‘I’m not leaving this arena!’: rider sings her freestyle music after CD gives up the ghost — and wins
(Image credit: credit unknown)
A rider whose CD went up the spout during her prix st georges (PSG) freestyle, screeching, changing speeds and finally stopping, sang part of the music herself as she finished the test without breaking stride.
Zara Griffiss told H&H that having hung about all day waiting to ride her test, on Patrick Leg’s 17.3hh Irish draught Allegro on 23 June, she had no intention of stopping when the music did.
Zara even sang some of her missing music herself, and the combination won their section.
“I thought ‘The judges have got to know what it sounds like, so I’ll sing it’,” she said. “But then I was out of breath so I stopped. It’s really hard singing while doing sitting trot; I think I’d have fallen off if I’d kept it up for the extended trot!
“We lost some marks for the music but he still got 67%, in a PSG, so I was really happy with that. It must have been hard for the judges as they wouldn’t have known if we were in time or not!”
Zara added that she hopes to take Leggy, who was “meant to be a hunter but was no good at hunting, so I took him for eventing but he was no good at that either”, to grand prix level.
“He’s enormous; a 17.3hh Irish draught who shouldn’t even be doing dressage, and I’m only 5’ and nine stone,” she said. “But he’s the best. He’s so beautiful, and he owns my heart.”
You might also be interested in:
9 of the most memorable grand prix dressage freestyles of all time
‘This makes everything worthwhile’: 18.2hh Clydesdale wins freestyle at Area Festival
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
TOPICS
