Dressage

How it Works
Dressage tests are judged by either a single judge or a panel of three judges. Tests may be held indoors or outdoors.

The test begins when the competitor walks to the entrance of the ring (a black "halt" dot should be placed here) and makes a 1-paragraph roleplay post describing his/her appearance and attire. This is to be judged in the case of a tie ONLY and should otherwise not be considered.

Competitors follow dots that have been placed on the ground. The dot colors have the following meanings:
Black: Halt
Green: Walk
Blue: Trot
Yellow: Canter
Red: Half-pass*
Orange: 360-degree Pirouette*
* = introduced at Advanced level

At the lower levels, tests should be quite simple and take no more than 45 seconds to complete. At Training level and beyond, tests should be more elaborate, and take at least 90 seconds to complete.

A horse should remain on a halt dot for at least five seconds.
The walk is a 4-beat gait, and should be smooth and slow. There must be a significant change in speed and tempo for each gait, so keep this in mind and do not go racing across the ring!
The trot is a 2-beat gait, and should be lively and animated at a moderate speed.
The canter is a 3-beat gait and is the fastest seen in the dressage ring.
The half-pass is a more advanced maneuver where the horse moves forward and laterally at the same time. The horse should take a step laterally and a step forward, slightly pause, a step laterally and a step forward, and so on.
The 360-degree pirouette is just a 360-degree turn in place. (In the real world, it is not quite in place, but this is the best way to represent it in Furcadia.) It should follow the tempo of the canter.