Tournament sport in Germany continues to decline

The economic situation in Germany is having an increasing impact on equestrian sport: The number of tournaments, starts and registered show horses continued to fall in 2024. Last year, 3,244 national tournaments were held with a total of 56,975 competitions and 1,081,008 starts - a decrease of 5.4 percent in tournaments and 2.2 percent in starts compared to 2023. Smaller tournaments with prize money of up to 2,500 euros were particularly affected, falling by 12.6 percent.

The number of annual show licenses also fell again to 68,425, while the number of newly registered show horses fell by 8.7%. The proportion of male participants in show jumping fell further to just 11.7%. A ray of hope is the increase in trial licenses by almost 14%, which indicates a growing interest in entering the sport of show jumping.

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