44 SIDELINES JULY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
could ride anything that bucked, reared or jumped
―
straight
or crooked
―
and sometimes without stirrups. I won just about
every bareback jumping class I entered. It set me up perfectly
for the next stage in my equestrian career, starting young
horses, which I did in Germany, Great Britain, Philadelphia and
eventually Los Angeles, where I relocated in 2003.
That year, I started a non-profit organization called Horse
One-to-One Outreach Foundation, Inc. (HOOF). One of our
programs, the Experience Horse Program for at-risk children,
brought vaulting back into my life. I’d forgotten about the magic
of vaulting and how much I missed it. Seeing the kids’ smiles
as they crawled all over the horses’ backs and the trust that
existed rekindled my passion for vaulting.
Vaulting is always a team effort. At a minimum there is a
lunger, who cues
the horse using a
lungeline and whip,
and an individual
vaulter. At the higher
levels there can be
as many as three
performers at a time
engaged in elaborately
choreographed routines set to music. The equipment is simple
— United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), Fédération
Equestre Internationale (FEI) and American Vaulting
Association regulations permit a variety of snaffle bits and side
reins.
Tack also includes a vaulting surcingle, preferably with
wither and girth padding. It has two grips at the top, and on
each side a “Cossack strap” that helps with balance on some
of the moves, and also serves as a foot grip. A surcingle pad,
made with special, high-density foam, absorbs the vaulters’
movements — swings and jumps — and provides a platform
for the performers.
Like so many competitive equestrian sports, vaulting is rooted
in the military. Some people believe it originated as a teaching
exercise used by the Romans and historical leaders, including
Alexander the Great. Others claim it has its roots in the bull
dancing practiced in ancient Greece. In either case, people
have been performing acrobatic and dance-like movements on
the backs of moving horses for more than 2,000 years.
Since I’m also a hands-on trainer, I began taking vaulting
lessons, marking a return to the sport after more than two
decades of absence. I’d invited Devon Maitozo, of Free Artists
Creative Equestrians (FACE), to teach a clinic for my students.
Devon has represented the United States in international
competition many times, both as an individual and on teams.
He and his team would go on to win the gold medal for the
U.S. at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. It was during this
clinic that I did my first
handstand in 27 years!
With that sense
of
accomplishment
came the realization
that getting back to
c omp e t i t i o n - l e v e l
condition was going to
be much harder than I
thought. My 39-year-old legs were like wet noodles, and I could
only hold the handstand for a second before toppling. I started
on a regimen of stretching and fitness.
One of my biggest challenges was regaining body awareness.
I signed up for more lessons with Rick Hawthorne, coach of the
Valley View Vaulters in Sunland, California. After four months
of lessons, I felt my body slowly returning to form — or as much
form as one can have as a mature adult in a sport where the
superstars are in their teens and 20s. I had to re-learn even
the simplest things: the proper way to point my toes, move my
shoulders, hands and arms — inch by inch, all in the name of
proper vaulting, balance and posture.
Bree began vaulting when she was 6 and because of her tiny
physique became the team flyer.
Bree is competing against pre-teens and teen gymnasts – but as
a vaulting instructor she is determined to “teach by example.”
Photo by Nicholas Cox, VaultingPhotos.com
Flying high through the air as the horse
moved below me at a canter, I relied on
timing and reflexes to keep my bearings.
It was thrilling! – Bree Krebel
Continued on page 46
