A high-stepping equine with an uncanny sense of rhythm and flow is taking the internet by storm.
Suppenkasper (USA) the horse, or "Mopsie" to his friends, quite literally rode to the beat of his own drum in the individual dressage competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
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The horse, ridden by five-time Olympian Steffan Peters (USA), waltzed in perfect time to an upbeat electronic mix created by musician Taylor Kade at the Olympic Equestrian Park in Tokyo on July 28. The sick beats and smooth moves were enough for a score of 80.968 and a 10th-place finish just one day after the pair rode to team silver with the U.S. dressage team.
In dressage, horses and riders complete a series of moves that are built on technical training, rhythm and communication between horse and rider. In the individual dressage competition, known as grand prix freestyle, riders can create their own routines and set them to the music of their choice.
The discipline has military roots and is all about grace and elegance as opposed to the other two Olympic equestrian disciplines, so the song was an unusual but fresh decision.
SEE MORE: U.S. wins team dressage silver in best finish since 1948
In a TikTok video, Kade lays out how the musical piece was created: He examined a previous dressage test by Peters and Mopsie and composed the music to match Mopsie's pace and dressage movements.
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"A couple years ago, I was reached out to by a mutual contact, and they're like 'hey we have this project can you do it its for a horse dressage routine,'" Kade says in another video. "So for the past couple of years I did a couple of these, and as it turns out, the two that I did were being used to qualify for the Olympics. And then, I come to find out that both of them made it to the Olympics and now two out of the three riders for the U.S. Olympic team are using music that I mixed."
Peters, originally from Germany, became the oldest American to win an Olympic medal since 1952 at the age of 56.
