Breed’s Influence on Performance in 5-Star Eventing

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of EquiManagement. Sign up here for a FREE subscription to EquiManagement’s quarterly digital or print magazine and any special issues.

Historically, top disciplines of many equestrian sports have demonstrated breed biases. For example, warmbloods have been favored for dressage, show jumping, and eventing, while Thoroughbreds are considered best for racing.

Study: Thoroughbred vs. Non-Thoroughbred Eventing Performance

Carleigh Fedorka, PhD, assistant professor and reproductive immunologist at Colorado State University, conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between breed and performance at 5-star-level eventing. Looking at an analysis from 10 years of results between 2014 and 2024, she started by comparing 330 Thoroughbreds to 2,400 non-Thoroughbreds.

She found that Thoroughbreds accrued more dressage penalties than other breeds, while Holsteiners accrued the most penalties. In cross-country, Thoroughbreds stacked up with the rest and even outperformed non-Thoroughbreds. It there were no jump or time penalties, the Thoroughbreds were more likely to go “double clean” than the warmbloods.

In show jumping, Thoroughbreds accrued more penalties than other breeds while non-Thoroughbreds were twice as likely to go clean as Thoroughbreds.

Fedorka pointed out that eventing scoring is an accrual of three phases. In the end, Thoroughbreds and non-Thoroughbreds scored similarly. There were no significant differences between Thoroughbreds and non-Thoroughbreds in Top 3 or Top 10 placings.  

Final Thoughts

Fedorka found no advantage to competing in three-day eventing on a non-­Thoroughbred vs. a Thoroughbred when assessing penalties accrued or ability to place high in the rankings. She said breed bias against the Thoroughbred should be negated when selecting eventing ­prospects.

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