How Pommel Horse Scoring Works in FIG Gymnastics
A Pommel Horse routine can look like one continuous series of circles, but judges identify individual skills within that movement. They assess how difficult those skills are, whether the routine includes the required types of work and how well the gymnast maintains his form and rhythm.
Contents
Under FIG rules, the calculation is:
D-Score + E-Score − neutral deductions = Final Score
The D-Score reflects the difficulty and required content judges count. The E-Score begins from 10.0 and decreases for execution errors. Pommel Horse has no standard Connection Value bonus and is excluded from the men’s 0.10 stick bonus.
This guide covers senior men’s artistic gymnastics under the 2025–2028 FIG Code, including updates effective through September 2026. For the broader system, see how men’s gymnastics scores are calculated.
| Scoring feature | FIG Pommel Horse |
|---|---|
| Counting difficulty | Seven eligible elements plus the dismount |
| Required categories | Three regular Element Groups and a dismount group |
| Maximum Element Group credit | 2.00 |
| Connection Value bonus | None |
| Stick bonus | None |
| Execution score | Begins from 10.00 |
| Fall deduction | 1.00 |
| Main performance expectations | Continuous swing, body extension, precise support and control |
| Overall scoring scale | Open-ended |
How Is the Pommel Horse D-Score Calculated?
The difficulty score combines the values of the counting elements with credit for the required skill categories:
Counting Difficulty Values + Element Group credit = D-Score
Judges do not award difficulty simply for how long the gymnast remains on the horse. The movements must correspond to recognized elements and satisfy the rules for those elements.
Seven Elements Plus the Dismount
The counting set consists of the dismount and seven other eligible elements. A maximum of four counting elements can come from the same Element Group.
Each element has a letter value. For example, a C is worth 0.30, a D is worth 0.40 and an E is worth 0.50. The selection also follows apparatus-specific repetition limits.
Eight counting elements does not mean eight circles. A travel can involve several circles, and a permitted sequence on one pommel can be valued as one combined element.
Additional movements may help the gymnast reach the next skill, but they do not necessarily add difficulty. Execution judges still evaluate them.
The Four Element Groups
Element Groups, or EGs, organize the skills into categories that test different ways of using the apparatus.
| Element Group | What it includes |
|---|---|
| EG I | Single-leg swings and scissors |
| EG II | Circles, flairs, spindles, specified handstand elements, Russian wendeswings and permitted combinations |
| EG III | Traveling elements |
| EG IV | Dismounts |
The first group involves single-leg work. The second contains much of the familiar circling and turning work. The third rewards movement across the horse, and the fourth covers the finish.
How Much Group Credit Is Available?
| Group | Credit from an eligible counting element |
|---|---|
| EG I | 0.50, regardless of difficulty |
| EG II and III: A–C element | 0.30 |
| EG II and III: D or harder element | 0.50 |
| EG IV: dismount | Matches the dismount’s Difficulty Value, capped at 0.50 |
Full credit across the four groups adds 2.00 to the D-Score.
A gymnast can receive both the individual value of a skill and the group credit it fulfills. A counting D travel that satisfies EG III can contribute 0.40 in difficulty plus 0.50 in group credit.
The group credit is awarded once. Performing another D travel does not add another 0.50 for EG III.
The counting and group rules appear in Sections 6, 7 and 11 of the FIG Men’s Code of Points. The updated dismount cap is explained below.
For more detail on selecting and adding counting elements, see the FIG difficulty-score calculation.
What Creates Difficulty on Pommel Horse?
The two handles are called pommels. Gymnasts also place their hands on the covered body of the horse, often called the leather in judging descriptions.
Changing the support position, turning the body and moving between different parts of the apparatus can make the work more difficult.
