Equestrian Federation of Pakistan

Dressage is a sport in which the riders have mastered the art of horse riding. In dressage, the riders are supposed to perform a series of different movements from memory, with their horses. It requires high skills and is performed in various competitions such as the Olympic Games and World Equestrian Games.
In dressage, the training of the horse is tested through different tests which comprise of a series of specific movements within an area. These movements are observed carefully and evaluated accordingly by five international judges that surround the arena. The scores given by the judges can range from 0 to 10, depending upon the performance of the movements.
A “10” score means excellent, whereas a “0” means the movement was not executed correctly. A “9” score is considered a high mark and is pretty good, while a rider needs to at least score all “6’s” on the first level, to be able to move on to the next level. Collective marks are also awarded by each judge for the horse and the rider as soon as the test ends.
Sometimes, the riders can also receive penalties for making an error during the test. The penalties are as follows:

• For the first error, he receives a two-point penalty
• For a second error, he receives a four-point penalty
• Third error and he is eliminated

So, dressage is about how well a rider has trained his horse in developing its muscles strength, athletic ability and made him ready to perform a series of movements. A rider who has given his horse perfect training has maximized its potential. This makes the horse respond well to various movements without the rider having to offer much assistance.
A perfectly trained horse allows the rider to relax and not put in any effort during the competition as the horse performs the desired series of movements. The more the rider is at ease while his horse performs the movements, the higher the chances for him to get the collective marks.
At the end of the test, the scores are compiled to produce a percentage and the rider who gets the highest percentage wins.

Copyrights: Equestrian Federation of Pakistan 2022-2023