What is equestrian vaulting?
While it’s an extremely popular equestrian sport in Europe where it’s considered the prerequisite to riding the horse (approximately 50 percent of German riders holding competitive licenses were vaulters in their early years), many in the United States are not familiar with this ancient equestrian art form. The American Vaulting Association defines vaulting as “a unique and growing equestrian sport that combines gymnastics and dance on a moving horse. It’s a wonderful way to develop coordination, balance, strength, and creativity while working in harmony with your equine partner.” In fact, equestrian vaulting can trace its roots back to Xenophon and beyond, to early cavalry riding and the very foundation of the relationship between man and horse. Because of its safety and benefits, vaulting also has strong therapeutic benefits for special needs riders. Horses are powerful therapy animals. The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) represents a number of growing e
It is a sport where students practice mounting a moving horse. Then they perform on back of a horse that is either walking or cantering. Katie Flannagan, who operates Vaulting Concepts, calls vaulting, “A unique and growing sport that combines gymnastics and dance on a moving horse.” Last Saturday Flannagan was busy training her students at Full Sun Farm, owned by Alexa Adams, in western Goochland County. Flannagan, a special education teacher for Henrico County during the week, controls the horse as her students practice their routines with “Beau,” a steady and patient Shire Draft horse. Some, like Clay Thomas of Richmond, practiced more difficult maneuvers while Beau cantered. Others practiced while Flannagan kept the horse at a walk. Students ranged from pre-schoolers to adults. Emily Taylor of Richmond brought her eight-year-old daughter Olivia out for a lesson. “We started last summer,” said Taylor. “We can ride tandem on the same horse.” Taylor said she heard about the vaulting s
To simplify things, equestrian vaulting is usually defined as “gymnastics and dance on horseback,” however the reality is a lot more complex. The sport has roots dating back to the Renaissance and Middle Ages (making it one of the oldest practiced equestrian disciplines) with modern vaulting being developed in post-war Germany with intentions of increasing the overall abilities, balance, and confidence of a rider. In 1983 vaulting as a sport took a great leap forward when it gained recognition as an Fédération équestre internationale (FEI) sport; the first FEI World Vaulting Championships were held in 1986. Vaulting competitions are scored around compulsory exercises and choreographed freestyle exercises done to music. There are six compulsories exercises—the mount, riding seat, flag, mill, scissors, stand, flank and dismount. Each exercise is scored on a scale from 0-10. Horses also receive a score and are judged on the quality of their gait. Freestyle rounds include a variety of move
