Dressage: how the tests are marked.

What a test is

British Dressage (BD) describes a dressage test as a set sequence of movements ridden in an arena of 20 by 40 metres or 20 by 60 metres, marked out with letters. Tests are ridden from memory, or at lower national levels may be called out by a reader. Each movement is marked out of ten by a panel of one, two, three, five or seven judges, the combined result is expressed as a percentage, and the highest percentage wins.

The FEI frames the purpose of dressage as the harmonious development of the horse in a positive mental and physical state, as the law firm Mishcon de Reya summarised the FEI definition in September 2026.

The scale of marks

Equestrian Australia's National Dressage Rules, effective 1 January 2026 (rule 3.13), set out the scale of marks used under both Equestrian Australia and FEI rules:

The same rule allows half marks from 0.5 to 9.5 for movements and collective marks, freestyles included, and marks to one decimal place for the artistic marks in a freestyle.

From marks to a percentage

US Equestrian Open (9 July 2026) explains the arithmetic for a Grand Prix. For each judge, all the marks are added, with coefficients applied, and divided by the maximum that would be possible if every mark were a 10; that figure times 100 is the judge's percentage. The judges' percentages are then averaged.

A coefficient multiplies a mark. Certain difficult movements carry one that counts the mark double; at Grand Prix, according to US Equestrian Open, they include the piaffe, the pirouettes and the one-tempi changes.

A freestyle, ridden to music, has technical marks for the required movements and artistic marks for choreography, music, harmony and degree of difficulty. US Equestrian Open says the artistic marks carry a coefficient of four; that is the only source we found for the figure, so it is unconfirmed.

Collective marks: what changed, and when

The FEI has changed them twice in recent years, and the sources do not agree on what the single remaining mark was called in between.

2018

Eurodressage (23 October 2021) reports that the FEI removed the collective marks for paces, impulsion and submission after a statistical analysis of the 2017 World Cup Final in Omaha. One collective remained, which Eurodressage names as "Athlete's position and seat; correctness and effect of the aids", with a coefficient of 2.

October 2021

The FEI rejected a European Equestrian Federation proposal, backed by the British and US federations, to split the single collective into two marks without coefficients. It was not put to a vote at the November 2021 General Assembly in Antwerp (Eurodressage).

1 January 2026

HQ Magazine (5 February 2026) reports that FEI Dressage Rules Article 423.9 replaces the collective mark "General Impression" with "Harmony", covering harmony, cooperation, lightness, effectiveness and sensitivity of the aids, and adherence to the Training Scale.

The disagreement: Eurodressage names the post-2018 mark as the rider's position and seat; HQ Magazine says the mark replaced in 2026 was "General Impression"; and US Equestrian Open says the FEI kept "Harmony" from 2018. We could not read the FEI Dressage Rules themselves, so we cannot settle it. US Equestrian Open adds that US national shows still use the full set of collective marks: gaits, impulsion, submission and rider.

Proposed for 2027 (not adopted)

Mishcon de Reya (29 September 2026) describes a first draft of 2027 FEI dressage rule changes, out for consultation. It includes repositioning the judges, stretching exercises late in tests, making the double bridle optional at four- and five-star Grand Prix, and scoring harmony expressly. The Dressage Technical Committee is also considering building harmony and the Training Scale into every movement mark. As of 21 October 2026 none of this has been adopted.

The Training Scale

Equestrian Australia's 2026 rules describe the Training Scale, taken from the FEI rules, as a German-based system of six building blocks: rhythm (Takt), suppleness (Losgelassenheit), contact (Anlehnung), impulsion (Schwung), straightness and collection. The 2026 Harmony mark refers to it. How it is applied in riding is a matter for a qualified coach.

Penalties

Equestrian Australia's 2026 rules (rule 3.17) set these deductions for errors of course:

Under the same rule, a technical fault costs 0.5% from the final percentage for each judge. Equestrian Australia's 2026 rules (section 1.3) also eliminate a horse that shows fresh blood during a test, and that elimination is final. British Dressage says boots and bandages are not allowed in tests and lead to elimination, and that riding helmets must be worn whenever mounted. Whether a given helmet meets a body's rule is decided by its current rules, the hat tag where one is used, and its officials.

Levels and tours

British Dressage lists its national levels in ascending order: Introductory, Preliminary, Novice, Elementary, Medium, Advanced Medium, Advanced, Prix St Georges, Intermediate and Grand Prix. It says walk and trot only are used at Introductory, canter begins at Preliminary, lateral work at Elementary and flying changes at Advanced Medium. Snaffle bits are required from Introductory to Novice, and double bridles are permitted from Elementary.

Equestrian Australia's 2026 judge table runs Preliminary, Novice, Elementary, Medium, Advanced, Prix St Georges, Intermediate I, Intermediate A and B, Intermediate II and Grand Prix. FEI tests are grouped into tours, a grouping both Equestrian Australia's 2026 rules and the USDF's YourDressage use:

• Small Tour: Prix St Georges and Intermediate I.
• Medium Tour: Intermediate A and B.
• Big Tour: Intermediate II, Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle.

Under Equestrian Australia's 2026 rules, at Equestrian Australia and FEI-sanctioned events, the Grand Prix Special is limited to the 15 highest-placed Grand Prix combinations, each with at least 60% in the Grand Prix, and the Grand Prix Freestyle to combinations with at least 60% in the Grand Prix. International shows are coded CDI with a star rating; British Dressage says British CDIs are three, four or five star, and that CDI-W events are World Cup qualifiers. The levels and classes page compares these with the US national levels and gives the minimum horse ages, and the rider ages are on the rider ages page.

Dates in the test system's history

British Dressage's timeline gives these dates: the first known dressage competition at Pressburg in 1873; the first FEI Grand Prix outside the Olympics at Lucerne in 1927; the Intermediaire introduced as an FEI level in 1958; the first dressage World Championship in Bern in 1966; and the freestyle added to the Olympics at Atlanta in 1996. On the World Cup the sources differ: British Dressage says the Dressage World Cup was introduced in 1986, scored half on the Grand Prix and half on the Freestyle, while Wikipedia, a secondary source, says the dressage World Cup series began in 1985.