Circles, Flairs, Scissors and Travels
| Movement | What a spectator sees |
|---|---|
| Circle | The legs sweep around the horse together while the gymnast alternates hand support |
| Flair | A circling movement with the legs deliberately separated |
| Scissor | The legs swing separately and exchange positions |
| Travel | The gymnast moves along the horse while continuing the required swinging action |
| Spindle | The gymnast changes his body’s orientation while performing circles or flairs |
The exact support pattern matters. Two movements that look similar can have different values because the gymnast uses different hand placements, completes a different turn or travels a different distance.
Travel descriptions sometimes use 3/3 to describe work across the full length of the horse. Judges check whether the element completes its specified route and support pattern.
Flop Sequences and Combined Elements
A flop sequence combines certain circles and turning elements on one pommel. Other permitted combinations mix this work with Russian wendeswings.
These sequences have their own difficulty rules. An approved combination can receive a single higher letter value, rather than being scored as several ordinary elements plus Connection Value.
For example, if judges recognize an E-rated flop sequence, its individual contribution is 0.50 when it counts. There is no automatic extra connection bonus because its movements were performed together.
Repetition Limits Shape the Routine
Repeating the same recognized element normally does not earn its value again. Pommel Horse also limits certain families of related elements.
Examples include a maximum of two handstand elements within the routine, excluding the dismount, and a maximum of four elements performed in flairs, excluding the dismount. Specified travel and turning families have additional restrictions.
These are separate from the maximum of four counting elements per Element Group. A routine can remain below the group limit yet still exceed a more specific family limit.
The complete restrictions are listed in Section 11.2.2 of the FIG Code.
Combining Difficult Sequences With Handstands
From January 2026, complex elements involving more than one circle cannot simply be merged with a handstand to create one upgraded element. FIG specifies that flops and certain other complex combinations followed by handstands are treated as two elements. FIG MAG Newsletter No. 3.
That can change both the difficulty calculation and the number of counting places the sequence occupies.
How Is the Pommel Horse E-Score Calculated?
The E-Score evaluates how the gymnast performs the entire exercise. It begins from 10.00, and the judges’ deductions are combined under the applicable panel procedure.
The general error scale is:
| Error size | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Small | 0.10 |
| Medium | 0.30 |
| Large | 0.50 |
| Fall | 1.00 |
Pommel Horse places particular emphasis on continuous swing, extended body positions and accurate hand support. A routine can lose substantial execution points even if the gymnast never falls.
Body Extension and Hip Breaks
Circles and flairs should show extension through the body. Judges can deduct for a cramped position or a noticeable bend at the hips, often called a hip break.
The Code distinguishes lack of overall extension from a hip break during the movement. Repeated errors can therefore accumulate throughout a sequence.
Bent knees, flexed feet and unintended leg separation can also reduce execution. Deliberately separated legs in a flair or scissor are part of the skill and should not be confused with accidental separation during a legs-together element.
Rhythm and Continuous Movement
The gymnast should move through the routine without visible stops or obvious strength work.
Losing speed may force him to bend, hesitate or press through the next movement. Judges assess the faults that occur, rather than applying one universal deduction for every moment that looks slow.
Handstands should also be reached through swing. Pommel Horse does not use the two-second held-handstand expectation found on Rings.
Alignment During Circles and Travels
Circles and travels must meet their intended support orientation. Judges distinguish a small alignment error from a movement performed so far off line that it no longer receives credit.
| Deviation in cross- or side-support circles and travels | Consequence |
|---|---|
| More than 15° through 30° | 0.10 execution deduction |
| More than 30° through 45° | 0.30 execution deduction |
| More than 45° | 0.50 deduction and non-recognition |
This table concerns support alignment, not the separate rules for bent knees or hip position. FIG Code, Pommel Horse deduction table.
Scissors and Handstand Errors
Scissors need sufficient height and leg separation. Scissors to handstand should rise continuously with the required body position and finish with the legs closed.
The rules for entering handstand depend on the skill. For example, a hip bend during the rise from a circle or flair is not automatically deducted in the same way as a hip bend during a scissor to handstand.
A slight touch of the horse during a scissor can receive 0.10 while the element remains recognizable. Supporting the body with a leg before completing the scissor is more serious: the element receives no value and a 0.50 interruption deduction, even without a fall. FIG’s scissor-recognition clarification.
