Horse competitions at the Equestrian Center in The Sims 4: Horse Ranchhas proven far tougher than Simmers thought it may. With varying levels of competition and a restriction on how often you can compete, facing loss after loss can be daunting for any rancher.

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Thankfully, we’ve pinned down a couple ways to help you win horse competitions in The Sims 4: Horse Ranch a bit more reliably. With dutiful training, the right attitude for your Sim and their horse, and maybe even a little save-scumming, here are five tips on how to win horse competitions in The Sims 4.

5 Happy Horses Are Winning Horses

One of the easiest ways to boost your horse’s chances of winning horse competitions is to take the time to meet your horse’s needs before entering them into a competition. All the basics of horse care that you dedicate time to on the ranch, be sure to do them before it’s show time, too!

If you access the Equestrian Center in Old Appaloosa neighborhood of Chestnut Ridge by bringing your horse to Duke’s Hall just to the right of it, you’ll find a full self-service ranch, complete with everything you’ll need to tend to your horse. Let them get some sleep, make sure they’ve had food and water, offer some friendly socialization from your Sim and others nearby, and let them play a little before you enter.

Like Sims, you can check the color of your horse’s mood in the household Sims menu at the bottom of the screen, and the colors on their portraits match that of your Sims’. You can’t actually control your pet, but you can hover over them to try to see what’s going on if their mood is anything less than stellar.

4 Train Hard And Often To Improve Consistently

Nobody’s entering a truly inexperienced horse into a show, though, are they? Before bringing your horse to the Equestrian Center for its big debut, make sure you’ve been training your horse often. Competitionsexamine two different skills, with the guidelines and parameters on each unique to that kind of competition.

Enter your horse only in competitions where its skills are high, and save competing in other shows until you've put in more time on those skills. You’ve got a chance to win so long as your horse meets the leveling requirements to enter, but you have a better chance if their skills are higher than that.

3 Raise Your Horse Riding Skill

The onus to win horse competitions in The Sims 4: Horse Ranch isn't squarely on your horse, though - Sims with higher Horse Riding skills naturally seem to stand a better chance at winning. As you spend time caring for, interacting with, and training your horses back on your ranch, you'll reliably be building your own skills as well.

Riding horses is the quickest way to build the Horse Riding skill, as the name may suggest, but you can also buy Horse Riding skill books from either a bookshelf or computer. They'll never be the most hands-on way to pick up a skill, but Horse Riding skill books are arguably more portable than horses, allowing you time to build your skills on and off the ranch.

2 "Encourage Training" Just Before A Competition

There's plenty to see and do in Old Appaloosa on its own, and like the other neighborhoods in Chestnut Ridge, that also includes your Sims having access to horse training equipment. Here, you can find it just outside the Equestrian Center itself, in the fenced area off to the side.

With competitions running constantly from 7 AM until 7 PM, take some extra time to use the training equipment nearby before entering your horse into one! Successful training stands to make your horse feel Confident in its abilities, and that should help them canter on into the Equestrian Center after training and share that feeling on the show floor. Just be sure you don't tire them out completely, though.

1 RNG Makes Winning Tough, But Save-Scumming Can Help

Ultimately, your chance of winning a horse competition seems to be completely random. We've had horses barely scrape by on meeting the requirements and take home the gold, and we've also had top-skill horses fail to place. But since each horse is only able to compete once each day, you can kind of exploit this to your advantage.

If you travel to the Equestrian Center and save just before you enter a horse competition, you'll be able to then reload your save if you lost, which will reset you to just before the competition. It doesn't feel great to have to rely on that, but when it's up to chance whether you'll win or lose, why not try to tip the scales in your favor?

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