Top-level dressage tests could be rewritten to include stretching movements and the FEI is crunching the data before making a decision on allowing snaffle bridles for all grand prix tests.
FEI dressage director Ronan Murphy told the FEI sports forum (30 to 31 March) that a working group has looked at the dressage tests, with a particular focus on whether movements that “demonstrate suppleness, balance, self-carriage” and “underline the principles of the scale of training at all levels” should be introduced.
Raphael Saleh, president of the ground jury at Paris 2024 and a member of the FEI’s working group, said the FEI is considering two new movements at grand prix – stretching on a long rein in trot and giving and retaking the rein.
Mr Murphy said: “Traditionally, we’ve had some of these movements in some lower level tests or the youth test, but now we’re looking at whether this is something we could introduce in higher level tests.”
Mr Saleh added that most riders and trainers incorporate these kinds of practices into their training already, but that this would encourage good practices from places where dressage is developing and have a positive impact on the sport’s future.
“We also have to consider the sports worldwide, not only for the top nations and top riders. Introducing this exercise in the test would push riders to work on the basics in their daily training,” he said.
Monica Theodorescu, deputy chair of the FEI dressage committee and who is also on the working group, said: “From the training side, if the movement is in the test, it will be practised, and if it’s practised, it’s for the wellbeing of the horses.”
The FEI has allowed riders to choose between using a snaffle or double bridle at grand prix up to and including CDI3* level since the start of 2026. But the forum heard that calls continue for snaffle bridles also to be an option at four- and five-star shows.
“We’ve only started to really gather the information from the change we made last year,” said Mr Murphy.
“We can see that at three-star level, in the first two months of the year, we had 207 grand prix tests and 20 (almost 10%) of the athletes chose to ride those tests in the snaffle bridle.
“We’ve used that information also to look at the scores awarded by the judges, because we feel there are a lot of different questions around this particular point and we have many stakeholders who have different views.”
He added that the FEI is “seeing a very normal distribution of results”, but that it is “way too early yet to make any conclusions” from the limited data gathered so far.
The forum also discussed whether artificial intelligence could support the technical side of judging, if warm-ups should be live-streamed, whether judges’ comments on test sheets should be published, and more.
British Dressage (BD) chief executive Jason Brautigam thanked the dressage committee and working group for “very positive and constructive changes”.
“I would encourage everyone here to focus on the bigger picture now and be ambitious and progressive in our approach, rather than protective and defensive. I do believe it’s a vitally important opportunity to not only develop, but also protect the future of our sport,” he said.
“Riders will only train their horses to achieve scores awarded by the judges. So we do need to start at that end point and work backwards. Therefore rewarding harmony over tension throughout the test is definitely the right approach, recognising balance, self-carriage, suppleness, throughness, ease and lightness, as the panel has rightly highlighted.”
“But I do think we should also look at supporting a review of the coefficients, particularly for the more difficult movements, because again, that is the incentive to go for those higher marks. Not just the degree of difficulty in the freestyle, but the coefficients across the board.”
He added that BD would welcome a judge monitoring programme that could potentially be extended to stewards, to ensure standards are applied consistently and can be reviewed.
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