What is dressage, and what are the horse and rider doing?
B · Beginner · The test · 1 of 3One horse and rider at a time ride a set pattern of movements from memory in a marked arena. Judges mark each movement out of ten. The marks become a percentage, and the highest percentage wins. Each competition has its own official test, with the movements in a fixed order.
How it works
- The test: "Each Competition has its own test." The official tests are published by the FEI and may not be changed.
- From memory: tests "must be carried out entirely from memory, and all movements must follow in the order set forth in the test".
- Start and end: a test "begins with the entry at A and ends after the salute at the end of the test, as soon as the Horse moves forward".
- The marks: every numbered movement gets a mark from 0 to 10 from each judge.
- The score: the marks are totalled and turned into a percentage, and the judges' percentages are averaged.
- The winner: "the Athlete having obtained the highest total percentage".
- Not timed: only freestyle tests are timed. The time printed on other test sheets is for information.
- The levels: for seniors the tests run from Prix St-Georges and Intermediate up to Grand Prix, the level of championships and Games.
- The freestyle: a test to music that the rider designs, within required movements.
- Why it began: the FEI says it set up international dressage in 1929 "to preserve the Equestrian Art from the abuses to which it can be exposed".
The glossary has dressage, the test, the movement, the gait, the freestyle and the marks and percentage entry.
Tricky cases
Does the rider choose the movements?
No, except in a freestyle. In every other test the movements and their order are set by the FEI.
Can someone call out the test to the rider?
No. Official tests must be ridden entirely from memory, and outside help by voice or signs means elimination.
Is the fastest pair the winner?
No. Dressage is judged on marks. Only the freestyle is timed, and there the time is a limit to stay inside.
Is the horse or the rider being judged?
Both, as a pair. The movement marks are for what the horse shows, and the collective mark given at the end is for harmony and the pair's training.
Why the rule exists
Dressage grew from the schooling of cavalry horses, and it judges the training itself: whether the horse moves freely, straight and willingly on signals too small to see. A fixed test lets every pair be compared on the same movements in the same places.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Set tests | Movements and order fixed by the FEI | FEI Dressage 404.1; FEI Dressage 419.1 |
| Freestyle | The rider's own pattern to music, timed | FEI Dressage 420.1.1 |
| Eventing | A dressage test is the first of three tests, scored in penalties | ../eventing/ set |
| Olympic Games | The format is in separate Olympic regulations, not read | FEI Dressage 401 |
From the rule book
Fédération Équestre Internationale, Dressage Rules 2026, articles 400, 404, 407, 419, 420, 423 and 425. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FEI Dressage Rules 2026 (PDF).