An NOC may enter up to 3 athletes if they qualified for the team competition * Switzerland decided not to send a Team or an Individual to the Olympic Dressage competition after Silvia Iklé, the top rider on the Swiss team, refused to bring her horse, Salieri CH, to Hong-Kong due to the long travel and concerns over climatic conditions.
[1] ** 3 individuals qualified from the same nation from the Olympic rankings to make up a team *** Brazil sent only two riders Individual qualification decided by the FEI Olympic Riders Ranking as of May 1, 2008.
** Switzerland decided not to send a Team and replaced by NOCs of the next highest ranked eligible athletes on the FEI Olympic Riders Ranking.
*** Unused quotas replaced by NOC of the next highest ranked eligible athletes on the FEI Olympic Riders Ranking.
* Event not held ** made up of minimum 3 to a maximum of 5 individuals qualified from the same nation from the Olympic rankings to make up a team Individual qualification will be decided by the FEI Olympic Riders Ranking as of May 1, 2008.