By amymcelroy
Posted: October 28, 2025
Dear Amy,I am a newbie to the dressage competition world, although dressage has always intrigued me. I competed in a few schooling shows and did fairly well, so I decided to try a USDF-rated show. I had a rude awakening. I was surprised to learn so many things are illegal! I had one test on
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – First Timer”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: August 29, 2025
Dear Amy,I am competing in dressage at Third Level. I have been riding Third Level Test One and Third Level Test Three, and I am excited to be qualified for the Regionals. In my most recent show, I decided to ride my tests by memory (my first time without a caller) in practice for the
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Third Level”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: August 29, 2025
Dear Amy, I recently went to a dressage competition where I entered Third Level, Test 2. This level and test area step up for me. I thought I had a lovely ride! My horse was very steady and happily listened to myaids. I was very surprised to see my score was not as high as
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Stepping Up”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: December 14, 2024
Dear Amy This year a group of my riding friends were lucky enough to attend the United States Dressage Finals in Lexington, Kentucky as spectators. It was wonderful to see so many riders from the Aiken area competing. We were really excited on Saturday evening when watching the Grand Prix freestyles in the Alltech Arena to
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – US Dressage Finals”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: October 30, 2024
Dear Amy,My friend and I are adult amateur dressage riders. I ride at First level and my friend at Third level. We both are planning to ride a musical freestyle this fall. We were also interested in the dressage seat equitation classes. We were wondering if you could share any information and advice about things
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Seeking Variety”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: January 31, 2024
Dear Amy, I recently imported an FEI dressage horse from Holland. I am planning to compete with him starting at Prix St. Georges this season in Aiken. I have competed at dressage shows in the past but never at this level, or done any upper level tests. I have a few questions I am curious about, and I have asked around but gotten mixed
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Upper Level Novice”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: January 31, 2024
Dear Amy, While I competed recently at a local USDF dressage show, I was very surprised to see my show arena had two judges! I was only showing at the lower levels. I thought only more advanced or special shows had multiple judges. So I was wondering if you could you explain the protocol when there
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Multiple Judges”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: January 31, 2024
Dear Amy, I am planning to compete at recognized dressage shows this summer in Aiken. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer for me. First, with this heat, I am not planning to wear my show jacket, which I know is legal, assuming that jackets are waived at the show. But is it
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Attire Hot Topics”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: May 12, 2023
Dear Amy, I am getting ready to move my horse up to the Prix St. Georges level. This winter, I had a chance to watch FEI tests in Florida and I saw there were several versions of the Prix St. Georges (PSG) test being ridden there. Are these classes available at all shows? What is
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Grand Prix Ambitions”
Category: Ask the Judge
By amymcelroy
Posted: February 3, 2023
Dear Amy, I am planning to compete with my horse at Training Level Test Three and First Level Test One this season. I noticed that there have been some changes in the new 2023 versions of these tests and I am hoping you can answer some questions about them. First, I am curious why the
Continue Reading “Ask the Judge – Ready for 2023”
Category: Ask the Judge
