Dressage is undoubtedly the fanciest sport at the Olympics. Participants wear top hats, coat tails, and gloves, as their horses dance to pretty stale music. So it came as a surprise when Spanish Olympian Severo Jurado Lopez and his horse decided to let their hair down. The horse trotted to a medley of Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” But ever since the performance on Monday, all people can talk about is the perfectly titled 1999 Santana song. “I choose the music I like,” he said about “Smooth,” according to SB Nation. “I feel good, I like the music, and it’s a good music to go to all international people.”
Thankfully, he didn’t let anyone talk him out of performing to a song that has become highly memed on the internet, because this is the best thing to come out of the Rio Olympics. (Sorry oiled up Tongan flag bearer.) Choosing “Smooth” is also pretty fitting in the context of 2016. According to Verge, “Smooth” became the inspiration for a BuzzFeed quiz, a failed Kickstarter campaign, and a T-shirt slogan. Bill de Blasio even walked out to the song at the Democratic National Convention for some reason.
But even with all the interest behind “Smooth,” Jurado Lopez ended in fifth place. Attendees booed when he didn’t end up on the podium. “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.” It’s certainly not what I’m thinking, because I’m too busy wondering why a horse is smoother than all of us. Like smoother than Joe Biden talking to your lady.
Watch it here.