The Gaitpost
A Week in the Life of Tom Hunt, Dressage to Music Composer
Tom Hunt is the world’s most in-demand composer of dressage freestyles. His freestyle compositions have won riders endless competitions including Olympic, European and World titles and have beaten all previous world records. Tom also composes music for television and film and has recently completed work for BT Sport.
The Gaitpost had exclusive access to Tom’s hectic week. Read Tom’s diary here ….
Saturday 21st September
The Nationals.
The National Dressage Championships at Stoneleigh Park are always a great opportunity to catch up with riders, both friends and clients. Work commitments can sometimes get in the way, so I was pleased this year to be able to go along on the Saturday to take in some of the performances and also to enjoy a nice gourmet burger or two!
Never mind the burgers though, because the champagne and sandwiches were flowing in Carl Hester’s box and it was here that I was able to fit in a quick catch up with Charlotte Dujardin. Having not been able to make it to WEG this year, this was the first time I had seen her since her Gold medal winning performance in Normandy.
It is always great fun working with Charlotte, Valegro and the GB team on their freestyles and I value opportunities to catch up with them and hear about their upcoming competitions.
I first collaborated with Charlotte and Valegro in 2010 after I had just finished composing my first Grand Prix freestyle (‘Vanquish’) for Mike Eilberg. As I was leaving a filming session at the Eilberg’s one hot sunny day in June, I received a message from Rebecca Hughes asking if it was OK if she passed my number on to a new British Team rider who was needing new music for the European Championships in Rotterdam that year – that rider was of course Charlotte.
After catching up with more familiar faces in Carl’s box, I enjoyed watching the Inter 1 Freestyle competition, which included a interesting demo by Gareth Hughes all about how he trains his horses. I was disappointed not to be able to make the Sunday freestyle competition this year but news of a win for Mike Eilberg performing to “Vanquish”went some way to raise my spirits.
Wednesday 24th September
Dressage To music Clinics – Maelor EC, North Wales.
Today I have a clinic at Maelor Equestrian Centre. This is the third time I have visited Maelor and on this occasion the journey there didn’t take anywhere near as long as it usually does. I am currently living and working from London so the journey to North Wales can take between 4 to 5 hours but today I am travelling from the North West as I have been visiting my family for my mum’s birthday. 1.5 hours drive…easy.
I decided to start the Dressage to Music clinics in October of last year because I thought it would be a great way to get lots of riders of all levels in one place and help them design their freestyle choreography and produce their music. The response to the workshops has been really great and I love meeting all the riders and their horses and coming up with new musical ideas. One thing I have learnt is that every rider and horse combination presents a new musical challenge.
As music is such a diverse and universal form of expression, it is a strong focus of mine to ensure each rider has music that carries their own unique story. A dressage freestyle should tell a story using musical accompaniment to highlight the strengths and expressiveness of a horses movement. Striking the right tone for a freestyle is crucial and so I spend time with each rider during the clinic talking about the characteristics of their horse and understanding any musical preferences they might have.
Thursday 25th September
Meeting with Richard Davison, Staffordshire.
Today I am making my way back to London via Staffordshire to meet with Richard Davison about the upcoming Dressage Convention and also to talk music and freestyles with Nicolle Begovic, who will hopefully be riding through her new Inter 1 test so I can film it.
I will be talking at the Dressage Convention at Bury Farm on 18th October so this is just a get-together to finalise our plans for the evening and to fine tune the logistics.
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We made some good progress on our plans for the Convention and we also had a chance to talk about the Global Dressage Forum, which is taking place a few days after the Convention in Denmark. I have been asked to talk about how I create the music for freestyles along side Dutch composer, Joost Peters and FEI judge, Katrina Wüst.
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October is turning into a month of public speaking! Next Thursday (2nd October) I will be travelling to the Cotswolds to begin a two day squad session with riders on the World Class Development programme. I will be focussing on developing the rider’s freestyles and outlining how to use music to highlight a horse’s paces in competition. I will also be giving a short presentation on how I work with rider’s to create their music and the processes involved.
We hope Tom’s diary has given you an insight in to what is involved in the art of dressage music composition.
Keep up to speed with Tom by following him on Twitter at @tomhuntmusic and visit www.tomhuntmusic.com
Tom’s future clinics are as follows:
Wednesday 5th November at Mount St John, North Yorks.
Friday 14th November at Crow Wood Equestrian, Lancs.
Tuesday 25th November at Knowsley Hall, Nr Prescott, Liverpool
Friday 12th December at Solihull Riding Club, Midlands
To find out more about the Dressage Convention, which takes place on the 18th and 19th October at Bury Farm, click HERE
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