What is the EquiRatings Elo?

The EquiRatings Elo rating is a data-driven objective horse rating system that tracks how strong a horse’s results are over time. Traditional ranking only focuses on who finishes at the top of the leaderboard on a particular day while the Elo analyses career competitiveness.

It measures:

• A horse’s long-term consistency
• How competitively a horse is performing
• The quality of opponents it is beating

Higher ratings reflect better performance against stronger opponents. 

How is Elo calculated?

It works like this:

• Points Exchange: Points are exchanged after each competition; you gain more points for beating higher-rated opponents and lose more for losing to lower-rated ones.
• Rating Updates: A horse that consistently beats higher-rated opponents climbs steadily. One that underperforms against weaker fields gradually declines.
• Focus on Quality: It rewards strong performances in tough fields, not just placings, giving a better picture of true competitive strength.
• Predictive Power: Higher Elo ratings correlate with a greater probability of future success, making it a key indicator for predicting outcomes. 

The result: ratings naturally converge toward each horse's true competitive level. A young horse that strings together strong performances against quality fields rises quickly. An aging champion that starts finishing mid-division sees their rating adjust accordingly.

Elo in Eventing

In eventing, every horse starts their international career on an EquiRatings Elo rating of 300. As the number changes throughout their career, it identifies horses who are consistently performing well against good opponents. 

The current top Elo-rated event horse is fischerChipmunk FRH on 933. The all-time record is an Elo of 973 reached by La Biosthetique-Sam FBW in 2017. Both horses are ridden by Germany’s Michael Jung.

Elo in Jumping

In show jumping, every horse begins their international career with a rating just over 500.

Like in eventing, the changing numbers identify horses who are performing well. However, given the frequency at which the horses compete in this discipline, and the varying competitions and series, it creates a far greater and more relevant list.

Ridden by Sweden’s Henrick von Eckermann, King Edward is currently the highest Elo-rated jumping horse on 813. He also holds the all-time record of 822, achieved in 2024.

Elo within the EquiRatings Ecosystem

The Elo rating is just one of EquiRatings' metrics. Understanding how it differs from other metrics helps clarify its purpose:

• Elo tracks long-term consistency and ranking providing an overall assessment of a horse’s competitive level across time.
• HPR (High Performance Rating) measures the quality of one specific performance - essentially "how impressive was that particular ride?"
• ERQI (EquiRatings Quality Index) focuses on risk management, calculating the probability of a horse completing cross-country safely based on historical data.

Each metric serves a distinct purpose. The Elo Rating reveals sustained excellence, HPR isolates individual brilliance, and ERQI assesses safety profiles.

Did you know?

At EquiRatings, we rate every single horse and every single performance in international eventing. Whether you’re seeking a young prospect with championship potential or a proven performer ready for the next step, data-driven insights help reveal future stars long before the rest of the world catches on.