The other reviews are correct. All you do to advance levels is enter your horse in shows and you can enter in thousands of them. It isn't very realistic.
The people who run the site are really obnoxious too. They mute people constantly for 'breaking the rules' yet I've personally seen the moderators break the rules themselves.
You cant mention any other site on there - like myspace or youtube. One day one of the moderators posted a youtube link and told everyone to watch - right after he banned someone else for the same thing.
If you want to be micro-managed and act like a robot clicking "enter shows" then perhaps that is the game for you.