Dressage Wiki
Dressage Wiki is an independent reference work on dressage — the sport, its horses and its market. It documents how competitions are structured and judged, how horses are trained through the levels, how the European breeding organisations and studbooks work, and how dressage horses are bought, sold, vetted and imported. Articles are written in a neutral, encyclopedic style, reviewed by professionals, and updated on a fixed schedule.
The wiki is organised in two halves. The sport half covers competition, training and the horses themselves: what the levels mean in every major country, how judging works, what each movement asks of the horse, and how a dressage horse is produced from backing to Grand Prix. The market half follows the sequence of an actual purchase: finding and evaluating a horse, what it costs, the veterinary and legal instruments that protect a buyer, and the import process for buyers outside Europe — the centre of the international trade.
The sport
The sport of dressage
The front door: what dressage is and what happens in a test, the sport’s history from military riding to the Olympic Games, the classical tradition beside the competitive sport, and the industry of sport, breeding and trade built around it.
Competition
The level systems of every major federation and how they map onto each other, the FEI tests from Prix St Georges to the Grand Prix Freestyle, the young horse and youth divisions, how judging and scoring work, how to read a score sheet and a competition record, and the architecture of the sport from local shows to the Olympic Games.
Movements & training
The training scale, the production arc from backing to Grand Prix year by year, the complete index of competition movements (lateral work, flying and tempi changes, pirouettes, piaffe and passage) and the faults judges penalise, from behind the vertical to the lateral walk.
The dressage horse
What the modern sport horse is selected for, the injuries and conditions of the working dressage horse, and profiles of the era-defining champions — Valegro, Totilas, TSF Dalera BB and Glamourdale.
The market
The buying process
How a dressage horse purchase works from first search to delivery: rider self-assessment, evaluating conformation, gaits and temperament, the schoolmaster question, trial rides, buying from video, agents and commissions, negotiation and red flags.
Buying from abroad
The international layer: VAT and export paperwork, ground transport in Europe, and the import routes to the United States, the United Kingdom and beyond.
Prices and costs
What dressage horses cost and why: price ranges by age and training level, the total landed cost for international buyers, the annual cost of ownership, leasing and insurance. Figures are stated as ranges and reviewed twice a year.
The European market
Why Europe dominates dressage horse production and how to buy there: the market country by country, the auction system, and the practicalities of a buying trip.
Breeds and studbooks
The European warmblood studbooks and the Iberian breeds: what each selects for, how registration and grading work, and what predicates such as keur and Staatsprämie mean on a horse’s papers.
Bloodlines and pedigree
How to read a pedigree and what it predicts: profiles of the sires whose offspring dominate the market, breeding values, and how to verify papers through public databases.
Vetting
The pre-purchase examination: exam stages and costs, European x-ray protocols and the German Röntgen classes, how to interpret common findings, and drug screening at purchase.
Legal
The written contract and the law behind it: essential clauses, hidden defects and seller liability under European law, and a buyer’s remedies when a purchase goes wrong.
Two reference tools support all sections: the glossary, which defines the terms used in sale adverts, vet reports and studbook papers, and the frequently asked questions, which gives short answers with links to the full articles.
How to use this wiki
Riders and spectators can start with competition for levels, tests and judging, or training for the movements and how the horses are produced.
First-time buyers can read the market sections in order, starting with the buying process, which sets the frame; the others supply depth at the point where each topic becomes relevant in a real purchase.
Experienced buyers can go directly to the article they need. Common entry points are the price guide, the pre-purchase examination, the level equivalence chart, the import guide for the United States and the auction guide.
Readers of sale adverts will find the glossary useful for decoding terms such as confirmed changes, small tour, keur or Röntgenklasse, and the articles on reading a competition record and common faults useful for judging what the advert’s videos actually show.