Horses led a merry dance in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Olympic horses aren't just great athletes. They got rhythm. And what's more, they got music.
Some even say they can dance.
The usual hushed reverence and discipline of the Olympics dressage arena gave way to some fancy equine hoofwork in Hong Kong -- as riders in black top hats and tails guided their horses through choreographed balletic movements to the rhymes and melodies of music handpicked by each rider.
Emma Hindle's horse Lancet pirouetted to the Bee Gees, Russia's Alexandra Korelova cantered Balagar to jazzy Broadway tunes, while Danish rider Andreas Helgstrand trotted his stallion Don Schufro to the booming bass notes of Pink Floyd's The Wall, to the delight of the packed 18,000 seat arena.
"The horse is very powerful and special and he fits with stronger music," said Helgstrand of his muscular mount, who trotted in unison to the pounding Floyd lyrics: "We Don't Need No Education" and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".
"If the horse likes the music we made for the horses then they can dance," said German bronze medalist Heike Kemmer who finished behind gold medal winner Anky Van Grunsven and compatriot Isabell Werth in individual dressage.
"I felt that he rose with the music and he likes to listen to the music," said the German of her Bonaparte who performed to a medley of pop music including the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations".
The final Grand Prix "freestyle" test, or kur, of the individual Olympics dressage competition gives horses and riders a chance to strut their stuff a little more than usual, in the equine discipline known more for its rigor and military origins.
Swedish rider Jan Brink, who rode his longtime stallion Briar to 10th place through a set of sultry Latin American and Spanish tracks, said the secret was to match the music to the horse.
"He's a little bit of a Latino guy you know," said Brink, noting his mount's need for a bit of Brazilian samba from time to time.
"It's fitting to his way of moving, he's very powerful in his moving and has a lot of knee action."
(Additional reporting by Sophie Taylor)
