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Can music make dressage cool?

TOKYO – OK, “cool” might be a bridge too far. We’re still talking about stodgy horse ballet done mostly by rich middle-aged Europeans that looks an awful lot like just going into circles to the untrained eye.

(I say that as someone who will vigorously defend the value and valor of equestrian events. But, really c’mon.)

But viral? Now that’s something Olympic dressage can aspire to. And for a sport that struggles to attract the admiration, or even attention, of the demographic that dictates internet trends, going viral could be key to the future.

At a spectacularly spacious venue just far enough outside the center of Tokyo to offer a glimpse of a skyline view on a breezy, blissfully temperate evening, Haddaway’s “What is Love?” played while a 56-year-old German-born USA rider danced, as it were, with a 13-year-old gelding named Suppenkasper. It was worth seeing.

Steffen Peters, the oldest U.S. Olympian to medal since 1952 after winning silver in the team dressage, picked the song — or, rather, an acoustic remix of it — to be part of a medley for his individual grand prix freestyle dressage routine. The performance opened to Robin Schultz and James Blunt’s “OK,” which Peters teared up talking about as a tribute to his wife — who would assure him that “it’s gonna be OK,” when he went through a dark period a few years ago.

From there: snippets of “What is Love?” and a slowed-down version of Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance.” (You probably know it as the “we can dance if we want to” song.) If it looked like Suppenkasper was feeling the beat, that’s the whole point.

Dressage is as esoteric as sports get, but the music some<p>Article source: <a href=

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