At spoga horse, brands are placed side by side, braided rather than blended. In a market shaped by international comparison, positioning reveals itself without explanation.
The tradefair is often discussed in terms of trends, innovation and atmosphere. Yet its most telling insights lie in the data it publishes. The percentages around exhibitor and visitor origins reveal how decisively the equestrian industry has shifted from nationally organised markets toward an international, comparative structure.
In 2024, 82% of exhibitors came from outside the host country. In 2025, the international share remained structurally high at 76%, with 436 exhibitors representing 33 countries. Even with normal year-on-year variation, the baseline is clear: international participation is not an extension of the fair—it defines it.
The visitor figures reinforce this shift. From 7,700 trade visitors from 72 countries in 2024 to 8,500 visitors from 77 countries in 2025, the international share rose from 51% to 58%. At that point, “international” is no longer a segment. It is the majority perspective shaping how products, brands and assortments are perceived.
What stands in contrast to these numbers is how locally many brands still think and position themselves. Product language, sizing logic, visual communication and even pricing strategies are often developed with one core market in mind, then loosely exported outward. In an environment where more than half of decision-makers bring international reference points to the table, this creates friction. Positioning that works well domestically can appear narrow, opaque or inconsistent when read through a global lens.
As a result, spoga horse functions less as a stage for storytelling and more as a reality check for positioning. Products are not evaluated in isolation, but side by side—across countries, cultures and retail systems. Brand claims are implicitly benchmarked against international competitors, often without a word being spoken.The diversity of professional backgrounds present—specialist retail, wholesale, online commerce, training operations and breeding businesses—adds further pressure to this comparison dynamic. Perspectives converge that would otherwise remain geographically separated. What becomes visible is not just what a brand offers, but how clearly it translates beyond its local context.
Seen this way, the changing shape of the market is not abstract. It is measurable, comparative and already present. spoga horse does not announce this shift—it exposes it, quietly, through ratios that challenge brands to rethink how locally they speak in an increasingly international conversation.
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Plan your visit: https://www.spogahorse.de/
Picture: spoga horse
Source: spoga horse exposé
