Dressage Competitions

Competitive dressage is organised as a ladder of levels, each with prescribed tests, scored by judges on a standard 0–10 scale, at events running from local shows to the Olympic Games. This section explains the whole structure: what the levels mean in each country, what the tests contain, how the scoring works, and how the events fit together. For anyone evaluating a horse, this section is the reference for what a competition record actually says.

The levels

Below the international levels, each country runs its own ladder with its own names and promotion rules. The German classes run E (Eingangsstufe, entry) through A (Anfangsstufe), L, M and S; the Dutch ladder runs B through Z2, ZZ-Licht and ZZ-Zwaar on registered promotion points; Britain runs Intro to Advanced in Bronze, Silver and Gold sections; the United States runs Introductory through Fourth Level with no formal gate. The FEI levels (Small Tour, Medium Tour and Big Tour) sit above all of them and are identical worldwide.

• National dressage levels by country — the four major systems side by side
• Dressage level equivalence — the cross-system conversion chart
• The German level system · The Dutch level system · The British level system · The US level system
• The FEI levels and divisions

The tests

Each level’s tests prescribe the movements and the standard. The FEI tests are the sport’s common vocabulary from Prix St Georges upward.

• Prix St Georges and Intermediate I — the Small Tour
• The Medium Tour: Intermediate A, B and II
• The Grand Prix test — movement by movement
• The Grand Prix Special — the team-medal test
• The Freestyle (Kür) — choreography, music and artistic marks
• FEI youth divisions — ponies to Under 25
• Young horse classes — where sale horses make their names

Scoring and results

Every movement is marked 0–10 with half marks, coefficients double the most telling movements, and collective marks assess the overall picture; the final score is a percentage. Because the German and Dutch federations register results centrally, and the FEI publishes every international start, a competition record is verifiable evidence — the property this wiki’s buying articles lean on throughout.

• How judging and scoring works
• Reading a dressage score sheet
• The collective marks
• Reading a horse’s competition record — what the percentages and career shape mean
• Records: the highest scores in history

The events

International sport runs on the CDI system, star-rated one to five, with the World Cup circuit indoors and the championships (the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the continental championships) at the top.

• The CDI system and star ratings
• Championships: Olympics to World Cup
• Qualification and eligibility

The arena and the equipment

• The dressage arena — dimensions, the letters and their geometry, and where the judges sit; printable diagrams in the reference section
• Permitted tack — bits, bridles, nosebands and saddlery: what the rules allow at each level

How this section connects

The levels are the map of how dressage horses are produced; the scoring articles explain the numbers every sale advert quotes; and the record-reading method feeds directly into buying a competition record. Prices track the levels closely, as documented in the cost section.

Sources

The articles in this section are sourced to the current rulebooks and official materials of the governing bodies, cited per article: the FEI Dressage Rules (26th edition, 2026), the German FN’s LPO 2024 and Leistungsklassen system, the KNHS Disciplinereglement Dressuur 2026, British Dressage’s published rules, and the USEF Rule Book with the USDF test materials.