European Dressage News

Wayne Channon To Premier Slings & Kerkhof's “Il Passeggiato” at CDI-W Lipica

June 1, 2005

British World Class performance rider Wayne Channon will be premiering a new freestyle at the World Cup Qualifier in Lipica , Slovenia . Aboard his 12-year old KWPN stallion Lorenzo (by Ferro x Wolfgang), Channon will be riding “Il Passeggiato”, an Italian inspired kur to music created by the world renowned Dutch composers’ duo Cees Slings and Victor Kerkhof.

Channon contracted Cees Slings and Victor Kerkhof to compose a new freestyle for his top mount Lorenzo. Slings and Kerkhof have been the exclusive kur composers for double Olympic Champion Anky van Grunsven for a decade and composed, for instance, L’Esprit Chanson and Bonfire’s Symphony. After the 2004 Olympic Games, they renounced their exclusive contract with Van Grunsven and became independent, making music for riders such as Wayne Channon and Kirsten Beckers. They will also provide the official music for the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen.

For Channon, the choice to hire Slings & Kerkhof was easy. “They are simply the best in the business. All their kurs demonstrate their deep understanding of dressage and music. Every kur is an original design and the music exactly reflects every movement performed in the test,” he said.

Channon’s previous kur was based on the soundtrack of “The Godfather” and he wanted to keep the music Italian flavoured. “We also liked the theme of ‘The Godfather’ and decided to keep that music for the intro and the walk. For the piaffe and passage we chose Andrea Bocelli. It is a beautiful, passionate melody which fits Lorenzo’s bold passage,” Cees Slings explained. “For the changes and half passes we picked the famous song ‘ Marina ’ and the ‘Tarantalla’. You can’t get more Italian than that!”

The licensed stallion Lorenzo, who has that Italian look to him with his black coat and mystique, maffioso appearance, responds extremely well to the new freestyle and is easily carried away by the emotional, melodic rhythm of the music.

The kur title “Il Passeggiato” refers to the Italian expression ‘la passeggiata’ -- the promenade -- which is a typical Sicilian leisure activity. At dusk when the temperature goes down, Sicilian men gather at the town square and walk round it talking to each other and showing off to the women who are sitting on the side.

With this new kur to music, Channon aims at improving his chances for a berth in the 2006 World Cup Finals. The CDI-W in Lipica is the first European qualifier for these 2006 Finals. Furthermore, the Brit hopes to capture a place on the British Dressage team for the 2005 European Dressage Championships in Moscow in July.

Related Links
Eurodressage FOCUS: "The Making of Channon's Il Passeggiato"
Channon's Glorious Sunshine Tour Conquest
Ferro-Lorenzo CH Pas de Deux at the 2005 KWPN Stallion Licensing