H&C

i am amazed i love all of that performance i am gobsmacked :o

amazing he looked spectacular!!!!

Simply breath taking - never tire of watching near perfection, if only I could ride like Edward.

Dressage , the new sport of Kings & Totilas is the Monarch . Wow !

Alexsandra Throstrup , get a life .

And God created The Horse . Totilas - one of the most beautiful equine creatures - EVER . I would sell my soul to the Devil to own such a beast , let alone ride one . Edward , you're HOT , but TOTILAS - you're on FIRE ! Encore ! Bravo ! Simply the BEST . Awesome .

OH my God ! Some of these Kill joys who comment about this horses movement make me sick !! Some people are so Boring that when they see something as exciting as this beautiful black horse & pretty spunky rider they just dry up like the old prunes that they are ! Stick to knitting . They tried to ban Elvis from gyrating his hips but he ended up a phenomenon & this horse should be just as famous . Incredible , inspiring & magnificent & I'm in love with both of them .

Absolutely & quintessentially the most beautiful horse & rider . For a performance like that to evoke so much emotion & bring tears to your eyes it had to be brilliant & it was . For those who criticize it all I can say is go stick your head down the toilet where it belongs ! That horse is a superstar & even Madonna would be humbled by such genius . I love Edward but Totilas is KING . Bring it on !!!

absolute rubbish...got an old shetland pony 30 years 12 hands..... wipe the floor... with him......no only joking absolutley masterful....must have watched this 1000 times already...never fails to lift me .Well done Edward and well done totilas ....still the best is to come .

arghhh. goosebumps EVERY time i see this <3

does anyone else think edward gal looks like william fox-pitt?

WOOW!!! That was amazing and truely breathtaking, and to who ever wants to critise that preformance then they ust not be able to appreciate the true beauty of that horse, go Edward Gal!!! :)

INSPIRATIONAL

TO THE PERSON WHO SAID ABOUT THE HORSES LETTING THEIR HAIR DOWN:
Well I have trained many quality dressage horses that have made high levels, and I just have to tell you that yes, they do let their hair down. As a matter of fact, my horses are hacked offroad and taked galloping arround once a week as part of a rota arround the yard. So yes, they very much do :)

Truly breathtaking, we will probably never see another like him again. It is such a privilage to watch a partnership like this. I find it inpiring and makes me very determined to do better.

Brought many tears to my eyes,words can not explain how wonderful this partership is .quite spectacular

No it wasn't perfect, therefore they didn't score 100%, it was however an amazing performance and anyone who saw it live, as I was lucky enough to do, cannot help but think that the adverse comments below are from some very jealous people who perhaps should try another sport, they do not seem to have the generosity of spirit that is required for this discipline.

I saw Edward and Totilas at Hickstead, the only horse to ever make me cry watching dressage! and the only time I have ever spontaneously stood to applaud anything!

wow that pair are absolutely AMAZING!! That horse is a work of art and i think any horse lover would dream of having a horse like that!! Mr. Edaward Gal, you are soooo lucy to have that horse!!!

i can't speak ! too many tears!!!

The Dutch have their new 'Black Pearl' long may he reign. Edward Gal is such a sympathetic rider and it shows in Totitlas' performance. A match made in heaven.

Every time I view this video I cry. He is giving Edward his whole heart; it's breathtakingly beautiful.

This was absolutley amazing.I do not know much about dressage because I'm more into showjumping but this was breathtaking.

I am not a huge dressage fan because I wonder if these horses ever get to let their hair down and have fun,nor indeed do I know much about it, however, I did enjoy watching Totilas and the performance gave me goosebumps. The technicalities of the performance are beyond me but I must pass my own comment re the judges and judging. Quite simply the majority of judging is a foregone conclusion (I hesitate to say 'bent') whether it be Dressage, Showing under saddle, Showing in hand or Dog showing. We lesser mortals have to accept this sad but true state of affairs, when we know our face doesn't fit or isn't well known enough but our animals are good enough to win but 'the faces' get the nod because of who they are. I don't think it's a case of judges 'having the balls' to judge correctly, more a case of they should be judging honestly and not judging who is at the end of the reins, or lead, or because 'that person' is judging somewhere the following week and they expect the favour returned.

Wow that was amazing. absolutly awesome.

simply breathtaking....horse and man in complete unison.

I just have one comment for the complainers. LET"S SEE YOU DO BETTER!! The horse is happy in his manner, in superb physical condition and lovely beyond words.

Truly lovely A case of man and horse almost becoming one.
Very beautiful.

Inspiring. Would consider selling my soul to have a horse that fabulous and to be able to ride like that!! I think I'm in love!!

