BREEDING vs COMPETITION, and what DISCIPLINE
There are 2 unfortunate facts to choosing whether to breed or compete a horse:
1. Most (but not all) good competition horses have both a high GP and a high (usually 100%) COI
2. Paying attention to GP and COI is only half the battle and doesn't necessarily mean that the horse will do well in a competition.
I have horses that I can enter into competition after competition because they have 50k+ GP and 100% COI, but they don't earn any titles, and they really don't bring enough money in to accommodate the cost of entering them into competitions. So why enter them?
The answer is simple: 3-day test cycle. Every day for about an hour (try to keep it at the same time each day) go through and enter horses into the competitions they should do well in, at least in theory (hang tight, I'm going to explain how to determine this). Note that these are just theoretically good competition choices, and there is a way to fine-tune which of these competitions you should focus on as a main discipline. If you do this every day at the same time (as many competitions as you can enter, even if you have to use multiple turns), then by the start of day 4 (at the same time you have been entering competitions) your horse should have a title for SOMETHING. if it doesn't by now, it probably won't without some serious fine tuning on weight, temperament, and training. While these things are important anyway, a good competition horse should be set without it.
There's a little more to it than that though. If it has brought in no titles AND no earnings (meaning it's not placing in the top 5 of a competition) then it may be better to use that horse for breeding your next generation of competition horses and breed for what you need. If there's no titles but your horse is still placing in the top 5 and bringing in some earnings, then you may consider these horses to be 'project horses' where you fine-tune them to be at whatever weight, temperament and training is necessary. The horses that can bring in titles and significant earnings (more than you are paying to enter) in competitions, those are the horses to focus on as 'grinders'.
Now, how do I determine which horses to send through this cycle? The answer is on the general information page of your horse's profile. Notice at the bottom of the breeder's report, you will see certain stats colored in red, green, or gold, or no colored stats at all. Horses that have red stats are going to struggle in competitions, because even training will only do so much for a horse that has poor, stamina, intelligence, etc. Horses that have no colored stats may do well in competitions with plenty of training and fine-tuning, but I wouldn't expect them to earn any titles. Horses with green and gold stats are where I start my cycling process, as green represents something that a horse exceeds expectations, and gold is where the horse exceeds expectations by a LONG SHOT.
If you look in the local shows section of the training and local shows page of your horse's profile, you will see that each discipline focuses on 2 stats (for example, Saddleseat focuses on Balance and Agility). Now look back at those colored stats.
Let's say for the first example that your horse has gold agility and intelligence, and green balance. The 'formula' I use is as follows:
Essentially, X gold, Y green= maximum focus level. But it also determines whether or not I even attempt a certain discipline. So the following results would determine not only that I am attempting a discipline, but what the Focus level is as well
2 gold= up to level ten in that discipline
1 gold, 1 green= up to level 7
2 green or 1 gold= up to level 5
1 green= up to level 3
If it doesn't have a green or gold stat that your chosen discipline focuses on, I would look into a different discipline for that horse.
So, for the example above, the horse's stats relative to the discipline are 1 gold, 1 green. So, this horse could do Saddleseat focusing up to level 7. That's not to say that the horse can't or won't do well in a higher level, just that, in theory, if you entered the horse into every saddleseat competition up to level 7 that was available over a 3-day period, that it should bring in a title, or at least some halfway decent earnings.
For the next example, let's say that you want to enter the same horse into a cross-country competition. This horse has no green or gold stats relative to the competition, since cross-country focus on stamina and strength. That doesn't mean this horse can't or won't do well in cross-country, but it likely won't bring in a title, at least not before fine-tuning and training. So, I wouldn't enter it into this competition.
For the final example, let's say the horse is entering a Cutting competition. It has both stats, intelligence and agility, colored in gold. This horse could enter cutting competitions up to level 10 and in theory, it should bring in some pretty decent earnings, as well as a title or two.
Now, this isn't an exact science. This doesn't mean that a horse is going to do well in every competition you enter it in, and it doesn't mean that some of your more ordinary, low COI, low GP horses wouldn't do well if entered in competitions. It simply means that in theory, these horses should do well in X, Y, AND Z at whatever level. Earning titles and money helps you get further in the game, and this simply gives a starting point to get the money rolling in faster.
And remember, at the start of day 4 of doing this, if your horse hasn't brought in any titles or at least some decent earnings, it probably won't without fine-tuning and training.
