In competition, dressage horses and riders perform a series of compulsory movements at the walk, trot and canter in a pre-set pattern. The only exception is the freestyle, which is a special program where the rider can exhibit their personal style and artistry by choreographing required elements to music, they feel is best suited to their horse. Dressage is one of the three Olympic equestrian sports. Like all equestrian disciplines, dressage is a gender-neutral sport with men and women competing against each other equally.
Access all EC National Dressage Tests and FEI Dressage Tests here.
Programs, ranking and support for the Canadian Equestrian Team
EC facilitates the following programs for up-and-coming young athletes to support development and talent identification.
Recognition for athletes, owners, horses, breeders, and volunteers.
All EC sanctioned Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Dressage competitions collect and remit $10 per horse entered in the competition to Equestrian Canada. Revenue generated from the Levy is used to support talent identification, personal development and the high performance teams representing Canada at major games.
EC and/or the Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) are required to pay a copyright fee for the use of national-level dressage tests (Introductory to Fourth Level). Therefore, a Dressage Test User Fee is applied for competitions using EC National Dressage Tests.
The Dressage Test User Fee is set annually in October for the following year. The fees are as follows:
The EC Dressage Committee is responsible for leading the strategy on programs and services for dressage development in Canada.