SALARYSPORT
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SHOW JUMPING · 7 LEVELS

What each star level of show jumping pays

1,671 classes and £22,916,015, sorted by the rating on the class. A CSI5* winner takes a median £7,231.

The star rating is the price list. It is set on the class rather than on the show, so a five star week runs one and two star classes inside it, and a rider on a second horse can jump three ratings in four days and be paid at three different scales for it.

PAID OUT £22.9m
MEDIAN CSI5* WINNER £7k
LEVELS 7
CLASSES 1,671
MEDIAN CHEQUE £85
BIGGEST LEVEL CSI5*

What the winner takes at each level

The median winning cheque, by star rating

7 levels

CSI5* £7,231 International, no star rating £214 CSI4* £3,205 CSI3* £3,300 CSI2* £481 National £171 CSI1* £256

A median rather than an average, because one Grand Prix with a seven figure fund drags an average up and tells a reader nothing about the week they are actually looking at. The median five star winner takes 28.2 times what a one star winner takes.

Every level, end to end

What the class holds, what the winner takes and what last place gets

1,671 classes

Level Classes Paid placings Median cheque Median winner Median last place Prize money
CSI5* 124 1,561 £1,124 £7,231 £241 £14,780,664£14.8m
International, no star rating 226 2,867 £40 £214 £15 £432,087
CSI4* 71 947 £500 £3,205 £128 £1,690,022£1.7m
CSI3* 173 2,301 £423 £3,300 £85 £2,651,359£2.7m
CSI2* 325 4,777 £103 £481 £37 £2,196,855£2.2m
National 272 1,995 £96 £171 £64 £492,612
CSI1* 480 7,651 £34 £256 £13 £672,411

Median last place is read off classes with five or more places paid, so a two horse jump off does not count as a class where last place paid well.

Where the money sits

Prize money by level, across every class in the section

£22,916,015 in all

CSI5* £15m International, no star rating £432k CSI4* £1.7m CSI3* £2.7m CSI2* £2.2m National £493k CSI1* £672k

The count of classes and the share of the money do not agree. The lower ratings run the calendar and the top rating holds the money, which is why a career that looks busy on paper can be worth a fraction of one that looks quiet.

What a cheque looks like across the whole sport

Every paid placing in the section, sorted

22,099 cheques

Where the cheque sits Amount
The bottom tenth £15
The median cheque £85
The top tenth £1,175

18,059 of the 22,099 cheques in this section are under £500 and 19,606 are under £1,000. A round that places is not a payday: it is a contribution towards the entry fee, the diesel and the stabling, which is the argument the costs page makes with the other side of the ledger. What it costs to be there is here.

What the sport pays out each season

Every class of every year added together

8 seasons

Frequently asked questions

What does the star rating in show jumping mean?

It is the class of the competition, from one star to five, and it is set by the size of the prize fund and the standard of the track. A five star week is the top of the sport and a one star is the bottom rung of the international game. The rating travels with the class rather than with the show, so a five star week runs one and two star classes inside it for the second horses.

What does a CSI5* class pay?

The median CSI5* class holds £119,199 and pays its winner £7,231. The median cheque anywhere in a five star class is £1,124, because most of a class is the rounds below the podium.

What does a CSI3* class pay?

A median CSI3* winner takes £3,300 and the median cheque in the class is £423.

How much more does five star pay than one star?

The median five star winner takes 28.2 times what a one star winner takes. The gap on the whole class is wider still, because a five star fund is split down more places.

Do riders get paid for entering a class?

No. There is no start money and no appearance fee at the levels on this page. A rider pays an entry fee to jump, and is paid only if the round places inside the money, which is about a third of the field.

Where to next

The levels, the shows that run them and the riders they pay

Every level

The shows

The fifty richest riders

Seasons and nations