Article 9 — The arena
The program takes place in an arena of free shape — round, square or rectangular. Its dimensions are given before each competition.
LIVE: from 15 × 15 m to 30 × 30 m.
ONLINE: from 15 × 15 m to 20 × 20 m. Beyond that the pair becomes too small in frame and the quality of the video no longer allows judging.
These limits guarantee that performances remain comparable: below them the choreography is cramped; above them, the use of the arena can no longer be assessed.
A tighter choreography serves the pair twice over: it shows mastery, and it gives a video in which the horse stays large in frame.
IN ONLINE COMPETITION, THE ARENA MAY NOT BE A DRESSAGE ARENA. It must be a place of the pair's own: a meadow, a courtyard, a wood — if possible in keeping with the style of the music.
This requirement is not decorative. A dressage arena and its letters are the visual signature of classical dressage: filming a program there would lead an untrained viewer to mistake Artistic Dressage for a freestyle test to music. The discipline must be recognisable from the very first image.
The place is part of the program. The finest competition videos are showcased by the Federation on its networks: a performance filmed in a beautiful setting serves its author as much as it serves the discipline.
