Olympics-Equestrian-Latin-themed dressage ride goes viral

By Caroline Stauffer RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Dressage riders, often dismissed as prissy remnants of the past for their so-called horse dancing, do not often become Internet sensations. Spain's Severo Jurado Lopez, however, won over Brazilian spectators, briefly dominated Twitter and got shout-outs on billboard.com and Gawker after he performed a Latin rock-infused routine to Santana's Smooth, featuring Rob Thomas. "Give him the gold, make it real or else forget about it," declared People Magazine. "I never wanted a horse more than when I found out you can teach it to dance to Smooth," said one Twitter user. The mostly Brazilian audience present for the final freestyle ride, the equine version of a gymnastics floor routine, were on their feet cheering -- and booed when judges put Lopez and horse Lorenzo in fifth place on Monday. "I knew that Brazil, a place that understands music so well, might like it," Lopez told Reuters. "I am happy for both, the applause and the boos." Sandwiched between riders that chose mostly classical music, Lopez also ended his ride on a non-traditional note by trotting down the centre of the arena to Bon Jovi's "It's my life." "I identify with Bon Jovi's song and Santana has my musical style of the south, able to reach a very international crowd," Lopez said of his musical selection. Lopez, who is based in Denmark, defended the format of Olympic dressage competition, which requires all riders to perform the same two technical tests with absolute precision. But he said riders can have a little fun in the third and final freestyle phase. As dressage occasionally surfaces as a sport that could be cut from the Olympics, riders should try new musical styles to keep the audience interested, he said. "Yes, in Freestyle (innovation) is necessary," Lopez said. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Jan Harvey)