Dressage principles are a logical, step-by-step progression from simple to increasingly complex movements. More and more is asked of the horse as it becomes mentally and physically ready to respond to these demands.

The graceful movements performed in competition may look effortless, but are the result of years of training. The aids should be virtually imperceptible. A squeeze of the calf, a closing of the fingers, a shifting of the rider's weight in the saddle should be all that is necessary to tell the horse what is required.

Dressage requires the horse and rider to combine the strength and agility of gymnastics with the elegance and beauty of ballet. The result is truly the best blend of sport and art. The highlight of a dressage competition is the Musical Freestyle in which the rider creates and choreographs to music an original ride of compulsory figures and movements.

The Arena
A standard arena measures 20 meters by 60 meters (about 65.8 feet x 197.5 feet). Some of the lower level tests may use a small 20 meters by 40 meters arena as does the musical Quadrille (4 riders in a choreographed ride).

Judging the Tests
The tests for each level are written so that there is a way to consistently measure performance. The judges are looking for accuracy of the transitions (changes of gait), obedience, suppleness of the horse, quality of the gaits, and the rider's use of aids.

All movements and certain transitions from one gait to another are numbered on the judge's sheet. They are marked from 0 to 10, 0 being the lowest mark (virtually nothing of the movement performed) and 10 (excellent) the highest. A flawless performance of each movement is seldom achieved. Judges are always excited as they (rarely) give a 10!

Following the test, the rider's individual movement scores are added up and a final score is calculated as a percentage of the possible score that the rider could achieve for that particular test. The highest percentage wins the class.