Sport horse performance database Hippomundo has analysed the highest-earning eventing riders of 2025, with 2025 Badminton winner Ros Canter topping the rankings for total prize money.
Eventing’s prize money earnings profile is closely aligned with dressage, sitting well below the commercial scale of jumping. While prize money is modest relative to the sport’s physical and technical demands, the discipline continues to offer a respected, high-performance pathway built around championships, consistency and elite horsemanship rather than financial return.
The earnings profile of eventing reflects several consistent trends. Even among the top 30 riders, total prize money is relatively low, with most riders campaigning a modest string of horses, typically between five and 10. Opportunities to earn significant prize money are constrained by a smaller international calendar of high-value events, and earnings are often concentrated around championships and a handful of major competitions. The discipline is dominated by riders from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, reinforcing a strong but geographically narrow elite base.
While eventing athletes are renowned for consistency and high completion and placing rates, the financial ceiling of the sport remains clearly defined. Success is driven far more by sporting ambition than economic reward, with passion and performance continuing to outweigh profitability.
That being said, the 2026 MARS Badminton Horse Trials will feature a record-breaking top prize of £125,000 ($246,000 AUD), the largest in eventing history!
Re-watch 2025 MARS Badminton Horse Trials via ClipMyHorse.TV.
Highest-earning eventing riders of 2025 in terms of prize money:
1. Rosalind Canter (GBR) – €325,238 | 5 horses
2. Boyd Martin (USA) – €260,955 | 12 horses
3. Harry Meade (GBR) – €250,424 | 9 horses
4. Tim Price (NZL) – €153,010 | 11 horses
5. Michael Jung (GER) – €148,740 | 6 horses
6. Austin O’Connor (IRL) – €130,765 | 6 horses
7. Tom McEwen (GBR) – €101,262 | 8 horses
8. Felix Vogg (SUI) – €97,742 | 8 horses
9. William Coleman (USA) – €96,748 | 7 horses
10. Oliver Townend (GBR) – €85,065 | 4 horses
Source: ‘The highest-earning riders of 2025: three disciplines, three economic models’ – Hippomundo
