Dressage Level Comparator: Your Level in Other Countries and at FEI Level
A horse advertised as “Z2” in the Netherlands, “M-platziert” in Germany, “Amateur 1” in France or “Third Level” in the United States has, in each case, been asked for roughly the same movements. The names hide that. This tool translates one federation’s level into another’s by the movements the tests require, and shows the official test sheets behind both so the claim can be checked.
Pick a level, shown with its country in brackets, to see the exercises its tests require and the rules around it. Add a country to compare, and the result names the equivalent level there and sets the exercises of both side by side. Where the other country has no class at that stage, it says so and shows the nearest classes below and above. Twelve federations are covered: the FEI, the three Belgian federations, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Denmark, the United States, Japan, India and China. Pony, para, young-horse and freestyle tests are outside the scope, and so are score conversions and rider licences.
Compare two levels
Show the full ladder: 12 rungs across 12 federations
How the 12-rung ladder works
Two levels are treated as the same level when their tests ask for the same movements. The ladder has 12 rungs, from walk and trot only up to Grand Prix. Each national level is placed on one rung, or on several when its own numbered tests differ in difficulty.
Rung 1: Walk and trot only
Defining movements: No canter. Working walk and trot, 20 m circles, changes of rein and a halt. Rising trot is allowed.
Must not contain: No canter, no lengthening, no lateral work.
Same level across federations: Pure walk and trot classes exist only in Denmark (LD), the United States (Introductory A and B), Japan (JEF Test 1) and China (Preparatory III), and as children's or entry competitions in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The Netherlands, France and India have no walk and trot level in their standard ladder.
Rung 2: Introductory walk, trot and canter
Defining movements: Working walk, trot and canter, 20 m circles and half circles, simple transitions, halt and salute. No lengthenings and no lateral work.
Must not contain: No lengthened or medium strides, no leg-yield, no rein-back.
Same level across federations: The entry canter level. At the same level: German Klasse E, Danish LC, US Introductory Test C, the Belgian Initiatie, Accueil and Préparatoire tests, French Club 4 and Indian Children-II. The Netherlands starts one rung higher, because B already has lengthenings, and so does the LRV B class.
Rung 3: Preliminary or Training level (working gaits and lengthenings)
Defining movements: Working gaits plus a few lengthened strides in trot, sometimes in canter, stretching the neck on a circle or diagonal, shallow loops, serpentines, 15 m circles (10 to 12 m in some tests), free walk, transitions between gaits, halt and salute.
Must not contain: No leg-yield in trot (leg-yield in walk may occur), no shoulder-in, no rein-back, no collection.
Same level across federations: Training or Preliminary level. At the same level: Dutch B, LRV B, US Training Level, French Club 3, Danish LB, LEWB Initiation, JEF Test 2A and 2B, and the Chinese Medium III (the FEI Challenge Preliminary test). Not at this level: Germany has no separate class here (Klasse E is rung 2, and Klasse A already has rein-back and medium gaits, which is rung 4), and the Paardensport Vlaanderen Initiatie is rung 2.
Rung 4: Novice or First level (leg-yield, medium gaits, rein-back)
Defining movements: Leg-yield in trot, medium or lengthened trot and canter across the diagonal, halt and rein-back, 10 m voltes and half voltes, a first taste of counter-canter (shallow loop or half circle), change of lead through trot, stretching on a long rein.
Must not contain: No shoulder-in, no collected gaits, no simple change through walk, no half-pass.
Same level across federations: Novice or First level. At the same level: Dutch L1 and L2, LRV L1 and L2, German Klasse A* and A**, US First Level, French Club 2 and Club 1, Belgian Niveau 1 (Paardensport Vlaanderen and LEWB), Danish LA1 and LA2, JEF Test 2C and 2D, Indian Elementary and Chinese Medium II. Two caveats: the German A tests read contain rein-back and medium gaits but no leg-yield, and Danish LA1 already has a simple change through trot and counter-canter, which puts it at the upper end.
Rung 5: Elementary or Second level (shoulder-in, collection begins, simple changes)
Defining movements: Collected trot and canter begin. Shoulder-in, travers in some tests, counter-canter along the long side or in a serpentine, simple changes through trot or walk, rein-back, medium gaits, 10 m voltes in canter, turn on the haunches in some tests.
Must not contain: No half-pass in trot, no flying changes, no extended gaits as a defining element.
Same level across federations: Elementary or Second level. At the same level: Dutch M1 and M2, LRV M1 and M2, German Klasse L*, US Second Level, French Club Elite and Amateur 3, Belgian Niveau 2, Danish LA3 and LA4, JEF Test 2E and 3A, Indian Medium and FEI Children. The tests are not identical: US Second Level and Belgian Niveau 2 have simple changes, the Dutch M tests change lead through trot, Dutch M2, US Second Level and LRV M2 have travers or quarter turns, and German L* has no lateral work at all.
