Equestrian Center

Competitions

Now that you’ve learned all about how to train your horse for racing and jumping, let’s talk about why you want to do this. Well-trained horses can enter—and win!—various competitions. Winning races brings money and fame. Prize-winning horses can bring beaucoup Simoleons in winnings, as well as earn more money in stud fees or breed more valuable foals.

Competitions take place once each day at the JRA International Equestrian Center, typically at 5 PM on weekdays and noon on the weekends. To enter a competition you must be mounted, you and your horse must have the requisite skills, and you must sign up during the allotted time. If you try to sign up at the wrong time, the option is grayed out.

For the best chance at success, train your Sims and your horses rigorously, and make sure both your Sims and horses are in good moods with no imminent need failures.

Three different competitions are available: Racing, Show Jumping, and Cross-Country. Cross-Country is a combination event that relies on (and builds) both Racing skill and Jumping skill, while Racing and Show Jumping rely on and build Racing skill and Jumping skill respectively.

Within these competitions are three different levels: Beginner, Advanced, and International. Each higher level offers a greater challenge to horse and rider but also offers more prize money.

Each type of competition works the same way. You mount up, go into map view, and click on the Equestrian Center during the time that the competition is available. It remains open for an hour after the start time, and after that, the competition closes and you have to wait for another day. If the competition is closed, you’ll see a message on the Equestrian Center saying what time the next competition will be held.

The options at the Equestrian Center include entering a competition. Notice that the Offer Stallion for Stud option is grayed out? I’m riding a mare, not a stallion.

Choose your competition and then select Beginner, Advanced, or International. If you can’t enter a level because either your or your horse’s skill is too low, it is grayed out.

When it’s time for the competition to begin, you and your horse enter the Equestrian Center. It’s a “rabbithole” style venue, so you can’t see what’s going on inside. Instead, a scoreboard box pops up, listing all the entrants, showing their position, horse’s name, and rider’s name. At the top is a bar that slowly fills as the race progresses. And to the right side is a drop-down menu that lets you choose from among three paces:

Steady Pace : Don’t take any risks and get a reliable outcome.

Take Risks : You might get a higher place, or you might fall behind.

Go for Broke : Win it all or go home empty-handed!

As the race progresses, you’re rooting for your Sim’s position to rise to the top of the standings. Throughout the race, adjust the paces as you see fit to try to best affect the outcome.

First through sixth places win prize money, which varies by race and difficulty, but only the winner gets a trophy. There are separate trophy designs for racing, jumping, and cross-country competitions. Trophies for beginnner competitions are bronze, advanced trophies are silver, and international trophies are gold.

Bronze and silver Show Jumping trophies.

Racing trophies

The more competitions your horse wins, the more valuable that horse becomes. This comes into play when breeding or offering a horse for stud. Champion studs can command hefty fees. The prize money from winning races is nothing to sneer at either. And that’s a good thing, because if your Sims plan to train and race horses extensively, they’ll have a hard time holding down full-time jobs.

Buying and Selling Horses

But the Equestrian Center isn’t just for racing. It offers some other interesting options, such as the ability to buy or sell horses. If you made your household with just one or even no horses, you may wish to buy a horse from the ones on offer at the Equestrian Center. Now these horses aren’t always the greatest, but remember that you can affect their traits and improve their training. And the horses for sale are generally more worthwhile than the ones you find for adoption, although adopted horses can make great pets with a lot of training and care.

Winchester has some good qualities, and he’s male, so he can be my new stud horse. Notice that he’s worth §1,800.

Am I sure? Horses need a lot of attention and care! Yes, I’m sure.

When you agree to buy a horse, you get an opportunity to rename him.

When I exit the Equestrian Center, I’m mounted on my new horse.

You also have the option to sell horses. A well-trained horse with some wins to her name will fetch a pretty penny.

Caeli is worth more than five times what Winchester sold for!

Just as every animal will be adopted by someone, every horse offered for sale will be sold. You’ll get a message saying “Wow, what a great horse! We’ll have no problem finding a buyer...”

You should now see that it’s quite possible to make some coin by training and selling horses. See the Breeding and Raising Horses section, below, for more details on how to be a successful horse breeder.

Watch Competition

The Equestrian Center has another interesting interaction. You can watch an equestrian competition for §200. This is a lot of fun for your Sim, especially if they have the Equestrian trait.

Invest

And as is the case with any venue, if you have enough money, you can invest in it and become a partner or a full owner.