1. Most (but not all) good competition horses have both a high GP and a high (usually 100%) COI
2. Paying attention to GP and COI is only half the battle and doesn't necessarily mean that the horse will do well in a competition.
I have horses that I can enter into competition after competition because they have 50k+ GP and 100% COI, but they don't earn any titles, and they really don't bring enough money in to accommodate the cost of entering them into competitions. So why enter them?
The answer is simple: 3-day test cycle. Every day for about an hour (try to keep it at the same time each day) go through and enter horses into the competitions they should do well in, at least in theory (hang tight, I'm going to explain how to determine this). Note that these are just theoretically good competition choices, and there is a way to fine-tune which of these competitions you should focus on as a main discipline. If you do this every day at the same time (as many competitions as you can enter, even if you have to use multiple turns), then by the start of day 4 (at the same time you have been entering competitions) your horse should have a title for SOMETHING. if it doesn't by now, it probably won't without some serious fine tuning on weight, temperament, and training. While these things are important anyway, a good competition horse should be set without it.
There's a little more to it than that though. If it has brought in no titles AND no earnings (meaning it's not placing in the top 5 of a competition) then it may be better to use that horse for breeding your next generation of competition horses and breed for what you need. If there's no titles but your horse is still placing in the top 5 and bringing in some earnings, then you may consider these horses to be 'project horses' where you fine-tune them to be at whatever weight, temperament and training is necessary. The horses that can bring in titles and significant earnings (more than you are paying to enter) in competitions, those are the horses to focus on as 'grinders'.
Now, how do I determine which horses to send through this cycle? The answer is on the general information page of your horse's profile. Notice at the bottom of the breeder's report, you will see certain stats colored in red, green, or gold, or no colored stats at all. Horses that have red stats are going to struggle in competitions, because even training will only do so much for a horse that has poor, stamina, intelligence, etc. Horses that have no colored stats may do well in competitions with plenty of training and fine-tuning, but I wouldn't expect them to earn any titles. Horses with green and gold stats are where I start my cycling process, as green represents something that a horse exceeds expectations, and gold is where the horse exceeds expectations by a LONG SHOT.
If you look in the local shows section of the training and local shows page of your horse's profile, you will see that each discipline focuses on 2 stats (for example, Saddleseat focuses on Balance and Agility). Now look back at those colored stats.
Let's say for the first example that your horse has gold agility and intelligence, and green balance. The 'formula' I use is as follows:
Essentially, X gold, Y green= maximum focus level. But it also determines whether or not I even attempt a certain discipline. So the following results would determine not only that I am attempting a discipline, but what the Focus level is as well
2 gold= up to level ten in that discipline
1 gold, 1 green= up to level 7
2 green or 1 gold= up to level 5
1 green= up to level 3
If it doesn't have a green or gold stat that your chosen discipline focuses on, I would look into a different discipline for that horse.
So, for the example above, the horse's stats relative to the discipline are 1 gold, 1 green. So, this horse could do Saddleseat focusing up to level 7. That's not to say that the horse can't or won't do well in a higher level, just that, in theory, if you entered the horse into every saddleseat competition up to level 7 that was available over a 3-day period, that it should bring in a title, or at least some halfway decent earnings.
For the next example, let's say that you want to enter the same horse into a cross-country competition. This horse has no green or gold stats relative to the competition, since cross-country focus on stamina and strength. That doesn't mean this horse can't or won't do well in cross-country, but it likely won't bring in a title, at least not before fine-tuning and training. So, I wouldn't enter it into this competition.
For the final example, let's say the horse is entering a Cutting competition. It has both stats, intelligence and agility, colored in gold. This horse could enter cutting competitions up to level 10 and in theory, it should bring in some pretty decent earnings, as well as a title or two.
Now, this isn't an exact science. This doesn't mean that a horse is going to do well in every competition you enter it in, and it doesn't mean that some of your more ordinary, low COI, low GP horses wouldn't do well if entered in competitions. It simply means that in theory, these horses should do well in X, Y, AND Z at whatever level. Earning titles and money helps you get further in the game, and this simply gives a starting point to get the money rolling in faster.
And remember, at the start of day 4 of doing this, if your horse hasn't brought in any titles or at least some decent earnings, it probably won't without fine-tuning and training.
Re: BREEDING vs COMPETITION, and what DISCIPLINE
I forgot to mention it in the original post but do note that entering competitions and winning doesn't earn titles. Points do. But the same still applies: if your horse isn't doing well in competitions, it won't acquire points quickly, if at all. If it isn't earning points, it isn't earning titles.