How do top riders relax between classes or get amped up before a big competition? What do they watch during their rare and precious downtime? HorseSport.com got the scoop from three of Canada’s leading dressage who tell us their fave tunes and gotta-see-it Nextflix/Crave/Hulu/Prime series.
Jaimey Irwin
One half of the noted dressage ‘power couple’, Jaimey Irwin trains out of Stoney Lake Equestrian near Toronto, with his wife, Tina. Both trained in Germany and have devoted themselves to teaching the German classical dressage system. Together they have mentored and coached Young Rider students to medals at many North American Youth Championships, and brought along a number of top dressage horses including Donegal V and Laurencio.
Songs:
Says Jaimey, “My play list is made up of many different types of music and it depends on my mood what I choose to play.” His current top 5 are:
Shows:
“When it comes to Netflix, etc., I don’t usually get hold of the remote! So for the most part whatever Tina is watching is what I watch as well.” Some of the shows Jaimey follows are:
The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes
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Tina Irwin
A veteran of Pan American Games and FEI Dressage Nations Cup competition, Tina won team silver at the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara, MEX., and team gold/individual silver at the 2019 Pan Ams in Lima, Peru. As a result, her mount Laurencio was named Equestrian Canada Horse of the Year for 2019, while Tina was named Equestrian of the Year.
Songs:
Shows:
The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes
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Naima Moreira Laliberte
This Montreal native earned multiple gold medals at the North American Youth Championships in both the Junior and Young Rider divisions, and helped lead Team Canada 1 to a silver medal last year at the FEI Nations Cup CDIO-U25 in Wellington, FL. At the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, she was a member of Canada’s gold medal dressage team. She has been riding out the pandemic at her home farm in Quebec. (To read more about Naima and her horses, click here.)
“I actually don’t usually have a ‘go-to song’ pre-competition. My list is ever-changing and is definitely a mixture of all genres; however, at the time they allowed me to get into the right mindset and feel inspired.” These tunes include:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3VhSFiB1euM4WzvCbM2bE0?si=BR_zu8UbT_6QNa4oAUuCOA
Song Notes:
#1 – “For lightening the mood up before my first CDI 5* in 2020. You’d be surprised to know my coach [Ashley Holzer] knows all the words ‒ I supply the dance moves!”
#2. “I listened to this before our gold medal ride at the Pan Ams in 2019.”
#3. “This reminds me of my time in Luxembourg in 2018 with my friend Tanya Strasser; this was our pre-competition song of the day.”
#4 “A song that calms me and helps me focus.”
Shows:
