Spanish equestrian rider Severo Jurado Lopez and his horse Lorenzo wowed the viewers of the individual dressage event at the 2016 Rio Olympics on Monday, Aug 15 by dancing to the song "Smooth" by Santana and Matchbox 20 vocalist Rob Thomas. Unfortunately for his country, Lopez was not able to take home the gold that day.
Lopez and Lorenzo's routine was entertaining for spectators since it was very different from what they had seen from the other competitors. For one, many of the participants went with older and less upbeat songs such as "Age of Aquarius" by The 5th Dimension and a medley of tracks by The Beach Boys, according to Billboard.
When it was Lorenzo's turn, an assortment of songs centering on Santana and Thomas' 1999 hit started to play. As the horse trotted and skipped to the beats of the songs chosen by Lopez, which included Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," the crowd showed their support by clapping along.
"I choose the music I like," Lopez told SB Nation. "I feel good, I like the music, and it's a good music to go to all international people."
Unfortunately, Lopez did not win the event and finished in fifth place. Even though he lost, he was able to gain the approval of the crowd. In fact, when his score was unveiled, the spectators expressed their support for the instant fan-favorite by booing the judges.
According to Lopez, hearing the crowd's reaction was heartwarming.
"In a way, it was good when they booed," he said. "It's a good feeling when you have a lot of people all thinking the same."
