It’s critical to take your time in learning the program. Don’t hurry your freestyle into the competition arena. Approach learning your freestyle as
a musician tackles a new piece of music. Break it
down into very short segments and practice each
segment until you can hit the phrase point with
a movement very consistently. Gradually, you
should join these segments into a unified whole.
It’s not enough to know where to be; you have to
know exactly when to be there.
When a rider comes to you, what are some
things they should consider beforehand?
I was honored to produce a para-equestrian
freestyle for Jonathan Wentz. He placed fifth in
the freestyle final at the 2012 London games, the
highest placed freestyle finish of any U.S. rider.
In his music, I explored the element of increased
dramatic content for para-equestrian kurs. I’ve
continued to pioneer a system to bring excitement to para-equestrian freestyle with such riders
as World Equestrian Games competitor Sydney
Collier. Rising star Deborah Stanitski has scores
on her new freestyle exceeding 76%.
Farah al Khojai of the United Arab Emirates came
to me with her freestyle project several years
ago. She selected traditional Broadway music to
win her national championship. Farah is the first
Emirati woman to compete in dressage at the
Asian Games and to represent the UAE in international competition. Helping an Emirati woman
produce a ground-breaking performance in sport
is just one of the many interesting places music
has taken me.
What do you consider to be the most important thing in perfecting a kur performance?
Timing is everything! Artistically speaking, the
judge is looking for the strongest possible connection between what they see and what they
hear. Riding in sync contributes to your score
for choice of music because you demonstrate a
basic relationship between horse and music. Timing every movement to coincide precisely with a
distinct phrase point in music adds to your score
for interpretation as you continue to build a
connection from horse to music.
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Riders should know their goals and what they
hope to accomplish with their freestyle. I want
every rider to choose music they love. At the
same time, I want that rider to fall in love with
music most likely to make a positive contribution
to their goals.
I offer freestyle products for every budget. You
can spend more and put the entire project in my
hands or spend less and take on some aspect of
design yourself, generally the choreography. The
amount of time you have to put into the project
is an important factor. If you’re away at shows
or teaching clinics every weekend, your busy
schedule might outweigh considerations of
budget.