Rung 6: Medium without flying changes, or FEI Pony level (trot half-pass, extended gaits)
Defining movements: Trot half-pass, travers and renvers, extended trot, walk and canter, walk half-pirouettes or a short turn (Kurzkehrt), rein-back of 4 to 5 steps, simple changes through walk, counter-canter, collected gaits in all three paces.
Must not contain: No flying changes, as a rule no canter half-pass, no tempi changes, no canter pirouettes.
Same level across federations: Trot half-pass without flying changes. At the same level: Dutch Z1, LRV Z1, German Klasse L**, Danish LA5 and LA6, JEF Test 3B, the French Amateur 2 A, B and Préliminaire tests, and FEI Pony Riders. There is no equivalent in the United States (Second Level has no half-pass and Third Level already has flying changes), in the Belgian Niveau ladder (Niveau 3 already has flying changes), in India or in China.
Rung 7: Medium or Third level (single flying changes)
Defining movements: Single flying changes on the diagonal, after a half-pass or out of counter-canter, trot half-pass, a first canter half-pass in one direction or with a change, extended gaits, walk half-pirouette or half turn on the haunches, rein-back, renvers.
Must not contain: No tempi changes with a fixed count, no canter pirouettes, as a rule no trot zigzag.
Same level across federations: Medium or Third level. At the same level: Dutch Z2, LRV Z2, German Klasse M*, US Third Level, French Amateur 1 (and the Amateur 2 Grand Prix test), Belgian Niveau 3 (Paardensport Vlaanderen and LEWB) and the N4.1 and N4.2 tests, Danish MB0 to MB2 and Indian Advanced Medium. One caveat: US Third Level and Dutch Z2 include a canter half-pass with a flying change, which German M* (test M 5) and the Belgian N3.1 to N3.4 tests do not.
Rung 8: Advanced Medium or FEI Junior level (canter half-passes, several changes, walk half-pirouettes)
Defining movements: Canter half-pass in both directions with flying changes, several flying changes on one line with a free stride count (at least 3 to 5 strides) or on serpentines, trot half-pass, walk half-pirouettes, extended gaits, collected walk, rein-back of 4 to 5 steps. In some tests quarter canter pirouettes.
Must not contain: No tempi changes with a fixed count (every fourth or third stride), as a rule no canter half or full pirouettes.
Same level across federations: Advanced Medium or FEI Junior level. At the same level: Dutch ZZ-Licht, German Klasse M**, Belgian N4.3 and N3.10, Danish MB3, French Pro 3 A and B, JEF Test 4, Indian Advanced, Chinese Medium I and National III, FEI Junior and US Fourth Level Test 1. Caveats: Dutch ZZ-Licht has quarter canter pirouettes and sits slightly above the others, while German M** explicitly has none. The LRV has no class at this rung, because Z2 jumps straight to ZZ with half-pirouettes.
Rung 9: Small Tour entry, Prix St. Georges or Young Riders (canter half-pirouettes, changes every fourth and third stride)
Defining movements: Canter half-pirouettes or working pirouettes, flying changes every fourth and every third stride (3 or 5 changes), canter half-pass with a change, collected and extended gaits, trot half-pass, walk half-pirouettes, rein-back.
Must not contain: No full pirouettes, no changes every second stride, no canter zigzag, no piaffe or passage.
Same level across federations: Prix St. Georges or Young Riders level. At the same level: Dutch ZZ-Zwaar and the Lichte Tour (Prix St. Georges), LRV ZZ, German Klasse S*, US Fourth Level Tests 2 and 3, French Amateur Elite, Pro 3 Grand Prix and Pro 2 A, Belgian Niveau 5 (S3, S4 and Prix St. Georges), Danish MA1, MA2 and Prix St. Georges, JEF Test 5, Indian Prix St. Georges and Chinese National II. Caveats: LRV ZZ has half-pirouettes but no tempi changes, Dutch ZZ-Zwaar rides series of changes without a strict count, and US Fourth Level uses working pirouettes and three changes. All of these sit at the lower edge of Prix St. Georges.
Rung 10: Intermediate I (full pirouettes, changes every third and second stride, canter zigzag)
Defining movements: Full canter pirouettes, 5 changes every third stride and 7 every second stride, canter zigzag (3 half-passes with a change at each change of direction), rein-back, extended gaits, trot half-pass.
Must not contain: No piaffe or passage, no one-tempi changes.
Same level across federations: Intermediate I. At the same level: German Klasse S**, the Dutch Lichte Tour (Intermediate I), French Pro 2 Grand Prix, Danish Intermediare I, Indian Intermediate I, Chinese National II, the FEI Intermediate I as ridden in Japan and Belgian Niveau 5 (FEI tests). Apart from German test S 6, no federation has a national test of its own at this rung; Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States ride the FEI test.
