# What do you consider a 'good' score for Dressage?



## nato (23 August 2015)

Obviously I know it varies from judge to judge, and I try to look at what the top score is and how close I am to it, in order to judge my performance overall. We're consistently getting 63-65% when we go out, and I know that we have a lot to work on. I've videod all my tests and work with my instructor on the video + score sheet to try to improve them. 

The most interesting thing is I've received the exact same collect marks in my last two tests from two different judges - for paces, impulsion, submission and rider - a sign of consistency I guess


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## ihatework (23 August 2015)

It's all relative to your stage of training / ambitions etc.

I only count scores from affiliated as unaff can vary wildly.

For me at a new level I'm generally 'okay' with 64%+, 60-64 is a little disappointing and under 60 is not acceptable. 

At an established level under 64 not good, 64-66 could be better, 66-69 generally pleased, 70+ good 

But then that is me as a moderate amateur rider. A pro would have higher expectations


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## MungoMadness (23 August 2015)

Me and my horse are just starting out, we've done three dressage competitions to date and have just done our first Novice. Because everything is still a bit new, and greenness is still having an impact, I aim for 60%+ (which we've always achieved!).

For something less green it'd be higher.


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## HeresHoping (23 August 2015)

Competing unaffiliated Prelim - anything less than 68% is disappointing.  We've done a few novice tests and the first two I just wanted to get above 60%.  By the 4th test we hit 65%, and then we dropped a bit to 63 - 64% for a couple. Got a kick in the teeth with a 60% but have just bust through the 66% barrier.  I will accept that for the next few.  I know that if we affiliate we will probably see a 5 - 10% drop in scores so the aim is to hit the 68% plus for the novice to feel that we are good enough to affiliate.  I want to see those collectives up by 1 mark each, too.  Currently getting 6.5 - 7s in the Novice.  However, she's a Connie, she's never going to have expressive paces so we just need to be 'correct'.


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## kathantoinette (23 August 2015)

I'm pleased with anything above 67% (Prelim BD).  At the minute I'm on a nose dive and have been getting 62% to 64% which I'm not happy with.  I have had a couple of 70% scores but they are now a distant memory!!


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## spookypony (23 August 2015)

Depends on the horse I'm sitting on and where we're at...around here, unaff/aff are generally judged by the same judges, and from what I can tell, reasonably consistently. When I did P and N with the Spooky Pony, I was ecstatic if we broke the 60%, because our tests were rarely uneventful: the whole exercise rather worried him, I think, and he was prone to unplanned changes in direction and/or explosions (once the judge and her writer actually ducked under the table when he did a canter transition near C...  ). The Ballerina Mare appears to score around 65% at P when I think it was "mediocre", and managed low 60s in N37 when I forgot _both_ of the G/R and generally rode like a lemon, so once we're finally out there consistently, I suspect my expectations will rise sharply!


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## soulfull (23 August 2015)

Like ihatework says it's all relative.

Fi  when i first got her, comment was thats the fastest prelim 7 i have ever seen. With a 59%    on our last novice test I would be have been  disappointed with less than 68%

BUT I have had horses I would have been ok with 55% at intro 

I have a feeling I may be doing intro with a baby again.  It's not a done deal so sshhh


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## kassieg (23 August 2015)

When i first started i just want to get 60%. Now anything less than 68% for prelim isn't great. I'm on 64 % for novices which I am happy with, will be over the moon  when i crack 65% 
BE if we get more than 32 I'm a bit disappointed. I really want to break the 30 barrier & get into the 20s!!


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## DressageCob (23 August 2015)

when I first started I'd be happy with late 50s in unaffiliated dressage. 

Now I'm happy with anything over 65% in affiliated prelim (although I am sometimes disappointed with a mid-60s rather than late 60s score). Affiliated novice I'm ok so long as it's over 62% (petplan score)

Unaffiliated prelim (which I have given up now) I'd be disappointed with anything below 68%, Novice under 65%. We do unaffiliated elementary now and I'm generally happy just to get around. 

My rules change at regionals/area festivals. While I aim for late 60s/early 70s I'm generally happy with a score over 62%...65% and over and I'm positively chuffed


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## rara007 (23 August 2015)

With my 'proper' pony I'd be disappointed with much below 67% at prelim (yet to come out novice) whilst with my trooper of a driving pony we grin our way round BD nov and Elem to get 60% and be chuffed as anything! I normally expect around 65% on him unaff.


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## AdorableAlice (24 August 2015)

The feral carthorse did his first test at the weekend, a walk and trot, no less.  He scored 65%, he deserved it to be fair and his first ever centre line was a 7.5, I think the judge must have been wetting her pants at the sight of a Shire/Vanner thundering down the centre line at her VW Polo.  Especially as I had spoken to her and warned her we did not know what might happen !

The best score my nice horse had was at the regional in 2009 with a whopping 82% elem.  That was a day to remember.


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## alice.j (24 August 2015)

I will preface this by saying - I have only ever done unaff walk and trot tests at this point, and only on youngsters / low-milage projects who weren't up to cantering in circles yet!
My last test, I wanted us to get more than 50% (and not come last!). We ended up with a very respectable score of 59.13% - respectable given we started the test by entering at C, cutting off the corner at M, and spooking at B! We've got another W&T test this coming Saturday, and I'm hoping we break 60% this time! For me, I'm happy to just get out there and have fun. 'My' pony doesn't actually belong to me, and I don't know how long I'll have him for, so for now, just competing is great.

