overall top-100 are Cian O’Connor (32nd), Conor Swail (36th), Bertram Allen (40th), Jordan Coyle (42nd), Darragh Kenny (48th), Tom Wachman (93rd) and Mikey Pender (99th).
James Kann Cruz, pictured here finishing second in Rolex Grand Prix at CHI Geneva in December 2025, is the top ranked ISH \ Tomas Holcbecher
The top-10 Irish Sport Horses are James Kann Cruz (Breeder: Patrick Connolly), Pacino Amiro (Simon Scott), FTS Killossery Konfusion (Frank and Laura Glynn), My Clementine (David Prentice), HHS Los Angeles (Marion Hughes), EIC Cooley Jump The Q (Pam Walshe), ESI Rocky (Ennisnag Stud), Be Sky Hawk (Breen Equestrian Ltd), EIC Up Too Jacco Blue (Mark Sherry) and BBS McGregor (Marguerite Ryan).
The Irish Sport Horse studbook retains its ninth place from last year on a leaderboard dominated by the Selle Français studbook. Close to 30 million euros were earned by French-breds last year.
However, the advantage of the Hippomundo rankings are the detailed breakdown, including the number of horses per studbook and the average sum won by each horse on their database. Here we can see that the ISH studbook with just 1,115 horses - the lowest number - rises up to fifth place in this case.
Cornet Obolensky completes a leading show jumping sire double in both the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) and Hippomundo rankings for 2025.
Which of the top-10 stallions’ progeny won the most last year? Esteban de Hus (Cornet Obolensky x Baloubet du Rouet. €1,121,456), the Irish Sport Horse James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising. €809,374), Alcapone Des Carmille (Diamant de Semilly x Heartbreaker. €1,150,282), Hello Chadora Lady (Chacco Blue x Nintender. €1,115,094), Toulayna (Toulon x Parco. €719,579), Checker 47 (Comme Il Faut x Come On. €869,876), Qalista (Emerald x Landetto. €568,185), SV Vroom de la Pomme Z (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Untouchable. €239,514), Dexter de Kerglenn (Mylord Carthago x Diamant de Semilly. €284,495) and then Elysium (Zirocco Blue x Coronado. €812,974) are the top earners for their top-10 show jumping stallions.
As always, much food for thought for breeders ahead of the 2026 breeding season.
See www.hippomundo.com
Denis Lynch and Cordial on their way to a runner-up finish in the 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Riyadh in 2025 \ LGCT/Filippo Gabutti
Top 10 sires
A year in the life
RANKINGS and statistics are one aspect of an athlete’s achievements, yet the layers and organisation behind results are just as important. Denis Lynch, who clocked up the most competitions (368) throughout 2025 of any of the top-10 Irish riders, gave an insight into an international rider’s calendar.
Basel CSI5*-W last weekend has already added €13,500 to Lynch’s 2026 prize money tally, after his seventh place in the Longines Grand Prix with Brooklyn Heights, followed by sixth with Vistogrand in Saturday night’s 1.55m Golden Drum of Basel feature class.
“Definitely, it’s okay (his overall 18th place and second-highest Irish rider ranking), but it’s not something we kick off the season thinking about. You work back from the major championships where you want to be, like last year, the European Championships and being part of some of the most important Nations Cup teams, obviously Dublin and the Playoffs in Prague. That’s where you want to be, so I always work back from them.
“You set targets, try and have the horses in order, so that they can go and perform there.
“I don’t see it as a job, you know. I love working with horses, so to make a hobby into a job, it’s a plus. Yeah, obviously, there’s the travelling, the constant rotation of horses, you still have to keep finding and producing the next horse. That’s the biggest demand.
“Riding the horses at home, performing on the weekend, I see that as a pleasure. I really, really enjoy it and I love the biggest events. That’s where I want to be, that part I love, but I also love producing a very good young horse, which is the most important part, because that’s how you keep going - your next classic horse.”
It was 5.5 hours home to his Dutch base on Sunday night, a short hop compared to the global travels of an international show jumper.
“Time off... no. I always manage to try and get at least one of the holidays that my wife Julia books every year, but we work horses on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, there’s no lay-up there. Horses need to be worked, they don’t understand about those days and, when I’m home, I’m the one riding them.
“Would it be nice to have some downtime? 25 years ago, there was such a thing. But nowadays, no. It doesn’t mean I go to every show, it’s not like I’m chasing every show. I don’t do that, but when are you going to put the downtime into the calendar?”
Looking back on the Tipperary-born rider’s 2025 calendar year reveals some major results - that Aga Khan Nations Cup third place with Vistogrand (Fantaland x Mr Visto. €8,250), followed by good results on the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) by Cordial (Casall ASK x Chicago Z). He placed second for Denis in the Riyadh Grand Prix (€102,000) and third (€333,333) for the New York Empire team in the Prague final last November.
Both home Nations Cup duty and then those big pay cheques contributed to his second place among a group of competitive Irish riders on either side of the Atlantic. “I’d say I’d be one of the senior, most experienced ones we have, so I hope I’d be knocking on the door occasionally.”
