The senior major Championships cycle over a four-year Olympiad – an Olympic Games, a World Equestrian Games, and European Championships in the two years in between. The youth teams (young rider, junior and pony) compete at European Championships each year.
Dressage tests are performed in a 60m x 20m all-weather arena and are a predetermined set of movements, except in the freestyle competition where riders decide their own test (including some compulsory movements) and perform it to music. Five judges, at different positions in the arena, mark the movements independently, with each movement receiving a mark out of 10 that is then converted to a percentage score.
Riders compete for team and individual medals. At a World or European Championships there are medals for both the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle; but an Olympic Games sees only one set of individual medals is awarded – combining the scores from the Special and the Freestyle.
At a World Equestrian Games
Teams are made up of a maximum of four combinations per nation, with the three best scores counting towards the overall team result. All four riders contest the team competition (Grand Prix), which is held over two days; the team medals are decided at the end of the second day. The top thirty placed riders from the team test then go forward to compete the Grand Prix Special (no scores are carried forward and, if qualified, all four team members can contest), the combination with the highest percentage score wins.
The freestyle test – commonly termed ‘dancing horses’, which sees riders set their tests to music of their choice – is the last phase of the dressage competition, involving only the top fifteen combinations from the Grand Prix Special. A maximum of three riders from any one nation may participate, no scores are carried forward and the highest percentage wins.
At an Olympic Games
In modern dressage competitions, the horse and rider perform a series of movements in a 60m x 20m arena before a panel of seven judges, who award scores for individual movements and for the overall routine.
The dressage competition consists of a Team event, which is made up of the Grand Prix (GP) and Grand Prix Special (GPS) rounds, and an Individual event, the Grand Prix Freestyle (GPF).
Riders can compete in both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special tests, only the top 7 teams as well as the top 11 individuals not part of a team compete in the Special – all riders perform the same set floor plan. The Grand Prix Freestyle sees only the top 18 riders from the Special go through – with a maximum 3 athletes per country able to participate in the Freestyle competition, which sees riders perform their own routines set to music.
>> Visit the British Dressage website for more information about the sport