NOCs and dressage athletes qualify for LA28 Olympics in Los Angeles; host nation USA receives three quotas.

How to qualify for equestrian dressage at LA28 Olympics: The qualification system explained

How does equestrian dressage qualification for the LA28 Olympics work? Find out everything you need to know about the format, key events, riders to watch and number of competitors.

Olympic equestrian features three disciplines with 60 quota places available at the LA28 Olympic Games for dressage , 65 in eventing and 75 in jumping .

Quota places are secured at individual or team level. They are allocated to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with 15 quotas in the team qualification, for a total of 45 athletes, and 15 quotas in the individual competition.

NOCs are eligible to obtain individual quotas only if they have not accepted a team quota. Only one individual quota is available per eligible NOC.

As equestrian is an open format competition, meaning that female and male athletes compete in the same events for the same medals, the available quotas are not split by gender.

In dressage, athletes can obtain quota spots through the 2026 FEI Dressage World Championships , the 2027 FEI Dressage European Championships , a 2027 Designated FEI Olympic Qualification Event , the 2027 Pan American Games and, if necessary, additional 2027 Group F and Group G FEI Designated Olympic Qualification Events and the FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage .

The United States of America, as host nation, receives three quotas in dressage.

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Equestrian dressage qualification at LA28 Olympics: Key facts

There will be two medal events for dressage at LA28: the individual and team competitions.

The team competition offers 15 quotas , one for the host country and 14 for qualified teams. The individual competition offers 15 quotas to NOCs that have not obtained a team quota already.

The United States receives three quotas through host nation allocation.

There will be a maximum of 60 athletes taking part in the dressage events, with a maximum of three athletes for NOCs that secured their spot through team qualification, and one for NOCs qualified for the individual competition.

The qualification pathway begins in August 2026 at the FEI Dressage World Championships in Aachen, Germany and wraps up when the FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage period ends on 31 December 2027. Athletes also need to fulfil the FEI Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER) before 11 June 2028 to compete at LA28.

The final Olympic entries deadline is 26 June 2028.

How does equestrian dressage qualification for the LA28 Olympics work?

As the host nation, the United States has three quotas in the dressage competitions. The other NOCs need to obtain quotas through the various qualifier events or ranking points.

A total of 15 NOCs will take part in the team competition (three pairs of athlete-horse per team), one of those being the host nation. The other 14 teams will secure their quotas through FEI Olympic Group Qualification Events, which are as follow:

One quota (max. three pairs athlete-horse): host nation. If the host country is not able to field a team, it may send one eligible individual athlete instead.

Six quotas (max. 18 pairs athlete-horse): the six highest ranked teams from the 2026 FEI Dressage World Championships in August 2026, excluding the host country team.

Three quotas (max. nine pairs athlete-horse): the three highest-ranked teams from the 2027 FEI European Dressage Championship in August 2027, from FEI Olympic Groups A and

or B excluding teams already qualified as host nation and through the world championships.

One quota (max. three pairs): the highest-ranked team from the Group C at the 2027 Designated FEI Olympic Qualification Event, excluding teams already qualified.

Two quotas (max. six pairs): the two highest-ranked teams from FEI Olympic Groups D and

or E at the 2027 Pan American Games, in July 2027, excluding teams qualified as above.

One quota (max. three pairs): the highest-ranked team from the Olympic Group F at the 2026 FEI Dressage World Championships, excluding a team qualified as above. If the quota place is not filled at the 2026 FEI Dressage World Championships, the quota place will be allocated to the highest ranked team from the Olympic Group F at a 2027 Group F FEI Designated Olympic Qualification Event (dates & location TBD if applicable).

One quota (max. three pairs): Same principles as above with Group F, but with group G.

An NOC can qualify for a maximum of one individual place and only NOCs that have not accepted a team quota are eligible to obtain an individual one. The total number of individual quota places for LA28 is 15.

They are allocated as follows:

14 quotas (14 pairs athlete-horse) through the FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage (allocation through FEI Olympic Groups) and allocation through FEI Olympic Group Qualification Event and FEI Olympic Ranking .

