Father Mack get's the scoop on what tunes will be featured during the Musical Freestyles at the Rolex FEI Dressage World Cup Finals MPH

Enter into my imagination.

My hair is combed into a pompadour. My usually somber, black clothing is replaced with garb resplendent with sequins nearly to the point of being crass. As I place my high-heeled boot (covered with spangles and metal studs, of course) onto the desk and hoist my portly frame I glance into the full-length mirror and arrange my lip into the requisite sneer. And from my lips arise the rousing chorus, “Viva, Las Vegas!”

It is a moment of prolepsis. Or -- for the folks who do not have their dictionary near to hand – anticipation. (Technically speaking, “prolepsis is the collapse of the future in all its fullness into the present moment. It is, literally, to be living in the future.)

No, this is no drug-induced hallucination, thank you very much. Rather, my projection into the future is motivated by the first trickle of information I am receiving about the music selected by the seventeen top-flight dressage riders for their Dressage Freestyle (should they be so fortunate and so skilled as to pass into Saturday evening’s final competition).

I have not heard of any rider who has selected “the King’s” standard for his or her kur (nor, for fan’s of “Ocean’s Eleven,” the later Las Vegas touchstone “A Little More Conversation”). However, for those of us privileged to be here for the 2007 iteration of the World Equestrian Games, the music will run the gamut from LaBelle’s “Madame Marmalade” (courtesy of Andreas Helgstrand aboard the redoubtable Blue Hors Matine) to the hoary score of Sir Edward Elgar, “Pomp and Circumstance.” (Isabell Werth, darling that you are, was this Warum Nicht’s idea? I am certain that it will be wonderful . . . if seemingly beyond the pale. No less your use of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” for Hannes’ canter. Shades of “Wayne’s World”!)

If you have your iPod loaded up with all the tunes in your personal collection, bring it along to the Thomas and Mack Center as there is a good chance that something in your repertoire will be pouring forth from the speakers on this Sabbath’s eve. Here is but a small sample:

Catherine Haddad atop Maximus JSS hope to bowl the crowd over as they tool around the ring accompanied by the score of the 2000 movie “Gladiator.”

Imke Schellekens-Bartels astride Sunrise would love to wow us with an original piece composed by Dutch tickler-of-the-ivories, Wibi Soerjadi. The crowds in Amsterdam loved the combo at the premier.

Courtney King and her teammate Idocus collaborated with Terry Ciotti Gallo of Klassic Kur to put together an eclectic and (we hear tell) dynamic compilation of melodies ranging from “The Wizard of Oz” through the Ethel Merman powerhouse “Gypsy” straight on to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “CATS.” The mind boggles.

Evi Strasser aboard Quantum Tyme (those wily Canadians!) are sticking with the African theme which has served them so well, including the well known “Circle of Life” from Walt Disney’s “The Lion King.”

One last tidbit to arouse your palate for the closing event of this year’s World Cup. Should Steffen Peters and Floriano proceed into the finals (are you listening to me, God?), watch for an innovative use of Supertramp’s “Give a Little Bit” at the canter, Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” for the trot work and John Lennon’s now timeless “Imagine” as Floriano shows what a laid back boy he can be during the walk.

My puffed up hair-do is beginning to wilt and I have thrown my last scarf to the adoring throng, so I had best get down off the desk, grab some shuteye, and prepare for the opening of the contest. If you see a big guy in black clothes maneuvering down the aisles, feel free to stop me and ask what’s new. As I pick up tidbits you can read them right here at everyone’s favorite web site for equestrian news.

*Special thanks to Terry Ciotti Gallo of Klassic Kur for her “dish” on several riders and their choice of music. Thank you, also, to the other riders who have shared their selections. You guys are the greatest!

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