Choosing a competition
Our competition structure has been designed to give riders more choice than ever before! Whether you're just starting out, or you're an experienced dressage rider, we have something for everyone.
Being a Full (competing) or Club member of British Dressage entitles you to ride in our affiliated competitions, the benefit of competing in an affiliated event is that they are all governed by us; providing you with events of a consistent and guaranteed standard, held at an approved venue and be judged consistently by a fully accredited British Dressage judge.
How do I choose a competition?
- Firstly you need to work out which level and section you're eligible to compete in, which is based on both yours and your horse's previous achievements. The best starting place for this is our eligibility guides.
- Take a look at the qualification period for each of the competitions and where and when the qualifiers are, this will help you decide which competitions you have time to get the required scores for. Also bear in mind that you can often use 'normal' outings to qualify for a number of different championships, such as the Petplan Area Festivals.
- Choose which test you want to do. You can choose your test depending on your level, the lower the number the easier the test. So if you’re just starting out at Prelim level, try Prelim 2 before making your way up the numbers towards the more detailed tests for each level. You can buy test sheets and plans from our online shop, or if you prefer a more interactive way of learning try the Dressage TestPro app!
- Do you want to compete in freestyle dressage to music? This is an increasingly popular type of dressage, which has its own classes that run alongside the standard at certain competitions. If you've never considered this before, we've got all of the tips and advice you need on our Dressage to Music page.
Our competition venues
There's a huge range of British Dressage affiliated venues across the country. To see which ones are near you and within your region, view our interactive venue map below:
Quest Venues
If you're looking to compete at one of our Quest venues, you can see our full list by viewing the map below:
