Presentation

Dressage is an Olympic equestrian discipline. It is often regarded as the "mother" discipline of other equestrian sports. Dressage riding is a discipline inspired by classical riding, which has evolved over time, influenced by both military and later, sports riding. In fact, no other equestrian discipline is conceivable without first training the horse in dressage.

Dressage is the constant aesthetic art of a movement sought by the rider through their mount. This aesthetic pursuit of movement takes a central role in dressage, where principles such as lightness, relaxation, impulsion, and love are essential to elevate it to an art form.

In competition, the rider must present a pre-mastered test. There are two types of dressage tests: the "imposed" test (an "official" test in which all competitors in the same category must perform the same routine) and the freestyle tests set to music.

The dressage test is a series of manege figures (such as circles, diagonals, leg-yielding, etc.) adapted to the riders' level based on their category, and it takes place in an arena measuring 60 x 20 meters (or 40 x 20 meters depending on the category) marked by rails and letters positioned around the arena.

After the rider performs the manege figures in the pre-determined order, each judge evaluates the quality of the execution and assigns a score from 0 to 10. At the end of the competition, the judges will average the scores given, which are then converted into a percentage to rank each rider.