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Friday, August 22, 2008

Highs, Lows and Raised Eyebrows The 2008 Olympic Dressage Freestyles
By Karen Robinson for DressageDaily

Where are the Goosebumps?

I must confess to being less than knocked off my feet by many of the music choices of the top fifteen competitors. Repeats happened twice: both Hans Peter Minderhoud and Heike Kemmer used “So Happy Together” in their sixties freestyles (I liked Hans Peter’s version better). Danish horse Digby and Russian Balagur both danced to “I Feel Pretty” at some point in their Broadway medleys. It’s getting harder and harder to be original.

Below I will share my on-the-fly observations from the evening. Omissions are the result of my having to interview riders as they came out of the ring, so I didn’t see absolutely every minute – completely missed Briar, for example, though I know (and like) his middle-eastern music. And try as I might, I just couldn’t watch and keep copious notes on choreography – so when I comment it’s because it really stood out.

From 15th to Gold (Horse By Horse) and Not Entirely in Order