HGG Community Forums

Every time you train a horse, a certain number of points is added to the score it receives when it shows. If a horse is perfectly consistent, that score will remain the same both times it is shown, until you train it again. Most of the time there will be some variation in a week, which can be small or greater depending on the hidden consistency rating of the horse. Horses that pass the Consistency Test with the "consistent" rating may have scores that are exactly the same, or that vary by +/- 1 point or +/- 2 points. The first of those options will, over time produce the possibility of up to a 3 point swing in scores. The second gives up to a 5 point swing. Horses that test "inconsistent" have the possibility of even wider swings in score in a given week.

So, horses start out in Level 1 at birth or creation, with a base score somewhere between 0 and 10. Once they start training that score will increase. Many foundations horses will add 3 points to their score with each training. Since the scores in most level/grades from Level 2 through Level 5 cover 10 points, it will take about 3 weeks for a horse to move up to the next Level/Grade.

In each Level, there are 4 Grades--Local, Regional, National, and World. Each of the Grades covers 10 points. The Levels are sometimes referred to by their numbers and sometimes by their names. Here is the list.

Level 1 -- In Hand
Level 2 -- Green under Saddle
Level 3 -- Green over Fences
Level 4 -- Training
Level 5 -- C Level
Level 6 -- B Level
Level 7 -- A Level
Level 8 -- Grand Prix

Every time you enter a horse in a show, the Entry Fee is subtracted from your game bank account. The entry fees for each class are listed in the handy chart of class fees and number of horses entered found when you click on "My Show Entries" under "Showing" in the left menu bar. You will notice that the fees increase as the horse moves up through the Grades of each level and as they get into higher and higher levels. After each show is over, there are cash awards given to your stable. Horses that place in the top half of the class earn more than the entry fee; horses in the bottom half of the class earn less than the entry fee. The horse that comes in last earns nothing. So a horse only makes a profit showing when it finishes in the top half of the class.

On the horse's Info tab, Earnings refers to how much it made from its placing in shows, no matter where it placed. "Total Profits" refers to how much it made AFTER the entry fees have been subtracted.

However, these profits are not how you make the most money in showing. If you go to the Records tab of one of your horses that has been shown, you can click on the name of a class and see the complete records of that show--every horse and where it placed, who owns each one, the score each made, the number of points that it was awarded for its placing and the cash payout for its placing. You will notice that every horse has been awarded a certain number of points except for the one that came in last. The number of points is highest for first place and decreases slightly from there. The more horses there are in a class and the higher the class is in the Level/Grade system, the more points are awarded.

These show points are a permanent part of a horse's record and are retained by the horse when it is sold. Every night you receive a "Daily Showing Bonus" which is a percentage in hajibucks of all the points all of your horses have gathered. So it pays to enter horses in shows, even if they probably won't make a profit. They will still add points which will add to your showing bonus as long as you own that horse.