And one quota through the FEI Olympic Ranking (allocation through overall ranking).

Allocation through FEI Olympic Groups (FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage) - 10 quotas

The two highest-ranked athletes in the FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage from each of the five groups mentioned below will qualify one individual quota place each for their NOC, respecting the maximum of one quota per NOC:

C - Central & Eastern Europe

F - Africa & Middle East

G – South-East Asia, Oceania

Allocation through FEI Olympic Group Qualification Event and FEI Olympic Ranking - four quotas

The two highest-ranked athletes from Olympic Groups D and

or E, maximum one per NOC, from the overall individual classification at the 2027 Pan American Games will qualify one individual quota place each for their NOC.

And the two highest-ranked athletes from the FEI Olympic Ranking for Olympic Groups D and E combined, maximum one per NOC, will qualify one individual quota place each for their NOC.

E - Central and South America

Allocation through overall ranking (FEI Olympic Ranking - Dressage) - one quota

One individual quota place will be allocated in descending order of the highest-ranked athletes in the dressage’s FEI Olympic Ranking – Dressage, excluding athletes who already obtained a quota for their NOC via the FEI Olympic Group Rankings.

Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle | Equestrian | Olympic Games Paris 2024

This Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle took place at the Chateau de Versailles, France, on 04

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (GER) won the Gold with a total score of 90.093. Isabell Werth (GER) won the Silver, and Charlotte Fry (GBR) won the Bronze.

How many athletes will compete in equestrian dressage at LA28?

There will be a maximum of 60 athletes taking part in the competition.

Fifteen teams, with three athletes each, will take part in the team competition for a total of 45 athletes . An additional 15 athletes will participate in the individual event.

To be eligible to participate at LA28, athletes must comply with the Olympic Charter currently in force, including nationality requirements, anti-doping regulations and the eligibility rules established by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Athletes must be born on or before 31 December 2012 (no younger than 16 years of age in the year that the Olympic Games take place), while all horses participating at the 2028 Olympic Games must be born on or before 31 December 2020 (no younger than eight years of age in the year that the Olympic Games take place).

horse combinations must also fulfil Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER) at selected events from 1 January 2027 through 11 June 2028.

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What is the LA28 equestrian dressage competition format and schedule?

At LA28, the equestrian dressage competition will take place from 20 to 24 July at the Santa Anita Park .

The competition format is similar to Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 , which also featured 60 dressage riders, and is split into two open events with their separate set of medals: individual and team competition.

In both the individual and team events, the horse and rider follow music, performing artistic movements that will be judged. The judges take into account the elegance, ease and fluidity of the movements that are given a mark out of 10, while the horse has to show the three paces (walk, trot and canter). There are also some movements that are predetermined and all of the participants have to perform them.

The athlete-horse pair or team with the highest score will win the gold medal.

Equestrian dressage teams and riders to watch at LA28 Olympics*

Germany confirmed its long-time dominance in the discipline at Paris 2024 where riders from the nation won the team gold medal as well as the gold and silver medals in the individual dressage competition.

It was the second consecutive gold medal for Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl , who also won the Tokyo 2020 individual competition, and the career 14th Olympic medal for Isabell Werth , who once mentored Von Bredow-Werndl.

Charlotte Fry was the sole non-German on the individual dressage podium at the 2024 Olympics, picking up a second bronze with the British team there as well. Her Paris 2024 teammates Becky Moody and Carl Hester have also shown stellar results recently with the two British riders in the Top 10 of the world ranking as of 9 August 2026.

Catherine Laudrup-Dufour , a silver medallist with the Danish team at Paris 2024, leads the FEI Dressage World Ranking after jumping up 30 places in July 2026 after strong showings with horse Mount St John Freestyle .

Belgium’s Justin Verboomen is ranked second, ahead of Fry. The 39-year-old got a boost after winning two gold medals at the 2025 FEI Dressage European Championships on Zonik Plus and looks poised to make a statement Olympic debut at LA28.

Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will feature at Los Angeles 2028.

*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the LA Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at LA28.

14 - 30 July 2028

LA 2028 | Olympic Games | USA