Falls Can Also Cost Difficulty
A fall receives a 1.00 execution deduction, but its effect may extend to the D-Score.
For most listed Group II and III elements, FIG requires the gymnast to continue into a subsequent listed element to establish credit, subject to a specific exception. A fall before that continuation can prevent credit; a fall after the next element has begun can leave the preceding element credited. The Code does not generally award partial difficulty for an unfinished element in this situation.
This is why the exact moment of a fall matters. An almost completed travel or combination may not receive the difficulty the gymnast planned.
Other recognized elements may replace lost counting difficulty. Group credit can also be affected if no remaining counting element satisfies that group. For the wider execution system, see how FIG execution deductions work.
How Are Pommel Horse Dismounts Scored?
A dismount contributes its individual Difficulty Value and can fulfill EG IV. Judges also assess its swing, handstand control where applicable, turns and landing.
The Current Dismount Group Cap
Since January 1, 2026, dismount group credit follows the dismount’s individual value up to 0.50.
| Dismount rating | Individual value | Dismount group credit |
|---|---|---|
| C | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| D | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| E | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| F | 0.60 | 0.50 |
| G or harder | 0.70 or more | 0.50 |
An F dismount still receives its full 0.60 individual value. The cap applies only to the additional group credit. FIG’s 2026 dismount update.
A Handstand Can Retain Basic Credit
If the gymnast reaches handstand but makes a major error during an additional turn or travel, the 2026 clarification allows the element to retain its basic value to handstand while losing the upgrade. This does not guarantee credit when the handstand itself was never established. FIG’s partial-dismount clarification.
Judges therefore assess what the gymnast completed, rather than automatically assigning the value of the intended finish.
No Stick Bonus on Pommel Horse
Pommel Horse is excluded from the men’s 0.10 stick bonus.
A controlled landing still matters because it avoids execution losses. Steps, hops, poor orientation and other landing errors can lower the score, but a stick does not add a separate tenth.
Can a Gymnast Repeat a Failed Dismount?
Pommel Horse has a special rule allowing one repeat when the gymnast believes a dismount received no credit because of a fall or large error.
The repeat must follow the 30-second rule, and stepping off the podium, including onto its stairs, ends the exercise. The gymnast can use another permitted dismount on the repeat.
Earlier deductions remain. If the first attempt had a qualifying 0.50 large error and the gymnast repeats the dismount, that error is increased to 1.00 under the repeat rule. The second attempt is also evaluated for execution.
A successful repeat can restore dismount difficulty and group credit, but it does not erase the unsuccessful attempt. The procedure and worked examples appear in Section 11.2.2 of the FIG Code.
A Complete Pommel Horse Scoring Example
Suppose a gymnast receives the following hypothetical difficulty credit:
| D-Score component | Credit |
|---|---|
| Eight counting Difficulty Values, including a D dismount | 3.60 |
| EG I | 0.50 |
| EG II | 0.50 |
| EG III | 0.50 |
| EG IV: D dismount | 0.40 |
| D-Score | 5.50 |
He has included all four groups, but the group total is 1.90 because the D dismount earns 0.40 group credit.
His combined execution deductions total 1.30, giving him an E-Score of 8.70. With no neutral penalty:
5.50 + 8.70 = 14.20
There is no connection or stick bonus to add.
A harder routine does not automatically win. If another gymnast earns 5.80 in difficulty but only 8.20 in execution, his final score is 14.00. His 0.30 difficulty advantage is outweighed by a 0.50 execution disadvantage.
What to Remember
Pommel Horse scoring depends on the difficulty judges recognize and the gymnast’s control throughout the routine. Extended circles, clear scissors, accurate travels and a completed dismount all contribute to the result.
The most useful clues for a spectator are body position, rhythm and the exact point where an error occurs. Staying on the horse is valuable, but a fall-free routine can still lose difficulty and execution points.