ACTIVITIES ENCOMPASSED BY ENGLISH & WESTERN RIDING STYLES

•  Western riding style activities include cutting, team penning, reining, speed games, trail classes, pleasure and equitation classes, roping, and trail riding.
•  English riding style activities include dressage, country pleasure, jumping, hunting, mounted games, polo, and hunter pace.
• Trail riding, endurance racing, competitive trail riding, and competitive mounted orienteering can be either Western or English.
• For the purpose of research since Western and English riding styles can be competitive or recreational, we focused on these two categories.
• The American Horse Council Foundation states there are 9.2 million horses in the US, with 3.91 million used for recreation, 2.72 million for showing, and 840,000 for racing.

RIDING STATISTICS IN THE US

• Thirteen million households have participated in trail riding in the US.
• There are over seven million Americans involved in the industry with 2 million horse owners.
• The eastern part of the US has a higher percentage of English disciplines, while the western part has a higher number of Western disciplines.

EQUINE INDUSTRY MARKET SIZE IN US DOLLARS

• The US equestrian market size for the whole industry is $102 billion.
• The US competition sector of this market is $28.3 billion, or 32% of the market.
• The US recreation sector of this market is $18 billion, or 18% of the market.
• The US work sector of this market is $4.6 billion, or 5% of the market.
• The US racing sector of this market is $36.6 billion, or 42% of the market.

Equine Industry- Western/English Breakdown

• To obtain the Western and English breakdown, we used the competition and recreation sectors. According to the USA Equestrian Society, 63% of their riders are English, and 36% are western. We understand this breakdown might not extend beyond the competition market, so we have just used these figures for the competition market segment.
• The US English Riding Competition market is $17.83 billion. ($28.3 x 63%)
• The US Western Riding Competition market is $10.12 billion. ($28.3 x 36%)

EQUINE MARKET SIZE BY POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

• The US market size for the recreation and competition markets is seven million
• The US market size for competitive riders is 3.6 million potential customers.
• The US market size for recreational riders is 3.4 million potential customers.

Equine Industry- Western/English Breakdown

• To obtain the Western and English breakdown, we used the competition and recreation sectors. According to the USA Equestrian Society, 63% of their riders are English, and 36% are western. We understand this breakdown might not extend beyond the competition market, so we have just used these figures for the competition market segment.
• The US English Riding Competition market is potentially 2.45 million customers. (3.6 x 63%)
• The US Western Riding Competition market is potentially 1.3 million customers. (3.6 x 36%)

GLOBAL EQUINE EQUIPMENT MARKET SIZE

• The global equine equipment market is $1.9 billion.
• It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% through 2028. Online purchases are expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7%.
• Saddles make up 30% of this market.
• Tier Three players control over 85% of the market.
•  Equine equipment is expected to outsell rider equipment due to the number of riding clubs and schools.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE MARKET/INSIGHTS

• In the US, riding lesson numbers are rising.
• Several associations have reported increases in memberships including The United States Equestrian Federation, The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, The American Quarter Horse Association, and The Therapeutic Riding Association.
• Arabians have seen a 15% increase in small show entries
• In a 2018 survey, 21% of respondents said business had improved over the previous year. This is a four percent increase over 2017.
• Boarding, lessons, and training were listed as the top revenue earners.
• International horse competitions like the Olympics and World Equestrian games and rising prestige have contributed to the increase in market.
• Companies are beginning to partner with non-profit equestrian groups to promote their equipment at competitions.

POPULAR EQUINE BRANDS

•  Ariat, Parlanti, Noble, and Dubarry were the equestrian brands mentioned the most times six different articles that mentioned "top" brands.

Research Strategy

DEMOGRAPHICS

General Demographics

•  Thirteen million households have participated in trail riding, with 87% trail riding on public land.
• There are 9.2 million commercial and recreational horses in the US.
• Horse enthusiasts are found in 38 million homes in the US.
• The majority of horse owners are recreational owners.
• One out of 63 Americans are involved with horses in some way.
•  One out of three horses are registered as American Quarter Horses. Thoroughbreds make up 1.29 million registrations.
•  Pleasure and trail riding is the most frequently reported activity when horse riding, followed by dressage.

Areas

• Texas, California, and Florida have the highest population of horses.
• Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Colorado, and Pennsylvania round out the top ten states for highest population of horses.
• Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Delaware have the smallest population of horses.
• More homeowners live in rural areas instead of urban areas. Communities with less than 20,000 people are the home to 57% of all horses. Cities with populations over 50,000 are home to 26% of horses.

Age/Education/Family

• The average horse owner is 38-45 years old and female.
• Thirty-eight percent of participants are under the age of 18.
• Twenty-three percent of the US Equestrian Federation's membership is from junior members.
• More horse owners are married than not married (52%)
• The average horse owner has children between the age of 12-17.
•  58% are college graduates. Managerial and professional jobs make up 60% of horse owners.

Income

• The largest group of horse owners, 45%, are from the middle class with an annual income of $25,000-$75,000.
• Twenty-eight percent of horse owners make over $100,000.
• The average income of USA Equestrian members is at least $134,500. This would be a good representation of competition horse segment salaries. Their members also have an average net worth of at least $955,400, and a portfolio of $460,000.
• Horse owning families with incomes under $50,000 make up 34% of the population.
•  85% have at least one credit card.
•  84% own their own residence.

Spending Habits

• At least $7,200 is spent on horse care. (72%- vet care, 72%- dewormers, 66%- grooming products, 63%- medicine, 61%- feed, 58%- vitamins and supplements, 56%- leather care, 52% boarding fees, 48%- brindles and strap goods, 46%- hoof treatments, 42% -insecticides, 30%- saddles).
• The average number of horses owned is four with a net worth of $50,300 (for USA Equestrian members).
•  77.1% indicate their horses are not insured.

Competition Horse Owners

• They travel over 1,400 miles per year for competitions.
• Nine nights per year are spent in a hotel.
•  92% own a vehicle. The average number of vehicles owned is three.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

• In an Equine Megamarket Study 1,000 horse owners were surveyed. The following was discovered:
• They spend 22 hours a week with their horses.
• The read equine publications. They spend five or more hours a week reading horse publications. This is their primary source of horse information.
• The use the internet.
• They are impulse buyers.
• They tend to enjoy country music, hiking, outdoor activities, read, and own cats and dogs.
• Two-thirds keep their horses at their home.

RESEARCH STRATEGY