What are the most common equitation faults that judges penalize?

Equitation judges consistently penalize a specific set of position and effectiveness faults that are immediately recognizable to experienced judges and that reflect predictable gaps in position development that even competitive equitation riders frequently show. Looking down — dropping the gaze from the line of travel to the horse's neck, shoulder, or the fence — is the most consistently penalized and most commonly observed fault in equitation at all levels, and it is penalized both because of its position consequences and because it reflects insufficient spatial awareness. The lower leg swinging backward over fences — the heel rising and the lower leg moving behind the rider's hip as the upper body folds — indicates that the leg is being used for balance rather than maintaining a stable position, and it is one of the most visible faults from the judge's vantage point. Getting ahead of the motion — folding into two-point before the horse has begun its jumping effort — is immediately visible as the upper body arriving over the fence before the horse does, and it directly interferes with the horse's use of its back in a way that judges recognize as reducing the quality of both position and effectiveness. A pinched, gripping knee — the knee pressing into the saddle rather than resting lightly — typically accompanies a lower leg that swings or a seat that is not fully following the horse's motion, and it produces a rigid, defensive appearance rather than the soft, following quality that correct position requires. Elbows that flap or move away from the body — sometimes called chicken wings — indicate that the arm is not working as a single unit with the shoulder and that the rein contact is being managed through elbow movement rather than through the soft, consistent arm carriage that classical position requires. A dropped or collapsed rein — allowing one or both reins to hang loosely rather than maintaining the consistent contact that demonstrates effectiveness — is penalized as a specific effectiveness fault that suggests the rider is not consistently communicating with the horse through the rein.