Eventing Horse Breeds: Which Studbooks Win at the Top Level

The breeds that win most in eventing today are the Irish Sport Horse, the Holsteiner and the Selle Français, and almost every successful event horse carries a large share of Thoroughbred blood. That is the short answer, and the world rankings back it up year after year.

The clearest evidence comes from the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), which ranks studbooks by the results of their best performing horses at international level. In the final 2025 table, the winning eventing studbook was the Holsteiner Verband, with 1,450 points. The German studbook had already been leading in the summer of 2024, when The Irish Field reported it on 1,393 points, ahead of the Irish Sport Horse on 1,200 and the Selle Français on 1,151. Those three names have traded places at the top for a long time.

The Irish Sport Horse has the longest record of all. Its studbook placed first in the WBFSH eventing rankings in every year from 1994 to 2018 except two, finishing second in 2010 and third in 2011. It led again in 2022 and 2023, when Horse Sport Ireland pointed to horses such as Ballaghmor Class, ridden by Oliver Townend, and Rehy DJ, ridden by Yasmin Ingham, among its counting scores. Historically the breed was produced by crossing the Irish Draught with the Thoroughbred, and it was formalised in the 1920s. The Draught side brings bone, soundness and a sensible mind; the Thoroughbred side brings gallop and stamina.

The Holsteiner's recent run owes a great deal to one horse. London 52, a bay gelding by Landos out of Vernante by Quinar Z, was bred by Ocke Riewerts on the small North Sea island of Föhr in Germany. Under British rider Laura Collett he won team gold and individual bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, several CCI5* events, and European Championship gold in 2025. Riewerts was named WBFSH Eventing Breeder of the Year 2025. Other Holsteiners in that year's counting group included JL Dublin and Carlitos Quidditch K.

Why do these particular breeds keep coming out on top? Eventing asks one horse to do three very different jobs. Dressage rewards balance, rhythm and a calm head. Cross-country demands speed, stamina and bravery over solid fences, often for more than ten minutes at the top level. Show jumping on the final day tests whether the horse still has the care and scope to leave the poles up when it is tired. A breed that only excels in one phase rarely wins. Warmblood breeding adds the movement and jumping technique; Thoroughbred blood adds the engine that gets a horse home on the cross-country course.

That is also why the Thoroughbred remains the foundation of the sport even when it is not the studbook listed on the entry. Many successful event horses are registered as Irish Sport Horses, Holsteiners or other warmbloods but have a high percentage of Thoroughbred ancestry. Pure Thoroughbreds, including ex-racehorses, still compete successfully at every level, though the hotter temperament that comes with more blood tends to suit experienced riders better.

Other warmbloods appear regularly too. The Trakehner, which has Thoroughbred and Arabian influence and is one of the lightest warmbloods, is known for stamina. Dutch, Belgian and Danish warmbloods, the Hanoverian and the Anglo-Arab all produce good event horses. Breed guides that rank eventing horse breeds usually include these names, but the international results show the depth of success is concentrated in a few studbooks.

For a rider shopping for a horse, the breed label is a starting point rather than a guarantee. A studbook ranking counts only the six best horses from each book, so it tells you where top talent tends to come from, not how an individual horse will behave in your yard. For amateur riders at lower levels, a more traditionally bred Irish Sport Horse with more Draught blood often offers a kinder temperament and sound legs. Riders aiming at four- and five-star competition generally look for more Thoroughbred blood, because the faster tracks at that level expose any lack of gallop.

Whatever the papers say, the practical checks stay the same: a vet examination, a look at the horse's competition record, and time spent riding it in all three phases. Among eventing horse breeds, the Irish Sport Horse, Holsteiner and Selle Français give you the best odds. The right individual horse still matters more than the name of its studbook.