Caprilli Guide — Horses of Hoofprint Bay

Caprilli is the gentlest competition ladder in Horses of Hoofprint Bay. If show jumping Novice feels like a brick wall, Caprilli is where the game wants you to start earning ribbons with a starter mare: small fences, explicit gait homework, and less stat inflation than cross country or high show jumping tiers.

Screenshot: official Steam store page.

What is a Caprilli test in this game?

Real-world Caprilli classes blend flatwork with low jumping. HoHB mirrors that idea in sidescrolling form. A Steam development news post explains that after starter horses were rebalance to lower stats, the first show jumping tier was no longer realistic for a fully trained starter—so the team added Caprilli tests that combine precise gait transitions with low jumping obstacles.

Community references (gamerblurb tips, TMQ wiki, grindnstrat) agree: you must hit the posted walk, trot, or canter between fences while clearing small jumps. It is less about raw speed than show jumping and less about endurance slog than cross country.

How do Caprilli competitions fit the game?

HoHB runs three competition disciplines in town:

Caprilli is the on-ramp; show jumping is the vertical-fence specialist path; cross country (mentioned only here—no dedicated page yet) adds longer routes and optional path choices in late content per dev news.

Progress still uses the shared B / N / I / A ladder where the discipline supports it. For Caprilli, community databases list only Caprilli Test 1 (B) and Caprilli Test 2 (N). After you win Novice Caprilli on a horse, you move toward show jumping or cross country on stronger stock—not higher Caprilli tiers.

How do you enter a Caprilli competition?

The town loop matches other disciplines:

1. Construct the riding arena on your farm (building upgrade order shows when Caprilli courses appear).
2. Run Caprilli license training—courses tagged as competition license (Caprilli Training 1 is the usual first gate in community tables).
3. Prepare the horse—groom, check strength, and dress in your competition outfit (separate from daily riding clothes in HoHB).
4. Trailer the horse to town once your parking lot supports trailers.
5. Select Caprilli Test 1 at the competition arena. Win it on that horse before Test 2 unlocks.

Each horse remembers its own wins. Beating Caprilli Novice does not automatically qualify the same horse for show jumping—you need the show jumping license and stats for that discipline.

How are Caprilli runs scored?

The developers have not published a point-by-point Caprilli rubric for external wikis. Treat scoring like other riding checks documented in community wikis:

• Finish within the time limit.
• Stay under the mistake threshold for refusals, falls, knocked rails, and missed gates (wording matches training pass screens).
• Beat NPC competitors whose times vary slightly day to day.

Caprilli adds gait compliance—missing a posted transition counts as a mistake in player descriptions even when the exact penalty is hidden. We do not list numeric penalties per rail; if you need precision, check the in-game library after patches.

What should you prepare on horse and rider?

Horse-side prep

• Train Caprilli Training 1–2 and optional Rhythm Training in the arena for gait homework.
• Raise Strength enough to clear low fences without refusals; Endurance helps recover if you mis-gait and need to reset pace. Mechanism details: training guide.
• Keep Confidence up—failed gates or ignored commands snowball. Praise successful gait changes (default S or down arrow per community docs) and consider personality traits that fight your inputs.
• Follow horse care so hunger, dirt, or injuries do not drain stats before you trailer.

Rider-side prep

• Learn gait keys before blaming the horse—see controls and keybindings.
• Optional jump assist / remapping helps muscle memory but does not replace hitting posted gaits.
• If Caprilli Novice still feels tight, compare notes with Novice show jumping—different discipline, similar strength clock.

When should you leave Caprilli for show jumping?

Move up when:

• The horse wins Caprilli Novice and still has headroom in Strength training.
• You cleared show jumping license courses in the arena.
• You are ready for taller fences and less gait hand-holding.

Early quests in community guides often nudge players toward Caprilli Beginner before boarders or breeding milestones—use beginner guide for the wider day-one loop and make money guide if you are funding trailers and arena upgrades.

Sources and verification

Compiled 2026-11-05 from:

• Steam community news — Caprilli tests & starter rebalance
• gamerblurb — Caprilli on starter mares
• grindnstrat HoHB guide — Caprilli & competitions
• TMQ Horse Game Database — Caprilli courses and tests
• Horses of Hoofprint Bay on Steam

Exact penalty math and some exercise-cost numbers come from community databases and may drift with patches. Items marked as reported were not independently confirmed in-game. This article was compiled from public sources without hands-on testing of the shipping build.