NEXT GEN PROFESSIONALS TO AWARD US$10,000 BREEDER PRIZE AT THE FEI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AACHEN 2026

Next Gen Professionals will award a US$10,000 breeder prize at the FEI World Championships in Aachen, the first public action of the NGP Breeders Program and the beginning of a wider plan to create financial recognition for breeders throughout the sporting careers of the horses they produce.

The prize will be presented to the breeder of the horse that wins Individual Gold in the FEI Jumping World Championship. NGP chose the World Championships as the ideal stage for its first Breeders Prize, reflecting its belief that breeders should be directly recognised for their contribution to the sport. This will be the first of many prizes introduced through the NGP Breeders Program, with additional prizes, more significant in scope, set to be announced at the Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Lanaken this September.

Next Gen Professionals was founded in 2025 by international showjumper Andrew Welles to support the next generation of the sport and its athletes.

THE NGP BREEDERS PRIZE AND BREEDERS PROGRAM

The Breeders Program grew from Welles’ wider vision for NGP. “In order for the next generation of riders to be successful, the next generation of horses and breeders who produce them need to be successful and supported,” he said. “With hundreds of riders inquiring about opportunities through NGP, and breeders consistently telling us they ‘do not have access to riders,’ the Breeders Program was created to be more than a matchmaking service,” Welles said. “It is an extension of a core belief at the heart of NGP: the highest value of a horse, whether sporting or financial, is created through the right horse-rider match.”

Foals through seven-year-olds may be enrolled in the NGP Breeders Program. Horses aged four through seven may be presented twice yearly for professional review and ultimate selection into a financially supported development program and rider-matching opportunities. This is all designed to help breeders increase the return on investment, while still maintaining control of their horses. The program also works to strengthen breeder representation with studbooks, federations and horse shows, connect breeders with regional training and development resources, and create cost-reduction opportunities through the Preferred Network.

BREEDERS AND THEIR POSITION IN HIGH-LEVEL SPORT

For Welles, breeders sit at the foundation of the sport: “Horses and horse sport do not exist without breeders, so one could argue that they hold the most important position in the sport.” 

On future revenue streams, Welles said: “The globalisation of the sport has skyrocketed demand, which is great for the long term of the sport only if there is a supply of horses to support it. It is important not to overlook that this demand is emerging within just one generation of the horses bred during the 2007–2008 financial crisis, when many breeders significantly reduced production due to rising relative costs. In our current geopolitical climate that puts strain on the margin-based production businesses (horses included), future revenue streams need to be created. The US$10,000 prize to the breeder of the winning horse in Aachen is just the beginning of NGP’s plan to create prize money eligible to the breeder for the entire sporting career of a horse.”

He also argues that recognition must extend beyond prize money: “Financial rewards are only part of the discussion. Breeders need greater visibility in results and media coverage, proper representation in the organisations shaping the sport, and stronger connections to the professional networks involved in developing their horses. NGP recognises that the sport does not exist without strong and motivated breeders and supports any and all efforts to push this initiative forward. As a private organization, NGP, with the support of its partners, has more agility to move than some of the larger governing organizations and looks forward to leading by example and working with those who follow.”

THE ORIGINAL VISION FOR NEXT GEN PROFESSIONALS

NGP recognises how the industry has gone from one where business can support sporting ambitions, to one where business just supports business. This fragmentation has been accelerated by the individualisation of the sport. NGP is designed to harness the untapped potential of ambitious riders and the opportunities within horse sport. By growing the base of support, rather than concentrating it among the few who can afford it, NGP aims to maximize both.

NGP’s primary engine is the SEC-regulated investment platform designed to bring first-time investors into horse sport as well as engage existing riders and horse enthusiasts around the experience of supporting talented, ambitious riders. The individual experience available in the modern sport and the common perception that horses come with high risk, a lot of bills and a lack of transparency have been primary drivers of the decline in owners, who, alongside breeders, form the backbone of the sport. One of the main missions of NGP is to reverse these perceptions.

NGP’s fund structure, managed by the board of directors (Chris Kappler, Brianne Goutal-Marteau, Kyle Timm, Sean Crooks, and founder Andrew Welles), is built around the concept that a positive ownership experience starts with a positive investment experience. The model is designed around a one-time investment, dividends throughout the lifecycle of the fund, an advantageous tax structure and a risk-mitigated, private-equity-style portfolio of 15 to 20 horses at any one time. NGP’s model delivers on riders’ most important need, to get horses underneath them, by creating an investment that comes with an experience beyond a quarterly statement.

Welles’ wider ambition was to build a mutually supporting ecosystem around the fund investment model. NGP’s Breeders and Futures Programs now connect horses, riders, investors, breeders and industry partners, recognising that a system based on inclusion is one that makes the sport and its stakeholders stronger for the future.

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Photo by Louise Dahlstrom

Watch our video interview with NGP at the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 here