Finding those younger horses is one challenge when the worldwide demand is high - are they out there and does Denis Lynch have one or two in his yard?
“That doesn’t worry me, they’re definitely out there and I know I’m good at finding and producing them. That’s never a concern. The concern is most people can’t. That’s my advantage. I’m happy to stay at home, go to a national show or jump at a one or two-star show and play around with a young horse. You can see over the last 27 years how many I’ve found and produced and they’re still going strong.
“17 years young, Brooklyn Heights was in action at Basel. Then my main horses are definitely Cordial, we’ve got Vistogrand and another very good young horse Chicago (Cascadello I x Corrado I). We’re going to give him time, he’s going to take this season to pick up a bit more routine, then I have two very interesting eight-year-olds and a very interesting seven-year-old.
“Your first target always is the World Cup finals and then hopefully you get the call-up for the Nations Cups and try and have your horse peak so that you are somewhat in that selection process for the World Championships. That’s obviously a priority for Ireland to get qualified for the next Olympics. So that’s our first major goal and obviously I have my team commitments running alongside, with New York Empire in the Global Champions League.
“That’s a major part of our season as well. We have to target different shows, make sure we’re performing and the finals are in Riyadh this year. So, many major things and a lot of travelling. I definitely need World Cup points and we’ll try to get them.
“Some riders don’t see that significance of qualifying for the World Cup, I think it’s a very important target for the indoor season, because I do the indoors. I don’t travel to America and I haven’t decided to go do the Doha trip.
“This is what I’ve chosen to do, I like doing it and it has to be done well.”
Spruce Meadows success story
IF there was another opportune profile to tie in with a rankings feature, it was surely Linda Southern-Heathcott’s presence at Basel too. The daughter of the late Ron Southern, who built up Spruce Meadows, was in Switzerland to receive this year’s Basel Award of Honour.
Max Amman, the World Cup finals instigator, and John Roche, the former Army Equitation School and FEI official, are among previous recipients.
On paper, Basel and Spruce Meadows appear polar opposites. The Swiss indoor show is held in the city’s St Jakobshalle arena, host venue to the Swiss Tennis Open, 2025 Eurovision Song Contest and numerous other sporting events and concerts.
Spruce Meadows, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, takes place outdoors in Calgary, and is regarded in the same league as other five-star arenas, such as Aachen and Dublin.
Both are five-star shows and both offer substantial prize money, which is where Basel and Spruce Meadows come into play regarding their impact on rankings.
For example, Kim Emmen’s much-admired Imagine N.O.P (Cassini Gold x Lord Z) has gone straight to the top of this week’s Hippomundo leaderboard, after the Dutch-bred’s Basel Grand Prix win and runner-up place in the World Cup final.
Scott Brash (GBR) riding Hello Jefferson - pictured here winning the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifier at the London Excel (GBR) in 2022 \ FEI/Jon Stroud
Similarly, Spruce Meadows’ huge prize money had a major impact on Hippomundo’s 2025 final rankings. Scott Brash’s ride Hello Jefferson (Cooper van de Heffinck x Irco Mena) would not have topped the show jumping horses leaderboard without the €1,036,962 earned for his CPKC Grand Prix win last September, the third leg in the Rolex Grand Slam of Show jumping.
Daniel Coyle finished the year as the top-earning Irish rider, due mainly to Incredible’s Grand Prix win (€197,436) last July at... Spruce Meadows.
According to Linda, there’s another link between the shows: “The special thing about events like this is that they bring people together, thanks to these incredible athletes. But, without the horses, none of this would be possible.”
How does Spruce Meadows secure these sponsors? “We’re very fortunate. 20 of the same sponsors have supported us since the shows began at Spruce Meadows 50 years ago.”
She recalled with great affection the Irish competitors welcomed at Spruce Meadows since it was built up from a feedlot site to an iconic venue by the Southern family. “Eddie Macken and Boomerang won a class every day in 1979, then you had Cruising [on the winning Irish Nations Cup team 30 years ago] and right up to the latest Irish win in the Nations Cup in 2024.”
Linda herself competed at top level, including the 1988 World Cup final in Gothenburg with Chrysler Cardinal and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with Advantage Chrysler.
What changes has she seen in show jumping within those five decades? “The world has changed too! In show jumping, the biggest changes I see are in nutrition and fitness, both riders and horses.”
She was clearly delighted to receive the award in a typical Basel-style ceremony before the World Cup qualifier last Sunday afternoon. For the first time in its 15-year history, the 15th Basel Award of Honour came with a cheque as well as the famous golden horse award, presented by her Basel equivalent, Dr Thomas Straumann.
Linda has nominated the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation as her charity of choice.
Programmes offered through the Foundation include Opening Gaits (therapeutic riding for children and adults with disabilities) and Can Praxis (equine-assisted therapy for veterans and first responders).
‘Prize money’ put to good work.