In June, the US Equestrian Board approved changes to DR121 Saddlery and Equipment, tracking 144.25, which removes the option to use double bridles at Third Level, beginning Dec. 1, 2026. (You can find all rule changes approved in June, including this one here.) It’s a change that’s garnered a lot of conversation, and you may be wondering how it came about.
“This discussion has been in the committees for at least 15 years, so it’s not a knee-jerk reaction,” said Mike Osinski, who is a member of the USEF Dressage Sport Committee and a USEF S-rated judge and FEI five-star judge.
The rule change originated with the Dressage Sport Committee, whose members include riders, trainers, judges, amateurs, show managers, and owners. The USEF Dressage Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Task Force, which drafted guidance for moving up the levels in the Dressage Riding Standards Guidelines and has been reviewing equipment rules, also recommended a change be made to double bridle use.
All standard rule change proposals, including this one, are open for a member comment period, which begins in September and closes in May, and many of our members utilized that option to have their voices heard. Member comments are linked to the rule change proposal and are viewed by applicable USEF and USDF committees when they discuss and vote on the rule change. Committees from both organizations can recommend approval and disapproval, and the USDF Board also votes on the proposal before it moves to the USEF Councils and finally the USEF Board. (You can learn more about the rule change process here.)
“All the people on these committees are riders, trainers, or managers,” said Osinski. “We do try to listen to people, and we are active in the sport.”
The Dressage Sport Committee took a multifaceted approach and evaluated current trends when discussing and proposing this rule change, which included these factors:
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Dressage horses today are more sensitive and lighter than those bred 50 years ago.
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Improved riding and training
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FEI Young Horse division requirements, which do not permit the use of a double bridle in the FEI 6-Year-Old tests, which is equivalent to third level.
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FEI Rule Change proposals under review indicating the desire to remove the option for a double bridle in the FEI Junior Tests, which are equivalent to Third Level.
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Ongoing horse welfare discussions
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The training pyramid
While age of the horse was a factor considered, it was only a small piece of the equation. Osinski pointed to the progressive training of horses at the lower levels, where they’re learning, making mistakes, and improving their balance, as a huge consideration. It comes down to at which stage of development for horse or rider is a double bridle the right tool.
“Up until Third Level, you’re really working on the basics still; the horses have just stepped into collection,” he said. “It’s the first time ever that you’ve asked for half passes and flying changes. To put too much on a developing horse at one time is overwhelming and it’s not functional.”
Osinski noted that while some horses go better in a double bridle than a snaffle, statistically, that’s not the norm.
“If riders are using it for leverage and control, then maybe that’s an even more wrong reason to use a double bridle,” he said. “We want to secure the basics, and then say, ‘Now you’re ready for a refined aid.’”