Photo via Throwa_UK/Flickr/Creative Commons.
I’ve always admired riders like Buck or Boyd, who ride 15 horses in one show at every single level, and yet never seem to show up with an error in dressage. I have no idea how they keep all those dressage tests straight in their heads.
Instead, I join the ranks of one-horse riders, who despite only having one test to learn for each show, and sometimes just one for the entire season, still manage to pick up the occasional error. It happens to everyone and is nothing to be ashamed of.
What I was ashamed of was completely not understanding how errors translate into the actual score. I’ll admit that until a couple months ago, I blithely assumed, as many do, that it simply added 2 points onto your dressage score. I thought this equated itself into 3 points on FEI tests too.
Then a good friend mentioned to me how exasperating it was that no one seemed to know the actual method of calculating errors. When I asked her what she meant, I proceeded to get an education. After another season of competing, I came to understand why it bothered her so much.
Now I’m here to tell you: You’re doing it wrong.
No, your test wasn’t two full points better than the score indicates because you forgot that halt. No, it wasn’t four points better because there were two judges scoring your one error. And believe it or not, your error is a bit more detrimental at Beginner Novice than it is at Four Star, although not by much.
I will use Four Star Test A to demonstrate. The FEI tests have full scoring sheets as part of their dressage tests; the USEF does not. However, the mathematical method for this calculation is simple and identical for all tests.
The end of Four Star Test A.
Pictured above is the final portion of the Four Star Test A dressage form. Each test earns a total sum of points for movements (260 in this case), along with an additional 40 points for collective marks. That means that for the Four Star Test A, you have the possibility of earning up to 300 points.
For all dressage scoring, the number of earned points is simply divided by the total possible points, then multiplied by 100 to obtain a percentage. For USEF horse trials, the percentage is then subtracted from 100%. For FEI, one more step is taken, multiplying by 1.5 to achieve the official score.
Most people generally assume that the two error points are subtracted from the final score. This is not the case. As you can clearly see on the form above, the two penalty points from one error are subtracted from the earned points prior to division by the total points.
Additionally, the errors do not compound with multiple judges, as the errors are deducted from each judge’s score prior to averaging the three (or two) overall scores into one. Two points from each judge do add to six (or four), but are then divided by three (or two) judges to arrive back at two.
This means that for Four Star Test A, the first error is worth 2/300, or 0.667% in terms of USEF score. Since it is FEI, it needs to be multiplied by the 1.5 coefficient for the final worth. In FEI terms, on this particular test, one error would be worth only 1 point.
To make it easy to figure out, I’ve included a diagram below of each test and what the total impact would be on your final score. This chart is for the current tests; when new FEI tests are released, I will update this chart.
Chart indicating impact of errors on each test. Graphic by Maggie Deatrick
Ultimately, an error on One Star A test has the most impact in terms of absolute value, but the FEI multiplier means it may have less effect on your overall placing. In terms of relative value, errors in the Beginner Novice A test have the biggest impact, with errors in Advanced B counting for the least, at barely more than half a point.
So the next time you can’t remember if you are supposed to turn left or right in the middle of a test, don’t worry so much! The error isn’t as detrimental as you think.
