What categories of steward are there, and how many must an event have?

A steward is a trained, accredited EA or FEI official. Accredited categories are: Steward General Australia Dressage; FEI Stewards (levels 1 to 4, with 4 the highest); and Nationally accredited Stewards Level 1 and 2 (2 is the highest).

Every Official Competitive event must have a minimum of one Level 1 Nationally accredited dressage steward or a higher-level steward appointed. For larger events, the number of stewards should be appropriate to the number of competition and warm-up areas in use, on the recommendation of the appointed Chief Steward. An FEI Steward must be appointed by the Organising Committee for FEI-sanctioned events such as CDIs.

Non-accredited assistants:

• National Candidate Stewards have attended an EA Official Stewards course but not yet met all other prerequisites. They may carry out all steward duties under the supervision of an accredited steward. The rule allowing an Organising Committee to apply to use one in place of an accredited steward ran until 31 December 2024.
• Marshals (approved representatives of the steward) may be appointed to attend the gear check area and assist. A marshal is a volunteer who is neither an accredited steward nor a candidate steward.

Source: EA National Dressage Rules 1 January 2026, rules 6.4 and 6.6.