Section 6: Scoring
6.1 Dressage Scoring
- Each movement scored 0–10 (half marks permitted) by each judge independently
- Marks are summed, coefficient movements doubled, and collective marks added
- Total marks divided by maximum possible marks × 100 = percentage score
- Judges' percentages are averaged across the panel (5 or 7 judges) for the final result
- Higher percentage = better performance. Olympic Grand Prix scores typically range from 70% to 90%+.
- Freestyle: Technical marks (50%) + Artistic marks (50%) = total percentage. Artistic marks cover rhythm, energy, elasticity; harmony between horse and rider; choreography; degree of difficulty; and music and interpretation.
6.2 Show Jumping Scoring
- Knockdown: 4 faults per rail (only the top element of each fence is counted)
- Refusal/run-out: 4 faults (first instance). Elimination on second refusal (cumulative across the course).
- Time faults: 1 fault per second over the time allowed (calculated from course length ÷ prescribed speed)
- Water jump: 4 faults if any hoof lands on the lath marking the far edge
- Rankings: Fewest faults wins. If tied, fastest time in the round (or jump-off) breaks the tie.
6.3 Eventing Scoring
- Cumulative penalty system across all three phases
- Dressage penalties: (100 − percentage) = penalty score
- Cross-country penalties: Time faults (0.4/sec) + refusal penalties (20/40) + fall penalties
- Show jumping penalties: 4 per knockdown + 4 per refusal + 1 per second over time
- Lowest total penalty score wins. A "sub-30 dressage" (fewer than 30 penalty points from the dressage phase) is considered excellent at the Olympic level.
6.4 Tiebreaking
- Dressage: Collective marks compared. If still tied, the judge at C's score breaks the tie.
- Show Jumping: Jump-off round. If still tied after jump-off, shared ranking.
- Eventing: Best cross-country score (closest to optimum time with fewest jumping penalties) breaks the tie. If still tied, best show jumping score.