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Kur
design tips
Klassic Kur wants you to be successful. Our tips will help you get a great start on your own freestyle. In a well-done freestyle (kür), you immediately see the relationship of movement to music. This relationship can give the horse/rider partners the impression of literally dancing. How do you achieve that for your own performance? The first step is to match the tempo of the music to the tempo of the horse's gaits. Rhythm and Tempo Rhythm is a repeatable pattern. This is true whether we are referring to the lub-dub of your heart, the one-two of your horse's trot or the 1-2-3-4 beat (felt by tapping your foot) that you feel in most rock music. Tempo is the speed or rate of the action. For instance, your heart beats at a different rate whether you are at rest or are active; a 13 hand pony trots at a far different rate than does a large, very collected horse. As tempo applies to your heart and to your horse, it also applies to music. For one song, the 1-2-3-4 may be fairly slow, but in another song you may hardly be able to keep up. Video The most reliable way to determine your horse's tempos is to first video tape him when he is moving well. Next step is to purchase a digital metronome, found in a variety of types, in any store which sells musical instruments. The digital part is important because it will allow you to adjust the metronome up or down in single beat increments, which will ensure that you have greater accuracy. Trot Tempo While watching the trot work on your video, set the metronome to 152 beats per minute (bpm), which is the trot tempo of Mr. Average Horse. Observe the strike of the front two legs. If they match the beating of the metronome, your job is done; your horse's trot tempo is 152 bpm. If he seems to be moving more quickly than the metronome, adjust the metronome up until it is in sync with the footfalls. If he seems to be moving more slowly, adjust the metronome down until it is in sync with the footfalls. If you get close, but just can't seem to pin-down the exact tempo, it could be that your horse's cadence is a bit uneven. In that case, find a spot where he is moving at his best (not extensions since they take up such little time in a freestyle) and keep replaying the video in that spot until you find the tempo. Canter, Passage and Walk Tempos The procedure you used for trot is very similar to the one you will use for canter. First set the metronome at 96 bpm (Mr. Average Horse again), and observe the strike of the lead leg. If the metronome beat matches the footfall, your horse is 96 bpm. If not, move the metronome up or down accordingly, until the metronome and horse are in sync. For passsage and walk, we are back to watching the front two legs. For passage, begin the metronome at 112 bpm, and for walk begin around 108. While it is true that the rhythm of the walk is 1-2-3-4, it is not only easier to count just the front two legs, but the result will be in a more common musical tempo. Don't worry if your result is not close to the average. There is no right or wrong. Tempos come in a large range depending on the size of the horse, impulsion, degree of collection, amount of ground they cover, etc. Other Methods You may come across a variety of methods as to how to find your horse's tempos. The above method is the best, however, since your findings will make more sense to you as you are searching for the perfect music. Also, note that the judges have been instructed to watch the footfalls of the front legs of the horse, to see how they relate to the music. If this is the criteria upon which you will be assessed, than it behooves you to use the method listed above. Music surrounds us, so the best place to begin is to just be aware of it. It is on the radio, in the movies, elevators, malls, and even in the grocery store. Listen all the time. Explore your own library of music, enlist friends in the search, and visit your public library to borrow from their collection. Nearby colleges may also have music libraries and listening areas you can use as a resource. Radio If you hear something on the radio, call the station to find out what the song is. Listen to the internet radio stations as you work at your computer. Digital music broadcasted from satellite or through your cable company offers a variety of music to which you can listen. If you hear a song that you think is appropriate, all the pertinent information about the song can be obtained, literally, from the push of a button. Music Stores Stop by various record stores frequently, as most of them now have listening stations. Music store personnel are usually quite knowledgeable and can be enlisted to aid you in your search. For those who like to browse the internet, there are many internet stores, such as Amazon, which allow you to listen to music clips. If exploratory buying is in your budget, check out the easy listening, new age, and classical sections. Remember that instrumental music (non-vocal) is preferred. Use CDs as opposed to other formats (MP3, etc), because they have a better sound quality. The difference is small and may may not seem like much now, but by the time the music is processed, dubbed onto your performance cassette, and broadcasted through arena speakers (usually poor quality), you will want every advantage you can get. Catalog As you find your prospects, you should write down the title of the song, album from which it came, its beats per minute, and its music classification (jazz, classical, folk, etc.). This begins your catalog. It can be done on file cards and recipe box, computer database, or whatever works for you. Listen to many kinds of music and keep an open mind. In this way, your repertoire will not only increase, but it will have musical variety. Whether or not music appeals to you at the time, you should catalog it anyway. Perhaps your expectations are so high that nothing can match them; perhaps this will not be the only horse you will ever own and the music will suit another; or perhaps your less preferred choices will appeal to a friend who would like to do a freestyle. Create a Program When you are about to make your final selections, the next criteria is one of creating a program. Is the instrumentation the same? Is the music linked by genre (jazz, classical, folk, rock, pop)? Does it hold together because of a theme (children's music, Broadway, salute to an artist)? The answer should be "yes" to at least one of the above questions. This will put you on the right track for having the sound of a cohesive program, and not a compilation of miscellaneous pieces. If the answer is no, you should continue with your search. Suppose you are at a time when you simply must just put it all together, however. By all means, compile the freestyle with what you have, and enjoy it, while accepting that the program has some limitations. Freestyles are not immutable, afterall, and you can always add, subtract, or completely change parts as you find something more appealing or suitable. KNOW THE RULES AND REQUIREMENTS Freestyle requirements for each level are not the same as those for the standard dressage tests. For example, did you know that turns on the haunches (USEF Second Level) or walk pirouettes (USEF Third Level through FEI) are not complusory movements at any USDF level freestyle? If your horse does not execute them well, avoid them. A Movement Is a Movement There are specific movements which are defined in the USDF Freestyle Guidebook. They are leg-yield, rein-back, shoulder-in, travers, renvers, half-pass at trot and canter, flying change, pirouette, turn on the haunches, piaffe and passage. Movements should not be confused with figures (circle, figure 8, and so on) or transitions (walk to canter, etc.) Above the Level You are allowed to include movements that are at your level of competition or below. For instance, a Second Level rider could include a leg-yield in the freestyle test, because it is seen in the standard First Level tests. A rider performing a Fourth Level freestyle would be penalized for doing two tempis, since this movement is not seen in the standard tests until Intermediaire I. The above-the-level penalty for USDF is four points from your final score. Under FEI rules, an Intermediaire I freestyle rider is forbidden to include passage, piaffe, or a pirouette greater than 360 degrees; a Grand Prix rider may not do a pirouette which exceeds 720 degrees (double). The penalty for doing so is a zero for the element, even if it is repeated correctly at another point in the freestyle, plus the score for Choreography and Degree of Difficulty will not be granted more than a 5. Other than those few rules, anything else is legal. If a First Level rider had a horse capable of going from canter to halt, this would be permitted because it is a transition, not a movement. Likewise a Third Level rider could do a steep zig-zag for the half-passes because this is a pattern, not a movement. Countries Outside the United States Canadian tests can be downloaded through Dressage Canada (www.dressagecanada.org). Each country has its own rules governing test below the FEI level. Please check with your national association for rule clarification. Other Important Rules
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