Horse competitions at the Equestrian Center inThe 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.
5Happy Horses Are Winning Horses
One of the easiest ways to boost your horse’s chances of winninghorse competitionsis totake the time to meet your horse’s needsbefore 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 theEquestrian Centerin Old Appaloosa neighborhood of Chestnut Ridge by bringing your horse toDuke’s Halljust to the right of it, you’ll find afull self-service ranch, complete with everything you’ll need to tend to your horse. Let them get somesleep, verify they’ve hadfood and water, offer some friendlysocializationfrom your Sim and others nearby, and let themplaya little before you enter.
Like Sims, you cancheck the color of your horse’s mood in the household Sims menuat 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 canhover over them to attempt to see what’s going onif their mood is anything less than stellar.
4Train 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 beentraining your horseoften.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 achanceto win so long as your horsemeets the leveling requirementsto enter, but you have abetterchance if their skills are higher than that.
3Raise 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 skillsnaturally seem to stand a better chance at winning. As youspend time caring for, interacting with, and trainingyour 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 alsobuy Horse Riding skill booksfrom either abookshelf or computer. They’ll never be the most hands-on way to pick up a skill, butHorse 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 tohorse training equipment. Here, you can find itjust 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 touse the training equipment nearbybefore entering your horse into one! Successful training stands tomake your horse feel Confidentin 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 youdon’t tire them out completely, though.
1RNG 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 sinceeach horse is only able to compete once each day, you can kind of exploit this to your advantage.
If youtravel to the Equestrian Center and save just before you enter a horse competition, you’ll be able to thenreload 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?
