Using 14-years of firm-level data (2009-2022), this paper contributes with an examination of growth in key performance measures, such as firm size, profitability and productivity in the equine sports industry. We use registry data on financial accounts covering all active Swedish firms in the industry and perform comparative analyses across firms with different specialization, i.e., breeding, racing and mixed firms. We find the average profitability of firms in the industry to be low, but with substantial variation across specializations that tend to converge over time. The results suggest that the economic viability of the industry is questionable in the absence of lower labor costs and support from other non-equine related economic activities. Overall, the industry is characterized by a wide array of activities and business models and access to external capital and other economic activities are likely to play an important role for the future development of the industry.