The European Dressage Championships are the European championships for the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

discipline of dressage. They are held every two years in odd-numbered years. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in both individual and team competitions. There are also championships held for juniors, young riders, and ponies. Since 2015, the competition has shared a site and branding with

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...

reining Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope (a version of the horse gait more commonly known worldwide as the canter), o ...

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...

, and

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...

events. For sponsorship reasons,

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

is not included, as it is part of the FEI European Championships, echoing the combined

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

concept. The first official combined event took place in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

in 2015.

History

The official European Dressage Championship was first held in 1963. Before then, beginning in the 1950s, the FEI has held the FEI Grand Prix annually. The winners of these events were referred to as European champions. At the official first European Dressage Championship in 1963 it was possible to start with more than one horse, so each rider could win more than one individual medal. Today, each rider can start with only one horse. The history of team medals starts at the European Dressage Championships in 1965. Two years before, only

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and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

had three riders at the European Championships (three riders are necessary for a team). However, the rules state that a minimum number of three teams must compete in the team competition, so no team medals were awarded in 1963. From 1963 to 2005, each European Dressage Championship team competition was won by the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

, which became

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1990. In 2007, the Dutch team won the competition. Up to 1991, only one individual prize giving was held. In 1993 and 1995 two individual competitions were held—the Grand Prix Spécial and the Grand Prix Freestyle (also called Grand Prix Kür). The riders had to choose which of the two individual competitions they wanted to start in. In 1997, the rules were changed again. The riders had to start in the Grand Prix de Dressage (the team competition), the Grand Prix Spécial, and the Grand Prix Freestyle. At the end of these competitions, only one individual prize giving was held. Since 2005, the riders can win an individual competition in both the Grand Prix Spécial and the Grand Prix Freestyle. A rider who wants to start in the Grand Prix Freestyle must start also in the Grand Prix Spécial.Press kit: FEI European Dressage Championships Rotterdam (NED), 17 – 21 August 2011
In 2003 the European Dressage Championship was held as the Open European Dressage Championship, but a closed European Championship was calculated based on the result.

Individual results

Team results

All-time medal table (1963–2021)

* Note 1: Medal count is sorted by total gold medals, then total silver medals, then total bronze medals, then alphabetically. * Note 2: Germany includes both Germany and West Germany.

References

{{European Championships Dressage events *