Magical

For those who criticize, do you really have the level of those international juges ??? I don't think so. If they gave him this result, it's because he was awesome.
One more thing, you must consider that the discipline of dressage evolute, like every discipline. Maybe it's beautiful to write a hand made letter, but with EVOLUTION, we now use computer to communicate.
It's the same in dressage. It is beautiful to watch a horse who do extreme collection (like Nuvo Olivera do), but it's not the only thing to consider today. We want MODERN dressage to be more attractive to the audience, so we prefer horses with plenty of expression, spring, and liberty in the front legs.
It's also the evolution in the horse's genetic. Breeders know that they must make horses more and more expressive. If you compare Isabell Werth and Gigolo, only few years ago who won many titles, with Blue Hors Matiné or Tortilas, you can clearly see what I am talking about.
If we now have incredible horses like Tortilas, I can't wait to see dressage in a couple of years ! =D

How extraordinarily beautiful....has it occured to those of you that are so critical that there should be room in the dressage world for an obviously naturally gifted horse such as this who happens to have this incredible way of moving? He appears to have springs in his feet and a beautiful reach in his shoulder that is truly a gift. I have never been attracted to competing in dressage (although I utilize many of the priniciples in my training) precisely because I find many of the horses I have seen to looking braced and unhappy. This horse is just the opposite. His ears are moving back and forth as he listens to his rider, his expression is soft and he really seems to be enjoying himself. In addition, this gentleman is a drop dead gorgeous rider; I have never seen such a quiet dressage rider. It is a beautiful picture of communication. Is that not what you all strive for?

o my god edward is sooooo hot xxxxx

toto and edward are such a great pair i tink toto loves him lots

he is such a super horse to watch

i waishhe was mine i would love to have him

moorlands totolas is the most ounderfull horse to watch i wiah my horse could da that
:):)

please shall we start a dialog, those of you out there who would like to repair the sport and please no comments back to me about how good it all is out there as the horses and i know better

Fabulous Horse Fabulous Perfomance

But Jackie, isn't that what dressage is all about, an opinion, I have never heard it being called nit picking before.

Absolutely Fabulous! That brought tears to my eyes.

Amazing!!! It made me cry :)

I've just watched Edward Gal again and can we just stop nit picking. I've never seen such a stimulating performance of Kur.

I'm a Yoga teacher and sometimes a new student might come in who has never done yoga before, but they have a fantastic natural movement, of which they are unaware they possess. It may not be classical Yoga according to the current Yoga tombs of structured analytitical movements but it is a new movement coming from the core (ie the spine). I adored Edward Gal's performance on Totilas. I'm not an expert on dressage but I'm suggesting that because his movements are so amazingly extravagant, that instead of criticising, we explore the possibility that there may be another way of performing a movement. Things move on creatively and it's important not to get stuck in the mire of general opinion. I liked sgrondahl, but you left no conclusion.
Many thanks.

This horse is so amazing that it is weird. I have never seen such amazing transitions and athletic ability in extensions. He is also so.....laid back.

I don't agree with the posts below for the following reasons. This is a small round stallion type horse. If you look at the top of his hips, when he goes to his extensions, you can see the hips drop several inches, and his withers elevate. His back stays swinging. His expression, ears, and eyes, are not reading tension. I do agree, he is too deep in the bridal, and his poll is not high enough at this level. And YES, judges are too quick to pick the favorites, and not judge strictly on THAT PERFORMANCE. Without being at this show and seeing the other rides, this is impossible to say, if this happened this day. Just my opinion. Thank you for the conversation today.

WHOA. Fantastic. His power was fantastic, as was his elasticity, and cadence. Collection is built in on this horse, with his size and shape, but those extensions were MAGNIFICENT!!

Thank you- horseandcountry.tv, for making my day, and allowing me to watch this extraordinary ride!

Possibly one of the most beautiful dressage rides I have ever seen. Both rider and horse are magnificent.

breathtaking,, that was absoluteley amazing!! Edward and Moorland Totilas have an amazing relationship and you can tell that they both think the world of each other which will improve the performance!! they both deserve much praise as they must have worked so hard to create such a spectacular performance, well done!! i also don't think they will be beaten anytime soon (:

I agree with the other posts, judge intimidation is becoming the norm now in modern dressage, it seems that they forget the fundimentals about what and how they should be judging a competitor as soon as they see a horse come into the arena who kicks itself in the nose, quite sad really. It is a shame that judges now-a-days don't have the balls to say, that is just not good enough, 10's are flying left right and centre. His walk is moderate, his extended trot is moderate his one time changes (at Windsor) had SERIOUS errors in them and yet he is the highest marked dressage performer in history.

I do not deny that his piaffe and passage are superb, but it is difficult to see the transitions between his trot paces, where does his passage end and his collected trot start??? Once he does get into his collected trot (correctly!!!!) we then have the problem of seeing where his extended trot starts, this surely is incorrect and should be judged accordingly.

Come on judges, it is time to get your books out again and read EXACTLY how each movement should be performed and EXACTLY how transitions should be CLEAR for all to see and what marks should be deducted for tenseness, as well as not showing a clear over step in extended paces and errors in tempi changes.

Back to the drawing board, for judges I think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with the previous comment!! When dressage is simply judged on the "fanciest" mover (if you find this poor horse being forced into false gaits enjoyable) then it looses all worth as a training program for horse and rider.