My friend does proper grown-up dressage, and is hoping to compete and qualify at Elem this winter; she's just qualified for Novice nationals and though she says she's happy just to go, I know she's hoping for over 70% - they got 72% at regionals!


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## Perfect_Pirouette (24 August 2015)

Hmm, TBH it depends on the level.

I only really compete BD these days, I have just started competing again with new horse, he&#8217;s in Medium points but we&#8217;re not there yet so we&#8217;ve been going HC and doing a Novice for warm up and Elementary as our &#8216;proper&#8217; test. Last time out, I completely messed up the canter work in the Novice as I didn&#8217;t know the test well enough, we came away with 63% and would have been 3rd, which is RUBBISH&#8230; for a Medium horse, so I was really disappointed, however when I was collecting the sheet, the lady that got second with 64% was thrilled!

We got 66% in our Elementary which I was really pleased with as he&#8217;s really not easy to ride at all and if we keep on scoring consistently like that (64% plus) then I&#8217;d like to move up to Medium. 

Sorry, haven&#8217;t really answered the question have I? 

Basically, in short, FOR ME and at BD- in Novice and above- anything 65% and over is a GOOD score. I wouldn&#8217;t cry with 63-64% BUT, 65% + is what I&#8217;d like to achieve each time out.

I do think people&#8217;s expectations are getting higher though, I can remember 6-7 years ago, people seemed to be really pleased with 60%+ I wonder what&#8217;s changed?

Personally, I think marking (especially at unaffiliated events) has gotten a bit ridiculous. Last time I competed unaffiliated, someone won the Novice with 82%. That is a ridiculous score IMO (I saw the test, it was NOT worth that!) and just gives people unrealistic expectations. Yes, it&#8217;s good to encourage people and reward decent tests, but if that same test was ridden with another (listed) judge, I think it would&#8217;ve scored a far more deserved 67%ish.


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## milliepops (24 August 2015)

ihatework said:



			It's all relative to your stage of training / ambitions etc.

I only count scores from affiliated as unaff can vary wildly.

For me at a new level I'm generally 'okay' with 64%+, 60-64 is a little disappointing and under 60 is not acceptable. 

At an established level under 64 not good, 64-66 could be better, 66-69 generally pleased, 70+ good 

But then that is me as a moderate amateur rider. A pro would have higher expectations
		
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This sums it up for me  but I've definitely changed as I've gained experience.

I've found it interesting to start again at prelim with my cob, because I ride her tests with the same expectations that I did in my final tests after 6 years of learning on Millie ... which has definitely improved my scores even on a green horse that knows nothing   You definitely learn a lot the first time you climb the ladder IME.

So with Millie, first horse I affilitated,  I was happy with 65% and on cloud 9 for weeks with 70%.  Now I'd be disappointed with 65, or at least feel like I could have done a better job on the day.  Now I know more about ringcraft and the attention to detail required at home in order to do a good performance, I think 70% feels more attainable these days.


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## Theocat (24 August 2015)

We're horribly erratic - on a good day we'll score around 68%, on a bad day low 60s, but the neddy is a sensitive sausage so I'll judge my percentage against whether I'm happy with how he's coped with spooky flags / monsters / idiots in the warm up. 64% might, relatively speaking, be a good score in the circumstances on the day.

I'm also mystified by high scores - as soon as I consistently start getting above 65% we'd be thinking about moving up, but I'm not bothered about the placings, particularly, more about the percentages. I can't understand people who are consistently 70%+ but don't move up - they must be bored rigid!


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## vallin (24 August 2015)

AdorableAlice said:



			The feral carthorse did his first test at the weekend, a walk and trot, no less.  He scored 65%, he deserved it to be fair and his first ever centre line was a 7.5, I think the judge must have been wetting her pants at the sight of a Shire/Vanner thundering down the centre line at her VW Polo.  Especially as I had spoken to her and warned her we did not know what might happen !

The best score my nice horse had was at the regional in 2009 with a whopping 82% elem.  That was a day to remember.
		
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YAY!!!!!!   

We're just starting off and I'm happy with anything about 60% at BD, BE anything below 35.


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## milliepops (24 August 2015)

Theocat said:



			I'm also mystified by high scores - as soon as I consistently start getting above 65% we'd be thinking about moving up, but I'm not bothered about the placings, particularly, more about the percentages. I can't understand people who are consistently 70%+ but don't move up - they must be bored rigid!
		
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Lol my first 70% at BD Novice absolutely bowled me over, I was ecstatic... but also only 2nd place. first scored 80%.  Talk about thrashed!

(it was a long time before we got 70% again, and in fact not until we got to Medium, I also don't like to bob about at a level and get bored. But sometimes a 70% score is just the limit of what the horse is capable of. I could post a vid of my cob scoring 70% last week at Novice- her first Novice test ever and no WAY is she ready for elementary, she can only just do Novice IMO! It was just one test on one day, and I picked the Novice that I thought she could do. So it's not always pothunting  )


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## Theocat (24 August 2015)

deleted - strangely delayed double post!


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