Lauren Barwick competes. [Xinhua]

When it comes to the Freestyle Test in Para-equestrian Dressage, there is nothing that enchants the judges better than the right choice of music and getting ones "recuperating" partner to put the right hoof forward when performing.

And that was exactly what Lauren Barwick of Canada did when she stepped into the Hong Kong Equestrian (Shatin) arena Wednesday evening to put on a breathtaking show of walks and trots that kept pace to "an Asian tune because it was a way of saying thank you to China for these Paralympic Games," she explained.

Her score of 72.778 took her to the top of the table where 16 others in Grade II showed their skills during the morning and evening sessions.

Lauren Barwick shows her medal. [Xinhua]

"It's phenomenal as I only started riding the horse (Maile) four days ago. She was down with a high fever and a lung infection," she beamed in disbelief.

Felicity Coulthard (Great Britain) was the first to step out during the evening session and took a 71.056 lead for almost an hour with her foot-tapping rendition of the "Fiddler on the Roof" medley. "Roffelaar (the horse) was very good, and the music worked well for him. We had been practising with the tune for a long time," she said.

Individual Championship gold medalist Britta Naepel (Germany) could only manage a bronze with her charming ride on Cherubin 15 who felt comfortable with the choice of an upbeat background music. Her score was 70.277.

Earlier in the day, Peng Yulian (China) had the stands humming with excitement when he scored a 66.279 and took third placing going into the second session. He ended in sixth place with a score of 66.279.

Nelson Yip Siu-hong (Hong Kong) got his horse Icy Bet to move to a Madonna medley, but he could only manage the 15th place with a tally of 58.166.

In the Grade IV "battle royale" the three medalists from Tuesday's Individual Championship test put on high profile performances to bring an entertaining evening to a close.

Philippa Johnson (South Africa) scored her second gold of the Games when she had the audience holding their breath as her horse (Benedict) delivered to the majestic sound of the "Exodus" theme song. Her score of 77.272 was greeted by a roar from the crowd.

"What an incredible horse. I just love him. He dug deep and pulled out all the stops for me. It's fantastic as we've made history for South Africa," she said.

Winning her second silver medal of the Games, Ann Cathrin Lubbe (Norway) made Zanko (her horse) dance to the tune of the "Pink Panther" for a score of 75.045. She explained that she was a bit ahead of the music and "I had to improvise."

"I never thought I would achieve such a high score to win the silver," she added.

Georgia Bruce (Australia) repeated her bronze position with 74.319. Her choice of the "Fiddler on the Roof" tune (second for the evening) "suited my big horse (V Salute), but we needed more time to train," she said.

(BOCOG September 11, 2008)