Dressage isn’t usually one of the most riveting events at the Olympics, but one entrant at Rio 2016 decided to spice things up a little bit.
Competitors typically take on the dressage to fairly predictable tunes, but Spain’s Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez and his horse Lorenzo threw a spanner in the works today, deciding instead to compete to the sounds of Santana and Rob Thomas’ 1999 hit Smooth. It quickly sent the internet down a smooth AF wormhole:
First time i’m turning on the olympics and… It’s pretty horse gymnastics to the tune of carlos santana’s smooth?? pic.twitter.com/76oznwy5fH
— Amanda Chicago Lewis (@msamandalewis) August 15, 2016
I’m watching a horse dance to Santana. What the fuck is going on in the dressage? Did someone slip acid into my drink? #Rio2016
— Ross Bourne (@gallifrey_seven) August 15, 2016
UM WHO JUST SAW THE DRESSAGE HORSE DANCING TO SMOOTH BY SANTANA IN THE OLYMPICS BC I THINK THIS IS WHAT HEAVEN IS LIKE #Olympics
— PowerBombshell (@ChicagosCRose) August 16, 2016
If the horse who did dressage to Rob Thomas and Santana’s Smooth doesn’t win the gold the Olympics should be cancelled.
— erin (@thelatestinhats) August 15, 2016
It was easily the smoothest performance of the day, with the horse breaking out some seriously good moves, but unfortunately, they ended up placing 5th in the discipline. The crowd really dug the performance, though, and reportedly booed when the judges gave their scores.
“I choose the music I like,” Jurado Lopez told SB Nation. “I feel good, I like the music, and it’s a good music to go to all international people.
“We spend a lot of time in our lives in this sport, and we only have five minutes in there. In a way, it was good when they booed. It’s a good feeling when you have a lot of people all thinking the same.”
This isn’t the first time Jurado Lopez and Lorenzo have performed to Smooth, and because footage of their Rio performance is being blocked in certain parts of the internet, Aussies can check out a clip of a Smooth routine from earlier this year, below.
It might not be long until Lorenzo the Smooth horse becomes a Rio 2016 meme, though, just like runner Usain Bolt became one yesterday.
Watch: Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez Dressage To Santana’s Smooth
