Equestrian Canada - the Canadian equestrian federation - has adopted the dressage tests of the United States Dressage Federation, which runs under the banner of USEF, through to 2026.
Dressage tests are created by discipline experts, updated every four years and once approved for publishing, are readily available online for all levels from introductory up to the FEI level. Replacing the 2019 tests, the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) published those used in United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) competitions on Dec. 1, 2022.
Equestrian Canada (EC) holds an agreement with the USDF/USEF to purchase copyrights to use the same tests in Canada. Once formatted and translated into both official languages, they are adopted for Canadian use. The tests for the Introductory Level through Fourth Level, the Developing Horse, and Freestyle were effective as of January 2023 and are now all available free of charge on the EC website.
Due to the copyrights involved, competitions that offer national-level (Introductory to Fourth Level) dressage classes are required to pay a Test User Fee.
The dressage/para-dressage handbook includes all the national level tests, is produced in printed form. Active EC sport license holders who declare their discipline as Dressage or Para dressage each receive a copy per edition. Individuals who wish to have a printed copy of the handbook can order them for $25 from the EC Store.
The USDF tests are also in use in Colombia and Mexico after their translation to Spanish was approved.
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