What happens if a dressage rider goes wrong or forgets the test?
I · Intermediate · The test · 2 of 5The judge at C rings the bell, shows the rider where to pick up the test and lets them carry on. The first error costs two percentage points from every judge's score. A second error means elimination. The same penalty applies to an error in how the test is ridden, such as rising to the trot where sitting is required.
How it works
- An error of course: the rider "takes the wrong turn, omits a movement, etc."
- The bell: the judge at C sounds it, shows the rider the point to restart from and the next movement, "then leaves them to continue on their own".
- No bell: if stopping would spoil the flow for a small slip, the judge at C may decide not to ring. The error is still penalised.
- Error of execution: riding a movement the wrong way, for example rising trot in place of sitting, is penalised in the same way.
- First error: "Two (2) percentage points from the total score (per Judge)."
- Second error: elimination.
- Younger riders and young horses: 0.5 of a point for the first error, 1 point for the second and elimination for the third.
- Who decides: the judge at C alone. The other judges' sheets follow.
- Benefit of the doubt: an error the judges did not notice is not penalised.
- Repeating a movement: not allowed unless the bell has been rung. If a rider tries one twice, the first attempt is marked and an error is added.
The glossary has the error of course entry, the penalty points entry, the test and the judges.
Tricky cases
A rider turns the wrong way, realises and corrects it before the bell. Is it still an error?
Yes, if the judge at C decides so. Every error of course is penalised whether or not the bell is sounded.
The same mistake comes up twice in a test where a movement is repeated, and the bell was not rung the first time. Is that two errors?
No. If the bell was not sounded and the rider makes the same error when the movement is repeated, they are penalised once.
Can a rider ask to do a bad movement again?
No. A movement may not be repeated unless the judge at C has rung for an error of course.
Is the two points taken off the final average or off each judge?
Off each judge's total, which comes to the same two points off the final average.
Why the rule exists
The test must be ridden from memory, and the penalty gives that requirement teeth. Two percentage points is large enough to cost several places and small enough that one lapse does not end the day. The second error ends it because a test with two holes can no longer be compared with the others.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Senior tests | 2 points, then elimination | FEI Dressage 424.4.1.1 |
| Young horse, children, pony and junior tests | 0.5, then 1, then elimination | FEI Dressage 424.4.1.2 |
| Technical faults | 0.5 each, never leading to elimination | FEI Dressage 424.4.2.2 |
From the rule book
Fédération Équestre Internationale, Dressage Rules 2026, articles 424.1 to 424.4. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FEI Dressage Rules 2026 (PDF).