Dressage freestyle music: match the tempo to walk, trot and canter.

What the judges listen for

British Dressage’s guidelines for judging dressage to music are clear that the one thing judges must not assess is whether they like the music. They look at how well it harmonises with the paces and the movements, how it handles the transitions, whether the rider interprets it, whether there is a theme, how well it blends from one piece to the next, and whether it suits that horse and rider. The artistic mark for rhythm, energy and elasticity rewards the consistency of the rhythm and the correctness of the tempo in all three paces. British Dressage puts it plainly: more than 70% of the marks in a freestyle are influenced by technical performance, so the music’s job is to show the horse off, not to compete with it.

Three paces, three rhythms

The walk is a four-beat gait, the trot two beats, and the canter three beats plus a moment of suspension (USDF’s “We Got the Beat” article). Tempo is how fast those beats repeat, measured in beats per minute. Two paces can have the same tempo and completely different rhythms: British Dressage’s introduction to freestyle gives typical ranges of 95 to 110 beats per minute for walk, 140 to 180 for trot and 95 to 110 for canter, and points out that walk and canter sit at a similar tempo while the rhythm is nothing alike. So the first test of a piece of music is the rhythm: does it sound like a marching walk, a two-beat trot, or the rocking of a canter? Only then does the tempo matter.

These ranges are a starting point, not a rule. Your horse’s own count is what the music has to match.

Count your horse

1. Film each pace in a full-size arena on a day the horse is working normally, on both reins, for at least a minute or two each.
2. Count one leg. British Dressage’s method: count how many times a nominated leg hits the ground in 30 seconds and double it. That is your beats per minute for that pace.
3. Repeat and average. Count two or three stretches of each pace and use the middle value. Write down which count you used (one leg, or every footfall), because the two give different numbers for the same horse and you need to use the same count when you set the music.
4. Expect the count to move. Collected work and extensions have different tempos, and the tempo of a young horse changes as the training does. Re-count before you cut a new freestyle.

Match the music to the horse

Find the song’s tempo by tapping along, or let an app read it. Then compare it with the horse’s count, remembering that music is often felt in half or double time: a trot track that reads 150 beats per minute can equally be counted at 75, so the question is which of the song’s beats you want under each footfall.

SongShrink shows the two readings of the song’s beat that bracket your count: play faster to the lower one, or slower to the higher one. The two readings are an octave apart, so the two options can be far apart in speed, one a few percent and the other a large change, up to the app’s 50% stop. Pick the one that needs the smaller change and listen. How much change is safe is a matter of ears, but the numbers SongShrink uses are a fair guide: up to 8% change the app says nothing, from 8 to 15% it notes that the music may start to sound odd, above 15% it warns that most music sounds unnatural, and it will not go beyond 50% either way. Modern time-stretching keeps the pitch while changing the speed, but the further you push it the more the instruments blur. The better answer is almost always to choose music that already sits within a few percent of the horse.

Then make the transitions musical. The change from trot music to canter music should fall at the end of a phrase, ideally where the song itself changes, so the horse’s transition and the music’s transition happen together.

Time limits by level

Freestyle is the only dressage test that is timed. The limits below were read in the governing bodies’ own documents. Some are windows with a minimum and a maximum; the USDF levels are a maximum only.

USEF’s own rules send you to the individual score sheet for the time allowed (Rule Book 2026, DR129.2). The 0.5% deduction from the artistic total for a freestyle longer or shorter than the time on the sheet is in DR122.5 (item l today; from 1 December 2026 it is listed as a technical fault, item j.1.ii, next to a 0.5% fault for entering more than 30 seconds but within 90 seconds after the music starts).

Time limits change. Check your current rulebook or show information.

When the clock runs

This is the detail that decides how to build the music.

• Timing starts at the move-off after the first halt and salute and ends at the final halt and salute. British Dressage, USEF rule DR129 and the USDF score sheets all say so. The entry and the music that plays before it are not part of the timed test.
• After the bell, under FEI Dressage Rules 2026 (Article 419) and USEF rules (DR122 and DR129.6.e), the rider has 45 seconds to signal for the music to start and must enter the arena within 30 seconds of the music starting. USEF adds that entering more than 75 seconds after the bell means elimination. British Dressage expects the entry within 20 seconds of the music starting, with a warning from the judge if not.
• The music must cease at the final salute (USEF DR129). Plan the last chord to land on the halt.
• Music failure is handled by the judge at C: under USEF and British Dressage rules the rider may restart from the beginning or from where the music failed, and marks already given stand. Bring a backup copy.

So a five-minute freestyle is really: a short entry section of under 20 to 30 seconds, then the timed test from the first move-off to the final halt inside the window, and an ending that stops with the salute.

Building the music

1. Plan the ride first. Write the floor plan with a time against each section: how long you are in walk, in trot, in canter, and where the transitions fall. Ride it to a stopwatch a few times; the times will settle.
2. Pick a piece for each pace whose rhythm matches and whose tempo is within a few percent of the horse’s count. Pieces that belong together (one composer, one film, one style) blend better, and blending between pieces is one of the things judges mark.
3. Cut each piece to its section length at the end of a phrase, on a bar line, so the join carries the beat straight on. A short crossfade hides the click. Put the loudest, most confident music under the movements you want noticed.
4. Adjust the tempo last, by the few percent needed to land the beat on the footfall. Listen to the result at full volume; if it sounds strained, choose a different piece rather than pushing the speed.
5. Add the entry and the ending. A short entry section before the first halt, and an ending whose final chord lands on the final halt, within the time window for your level.
6. Export in the format the show asks for (USEF: MP3 and/or WAV, or CD), check the file’s length, and take it to the sound check.

