The Making of a Freestyle: Part 1 (music & elements)

I am going to attempt to write a series about how I go about making this new freestyle. I am hoping it helps others in my position who can't afford the $800+ for a professional to make them one, or would just rather do it themselves regardless.

SO ... here is Part 1.

Selecting music and choreography elements

I really loved everyone's input on my theme selection. I have decided to go with the Talking Heads. They are obviously da shizznit, I love the music, and there is plenty of variety plus their songs often have decent portions with no lyrics but plenty of funk.

Right now I am listening to a couple of their albums while I drive to the barn in the mornings, making notes on which songs I think might fit Hampton and/or certain movements. Once I have 5-6 songs to choose from, I will listen to them while watching video of Hampton to match them with his gaits.

The first thing you should do is determine how many beats per minute (bpm) your horse has in walk, trot, canter. Then you can match that gait with a song with the same bpm. With the right software, you can slow down or speed up the song but don't go overboard or it will distort the song. Unless you are into that kind of thing I guess.

Once I have a more solid idea of songs, I am going to burn those on a CD/iTunes and play them while I ride. Then I will be able to make final decisions.

The process of finding songs is still in progress, but meanwhile you can also familiarize yourself with that movements you can/should/cannot do at the level of freestyle you are aiming for.

CLICK HERE for the PDF of the 4th level freestyle score sheet. Has more details.

Since I will be showing at 4th level freestyle some things I need to note:
MAX time: 5 minutes
SCORING: You are scored on both technical and artistic impressions
MOVEMENTS: I am allowed to perform any movement in 4th level, or any level below. In addition, trot/canter zig zags, 8m circles, canter half pirouttes, and 4 and 3 tempis are also allowed.
Movements that are required include: halts, walk (collected and extended), shoulder-in, trot and canter half pass (both directions), extended trot, flying change every 4th stride, working half pirouette at the canter, and extended canter.

WARNING: If you sneak in movements ABOVE the level you are showing at, you will get knocked 4 points from your total for each illegal movement. So, for instance, I could not be like "Look at these amazing 1-tempis we can do!" ... or piaffe or anything like that.

So that's where I am at!

Next up: Qualifying for a freestyle