Shall we dance?
DRESSAGE to music was born in 1980, when British Olympic rider Jennie Loriston-Clarke staged a demonstration with Gaynor Colbourn riding Dutch Courage and Dutch Gold. From there, music freestyle was debuted at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 — which was won by Isabell Werth and Gigolo — and has been a compulsory part of Olympic competition since.
In 2012, Charlotte Dujardin’s gold medal-winning Olympic performance on Valegro introduced a whole new audience to “dancing horses” and inspired riders at all levels to give it a go. Today, the freestyle bug has spread far beyond the international grand prix circuit, with classes at affiliated, unaffiliated and riding club competitions; this year, around
