The Dressage Kür or Freestyle to Music has developed into the 'darling' event of the sport.  Worldwide the introduction of this beautiful element has met the objective of attracting larger audiences and making Dressage enjoyable for everybody - even people with little, or no understanding of the technical elements. 

The first official International Kür was ridden at Goodwood in England in 1985 and was won by Anne Grethe Tornblad (Jensen) on her wonderful and elegant horse Marzog. 

English dressage legend, Jennie Lauriston Clarke has been a driving force in the development of the Kür, and is well known for her talent and creativity in designing a freestyle test and choosing very appropriate music that really suits her horse.

In recent years we have seen the International Olympic Committee adopt the Kur as part of three phases which are now compulsory in deciding the Gold Medal winner.

In my time of watching and judging freestyle dressage tests, riders have come a long way, developing individual creativity and great expertise which can be seen in the composition of their test.   In the early days it was common for people to choose some background music and ride a test to this accompaniment.  Quite often the footfalls of the horse had little to do with the beat of the music, and  the artistic impression was very limited in this kind of presentation.

Today's better competitive combinations go to great lengths to choreograph their ride, and their choice of music exactly suits the timing of their horse's paces.  Music arrangers with an understanding of the requirements, are becoming very skilled at piecing together a freestyle compilation which has very appropriate transitional passages, which eliminate any 'clunk' in the changes of rhythm.

The freestyle or Kür is a most interesting and artistic element of our sport and I find it an insightful indication of the rider's personality or alternatively their view of the horse's character and style.

The CDI -W Kür is a World Cup Qualifier (as indicated by the W) and as such attracted the best riders in Australia. Competitors travelled from as far as Perth, with two from Queensland, several from NSW and of course our local Victorian Grand Prix riders.

The crowd was much larger than for the Grand Prix (Short Test - which is always the one ridden at a World Cup qualifier or final) and the music adds a fantastic element of atmosphere.

Again, I will mention that the Equitana main arena was not lit with photography in mind and this dull light and a moving subject make for difficult conditions for good pics.  I have published these to try and help you share the moment.

There was an interesting mix of instruments and electronic percussion sounds to go with her creative choreography.

They scored 54.88%

GV Stirling Stilton was quite disappointing in the Grand Prix and Heath seemed determined to make up for this in the Kür!

Stilton seemed to get confidence from 'his' music as he was much more settled that on the previous day.

Again he pulled off the difficult circles of one handed, one times flying changes (which earn big marks on the technical and the artistic score) before an audience with jaws gaping.

They scored 66.22% and even this big score was not enough for more than 3rd place. But I am sure that this would have pleased Heath.

Blackwood does not like indoor competition and was not at his best in this electric atmosphere.

Di is very clever with her musical choices and always does a great job in this element of her work.

The music was a lovely arrangement of the tune "Anything you can do - I can do Better" arranged to take into account the change of timing in Blackwood's paces.

It was a good score of 62.96%. but his combination are capable of much better, so this would have been a little disappointing for Di.

Equitana Dressage Masters CDI-W - Grand Prix - Page 1  | Page 2
Kür - Freestyle to Music - Page 1  |  Page 2   |  Page 3
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