Where SongShrink helps

SongShrink is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android that fits a song you own to a time and a tempo. For a freestyle you build the running order as pieces and name them Walk, Trot and Canter. Each piece can have its own pace: tap along with your horse’s steps on the video, type the steps a minute, or make a part last an exact time such as 0:45. The app reads the music’s own beat, offers the two readings that bracket your count (play faster to one, or slower to the other), shows the percentage change and the resulting length for each, marks the smaller change as recommended, flags changes over 8% and over 15%, and won’t go past 50%. Counting every footfall instead of one leg multiplies the count by two for the trot and by four for the walk. Those are powers of two, so the two readings SongShrink offers, and which of them is the faster one, stay exactly the same. The canter is different: every footfall is three times one leg, which does change the choices, so count the canter the same way you set the music.

The time limit comes from a built-in list that names the rulebook: the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, FEI Intermediate A/B and II, Intermediate I, Junior, Young Rider and Pony freestyles, the FEI para grades, every British Dressage level, and USEF / USDF Training to Fourth Level. Or type your own window. Cuts prefer a nearby bar line or beat between phrases, joins are crossfaded by default, you can nudge any cut by a beat or a bar, and you can build a medley from several songs with the tempos matched. When the music is long enough, Land exactly on the target trims and fades the end so the music is exactly your time; Fit by speed instead changes the whole edit’s speed so it lands on the time with nothing cut. Export MP3 or WAV, named with the event, the rider and the length. Songs stay on the device.

SongShrink can’t tell you your horse’s tempo; you count that. It is free to download and try, and exporting is a one-time unlock; the store shows the price.

Also on the Mac App Store Get it on Google Play

Which songs you can use and how to get them in is on the support page. For floor, skating, cheer and dance limits see cutting a song to the time limit.

Questions

How long can a dressage freestyle be?

It depends on the level and the rules you ride under. USDF and USEF Training through Fourth Level freestyles have a maximum of 5 minutes and no minimum. British Dressage gives windows: Introductory 3:30 to 4:00, Preliminary and Novice 4:00 to 5:00, Elementary through Intermediate I 4:30 to 5:00, Grand Prix 5:30 to 6:00. The FEI Grand Prix Freestyle must finish between 5:30 and 6:00, and the FEI Intermediate I and Junior freestyles between 4:30 and 5:00. Time limits change, so check your current rulebook or show information.

When does the clock start in a freestyle?

At the move-off after the first halt and salute, and it stops at the final halt and salute. The entry and the music before it are not timed. Under FEI and USEF rules you have 45 seconds after the bell to signal for your music and must enter the arena within 30 seconds of the music starting; under USEF rules, entering more than 75 seconds after the bell means elimination. British Dressage expects the entry within 20 seconds of the music starting. The music must stop at the final salute.

How many beats per minute are walk, trot and canter?

Every horse is different, so count your own. British Dressage’s introduction to freestyle gives typical ranges of 95 to 110 beats per minute for walk, 140 to 180 for trot and 95 to 110 for canter, and notes that walk and canter share a similar tempo but a completely different rhythm. USDF’s “We Got the Beat” article defines the walk as a four-beat gait, the trot as two-beat and the canter as three-beat plus a moment of suspension. Count how many times one chosen leg hits the ground in 30 seconds and double it.

How much can I speed up or slow down a song to match my horse?

As little as possible. SongShrink offers the two readings of the song’s beat that bracket your horse’s count, and because they are an octave apart one may need a change of a few percent while the other needs a large one, up to the app’s 50% stop. SongShrink says nothing up to 8%, notes that 8 to 15% may start to sound odd, warns that above 15% most music sounds unnatural, and will not go past 50% either way. Choose music whose beat is already close to your horse’s tempo.

Does the music have to stop at the final salute?

Yes under USEF rules, which say the music must cease at the final salute. Plan the ending so the last chord lands on the halt, and keep a cut version that can end there.

What format does the show want the music in?

Whatever the prize list says. USEF rule DR129 says formats must include CDs and/or digital files, MP3 and/or WAV, and that riders in freestyle classes must be offered a free sound check. Take a backup copy on a second device.

Sources

Each document was read on 25 October 2026.

• British Dressage, Guidelines for Dressage to Music, revised November 2025 (time allowed by level, timing, entrance and halts, music stops) and the Get started with freestyle: de-mystifying the music page (typical tempos and how to count).
• USDF and USEF, 2027 USDF Training Level Freestyle and Fourth Level Freestyle score sheets (time maximum, overtime, reminders for freestyle judges).
• USEF, Rule Book 2026, Chapter DR, DR129 Musical Freestyle Ride (time, music formats, sound checks, entry within 30 seconds, music ceasing at the salute) and DR122 (bell, 45 and 75 seconds; DR122.5 item l, the 0.5% time deduction, and item j, the technical faults list beginning 1 December 2026).
• FEI, Dressage Rules 2026, Articles 419 and 420; FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, Intermediate I Freestyle and Juniors Freestyle test sheets.
• USDF, We Got the Beat (USDF Connection: rhythm and tempo defined, the four-beat walk, two-beat trot and three-beat canter).

This is general information for riders, parents and coaches, not legal advice. Rules change; your current rulebook and show information take precedence over anything here.