Dressage is the phase of the competition tests the gaits, suppleness and obedience of the horse through a series of prescribed movements. While judging the Dressage Test on the first day is based on specific criteria understood in detail only by experienced judges and riders, it is basically an evaluation of beauty of movement and obedience. Anyone can judge these characteristics and the spectator's opinion often agrees with the judges. The number of competitors may require that Dressage be held over two days but it remains the first competition day. 
ScoringEach of the movements of the test and the four sets of collective marks are awarded good marks from 0 to 10 by each of the three judges. The good marks are added together for each judge, deducting any error of course of test. For each judge the percentage of maximum possible good marks obtainable is then calculated to two (2) decimal places. This value is shown as the individual mark for that judge. Average percentage for the competitor is obtained by adding together the percentage for each judge and dividing by the number of judges, always rounding the result to two decimal digits. In order to covert the average percentage into penalty points, this number must be subtracted from 100, the resulting total multiplied by 1.5 to pace the Dressage Test in the proper relationship with the other two tests of the Three-Day Event. The resulting figure is rounded to one (1) decimal digit and is the score in penalty points for the test.
Scores: | | 10 | Excellent | | 9 | Very Good | | 8 | Good | | 7 | Fairly Good | | 6 | Satisfactory | | 5 | Sufficient | | 4 | Insufficient | | 3 | Fairly Bad | | 2 | Bad | | 1 | Very Bad | | 0 | Not Executed |
Errors of Course/Test:The test must be executed from memory. Errors of course or a wrong sequence of movements (error of test), whether corrected or not, are penalized as follows:
First Error
| 2 points | Second Error
| 4 points | Third Error
| Elimination |
|
|
|
