A beginner’s guide to equestrian vaulting

Among all the disciplines that have to do with horse riding, equestrian vaulting (often referred to as simply vaulting) is one of the most dangerous kinds of sports. What should you know about it apart from the fact that it involves dancing and practicing gymnastics on horseback?

The basics of equestrian vaulting

In French, the word ‘voltiger’ means ‘flying’ and it is perfect to describe this discipline. Sportsmen have to perform various stunts while the horse is moving in a circle. It is mostly known as a part of performances in circuses. However, its origins date back thousands of years. Vaulting is a discipline in which both women and men compete. In addition, there is a kind of vaulting that is described as therapeutic or interactive and it is aimed at battling some health problems and even social deficits.

The performance takes place in a circle which diameter is not less than 20 meters. Music usually accompanies it. In the centre of the circle, a special person stands. He or she commands the horse and shows the direction of its movement.

The first step is getting closer to the horse. A sportsman reaches the horse, greets the audience. It is not allowed to touch the rope as well as stay too far away from it. Having run for a while side by side with the horse, a horse rider gets into the saddle. This is when the performance starts.

Ways of getting into the saddle

There are several ways of getting into the saddle.

• A sportsman keeps their fingers on the saddle, jumps and throws his right leg over the horseback.
• A sportsman jumps, turns his body and throws his or her left leg over the horse’s croup. As a result, they sit in the saddle backwards.
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• A sportsman jumps, pushes the saddle, turns his or her body to the left and then sits down.
• A sportsman pushes the saddle and throws both legs over the horseback. After that they sit down and slowly straighten their back.

Examples of stunts

After that, a sportsman has to perform various stunts. Take a look at descriptions of some of them:

• Leg lift. It is necessary to lean forward, so that the body of a sportsman is really close to the back and the neck of the horse. Then one of the legs is thrown over the horse’s head.
• A horse rider stands on one knee, leans forward while leaning one lag backwards. After that, it is necessary to make a 180 degrees turn.
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• Standing positions. These stunts may vary a lot, from standing on the legs to standing on the head. In the first case, a sportsman stands in the saddle on his or her knees. Then they straightens their legs and keeps their hands in opposite directions.

In the end of the performance, a sportsman has to get off the horseback. There are several ways of doing it. The easiest one starts with sitting in the saddle. All one has to do is simply throwing one leg over the horse’s neck. The next one starts with sitting backwards. It is necessary to push the saddle and jump off the horseback while turning in the opposite direction. Finally, it is possible to make a flip.

Competitions

There are three types of competitions.

• Individual vaulting. The name of this discipline speaks for itself: an individual sportsman performs various stunts. Men and women compete separately.
• Pair vaulting. There are two sportsmen riding the same horse. They might be of the same gender or not. The only restriction is that one sportsman cannot compete as a part of two pairs in terms of one competition.
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• Group vaulting. There are up to 6 participants who compete on one horse. There is one extra sportsman who takes part in the competition in case someone gets injured. The group might consist of competitors of both genders. There is one restriction, though: a sportsman must participate in one group only.

Every competition consists of two or even three programs. The first one consists of the stunts that must be performed by everyone. Each sportsman scores up to 10 points from each referee, then the average value is calculated. Free program is valued in accordance with four aspects: the technique of movement, the difficulty of the stunts, the work of the horse and the artistry. Finally, sometimes sportsmen have to perform another program that is aimed at evaluating five exercises.

Training

It is possible to start training at a very early age. At first, children train with the help of wooden horses in order to prevent them from being frightened in case the horse starts moving unexpectedly or something of this kind happens. Such mannequins are perfect from the point of view that they make it possible to make mistakes without being afraid that the horse might respond to them violently. Training begins with some basic things. The more a person practices equestrian  vaulting, the more difficult and fascinating the stunts are.

Another aspect of vaulting is training the horses. They must move at a deliberate pace and pay no attention to what is happening in the saddle. It takes a lot of time to train them, which is why it is allowed to ride a horse that is not less than 5 years old in terms of regional competitions. For world championships, the horse must be not less than 7 years old.

Acrobatics on horseback is concerned with high risks of fallings and getting injured. To prevent them, even experienced riders train on wooden mannequins and work hard on their overall physical condition.

History

As it has been mentioned previously, this sport dates back many centuries. The very first mentions of vaulting were found in Ancient Greece. Gymnastics on horseback was described by Xenophon and other ancient philosophers. In Middle Age, equestrian vaulting was not distinguished as a separate discipline, but in horse riding schools people learnt to perform some stunts. The more people used horsed in their daily life, the more stunts they trained to do. Appearance of cavalry was one of the powers that made it develop. Back in 1983, this discipline officially became a kind of sport. Since then, competitions have been held on a regular basis. In 1986, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports recognized it and in 1990, the very first world championship was held.

All in all, equestrian vaulting is by far the most impressive type of horse riding, which takes a lot of training and experience. This is a stunning combination of horse riding, gymnastics and theatre.