How do collective marks affect the final dressage score?

Collective marks — the summary assessments of gaits, impulsion, submission, and rider's position and effectiveness at the end of each dressage test — typically carry coefficients of two or higher, meaning they are multiplied before being added to the total score and therefore have a disproportionate influence on the final percentage relative to their apparent number. In a typical Training Level test, four collective marks each carrying a coefficient of two contribute eight times the normal single-mark value to the total score — a swing of two points in all four collective marks represents sixteen additional points in the total rather than eight. This means that collective marks can significantly affect the final score regardless of how well individual movements are performed, and a horse that shows consistently high-quality gaits, impulsion, submission, and work with an effective rider will regularly outscore a horse that performs specific movements correctly but shows lower overall quality in the pervasive qualities the collectives assess. From a training perspective, the heavy weighting of collective marks means that developing the basic quality of the gaits, the horse's genuine impulsion and willingness, and the horse's submission across the entire test produces more competitive scores than achieving high marks on specific movements while allowing the overall quality to remain average. A horse that scores fives and sixes on movements but sevens and eights on collectives will often outscore a horse that scores sevens on movements but fives on collectives, depending on the specific test structure. Judges are also aware that the collective marks provide their opportunity to assess the overall quality of training rather than the technical execution of specific movements, and they use these marks to reflect their genuine impression of the horse's development and the rider's effectiveness in a way that complements the individual movement scores.