Rung 11: Medium Tour, Intermediate A and B (first piaffe and passage, one-tempi changes)
Defining movements: Piaffe of 7 to 10 steps (forward movement allowed) and passage with transitions, one-tempi changes (7 to 9), changes every second stride, full pirouettes, canter zigzag (3 to 4 half-passes), extended gaits.
Must not contain: Piaffe not yet 8 to 15 steps, fewer one-tempi changes than Intermediate II or Grand Prix.
Same level across federations: Intermediate A and B. National tests at this rung: German S 7 and S 8 and the Danish Svær Intermediare I. Elsewhere the FEI Intermediate A and B tests are used (Dutch Zware Tour, French Pro 1 A and Préliminaire, Belgium, Chinese National I). The rung is not present in the US national ladder, in India, or in the Japanese JEF ladder, which uses FEI tests only.
Rung 12: Big Tour: Intermediate II, Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special
Defining movements: Piaffe of 8 to 10 steps (Intermediate II, Grand Prix 16-25) or 12 to 15 steps (Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special), passage, passage to piaffe to passage transitions, 11 to 15 one-tempi changes, 7 to 9 changes every second stride, full pirouettes, a canter zigzag of 5 half-passes (Grand Prix) and a trot zigzag (Intermediate II).
Must not contain: Top of the ladder.
Same level across federations: Intermediate II, Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. National tests at this rung: German S 9 and S 10 (the Louisdor Grand Prix and the Kurz-Grand Prix). Elsewhere the FEI tests are used: Dutch Zware Tour, French Pro 1 Grand Prix and Pro Elite, Danish Store Tour, Belgian Grote Tour, the Japanese FEI classes and Chinese National I (Intermediate II). India has no Grand Prix level nationally.
Data edition: 4 Oct 2026. Senior/standard national dressage tests + FEI; pony, para, young-horse and freestyle tests excluded (listed only as notes). Levels/tests with 'unverified': true contain at least one item that could not be read from an official source. Display them with a warning, never as fact. Every level and test sheet is listed in the dressage test database.
Reading the result
The comparison is by movement content, not by reputation or by the percentage a horse scores. Two levels that share a rung ask for the same defining movements, which is what matters when a sale advert quotes a level from a system you do not know. It says nothing about the strength of the field, the judging culture or how hard promotion is, which differ from one federation to the next. The level equivalence chart discusses those differences for the four largest systems, and the test database lists every level with its movements, eligibility rules and official test sheets.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dutch Z2 in Germany and the United States? Dutch Z2 is the same stage as German M* and US Third Level. All three ask for single flying changes, trot half-pass and extended gaits, and none has tempi changes or canter pirouettes. Belgian LRV Z2, French Amateur 1 and the Belgian Niveau 3 sit on the same rung. One difference: Z2 and Third Level include a canter half-pass with a flying change, which the German M* tests do not.
What is Dutch ZZ-Licht in other countries? ZZ-Licht corresponds to German M**, FEI Junior, US Fourth Level Test 1, Danish MB3 and French Pro 3 A and B. These tests have canter half-passes, several single flying changes and walk half-pirouettes, but no tempi changes. ZZ-Licht sits slightly above the others because it includes quarter canter pirouettes, which M** explicitly does not. The Belgian LRV has no class at this stage.
Is there a US equivalent of Dutch Z1 or German L**? No. Z1, LRV Z1, German L**, the French Amateur 2 tests and FEI Pony Riders ask for trot half-pass without flying changes. US Second Level has no half-pass, and Third Level already requires flying changes, so the United States has no class at this stage. The Belgian Niveau ladder has the same gap, because Niveau 3 already includes flying changes.
Which national levels correspond to Prix St. Georges? Dutch ZZ-Zwaar and the Lichte Tour, German S*, Belgian LRV ZZ, US Fourth Level Tests 2 and 3, French Amateur Elite and Danish MA are on the Prix St. Georges rung. Most of them sit at its lower edge: LRV ZZ has half-pirouettes but no tempi changes, ZZ-Zwaar rides series of changes without a strict count, and US Fourth Level uses working pirouettes.
What is US Second Level in Europe? US Second Level corresponds to Dutch M1 and M2, German L*, Belgian LRV M and Niveau 2, French Club Elite and Amateur 3, and FEI Children. Collection begins at this stage, with shoulder-in and simple changes in most systems. The content is not identical: the Dutch M tests change lead through trot, and German L* has no lateral work.
Does the same level mean two horses are equally good? No. The comparison is by the movements the tests require. It does not convert scores, and it says nothing about the strength of the field, the judging or how hard promotion is in each country. Two horses at equivalent levels have been asked for the same movements, which is the useful starting point when reading a sale advert from another system.