The Cupertino Courier Photograph courtesy of the Maitozo family Devon Maitozo won the individual men's gold medal in vaulting at the World Equestrian Games in Rome last month. Horse Tales Devon Maitozo achieves a lifelong goal--to be the best in the world By Pam Marino Cupertino resident Devon Maitozo achieved his dream recently when he vaulted his way to the top of the world. Maitozo, 23, won the individual men's gold medal in vaulting at the World Equestrian Games in Rome last month, the highest honor in the sport. "I've been working so long for this moment, and it's here," Maitozo said shortly after he was crowned the top vaulter in the world. Vaulting is a relatively new sport in the United States, having been brought from Europe approximately 35 years ago. It combines elements of gymnastics and dance with horseback riding. Vaulters use the horse as a sort of mobile balance beam, performing moves such as somersaults, headstands and cartwheels. Torn knee ligaments that Maitozo suffered in 1995 were a setback, but only temporarily. At the 1996 world championships in Kaposvar, Hungary, he won the bronze medal, which made his rise to No. 1 this year all the more exciting. "It's been very tough, very hard, but I'm proud of having made it," he said. Maitozo sprang into the sport when he was 7. "It was kind of a chance thing," he said last week by phone from Sweden, where he is on tour. He and his mother moved into a rental home in the Santa Cruz Mountains where the landlords just happened to have a vaulting club. Soon Maitozo was taking lessons twice a week, just a short walk from his home. "I just fell in love with it," Maitozo said of the sport. For Maitozo, very physically active as a child, the sport combined his need to move with a love of horses. Maitozo was the kind of kid who always loved animals, dad Matt Maitozo said. Instead of watching cartoons, he would watch animal shows on PBS. For Matt Maitozo, the sport appealed to him as a parent in a way that Little League didn't. "I really kind of liked it automatically," Matt Maitozo said. Baseball had been a turn-off as he witnessed parents arguing over the positions their young children were playing. Vaulting provided a very different atmosphere that both dad and son enjoyed, Matt Maitozo said. For four years Maitozo said taking the lessons was more or less "fun and games." But after a move to Palo Alto, Maitozo was introduced to a new vaulting coach, Jeanette Boxal, in Woodside. He began to meet men involved in the sport, which is dominated by women. With role models to look up to, Maitozo said, he started striving for a top spot in competitions. He won his first national championship at age 13, in the silver division. At age 14 he won the bronze, and at age 15, the gold. But the most coveted prize is at the world championships, which are always held in Europe, where the sport is more prominent. Maitozo said he has not spent a single summer in the United States since 1990, when he began traveling to Europe to compete in events that would one day lead him to the world championships. His first world championship was in 1992, when he failed to make it to the finals. In 1994 he made it, and in 1996 he won the bronze. Maitozo said it's a tricky business to compete in Europe, because the vaulters must pay their own way and find horses to ride. The outgoing Maitozo has been able to make lots of friends in Europe who let him stay for free while he's there. He also has found horse owners who loan him mounts for the competition. Here in the Bay Area, Maitozo has belonged to clubs that actually own the horses; he has never owned his own horse. As a student at the University of California-Santa Cruz, living here in Cupertino, Maitozo joined the Mt. Eden Vaulters, based in Saratoga. At the world championships last month, Maitozo competed with the Woodside team. Team member Kerrith Lemon won the silver medal, and the team won the bronze. Maitozo and Lemon were scheduled to be featured on the NBC Sunday Today show last week. While in Europe, Maitozo said his focus is entirely on vaulting. But here in the States he has other interests. While at UC-Santa Cruz he studied performing arts with dreams of a possible film career. After he returns from Europe in December, he plans to move to Los Angeles in January. Although he has reached his goal of being the No. 1 vaulter in the world, Maitozo said he is not ready to let go of the sport. "I used to say I can't quit until I win the world championships," he said. "[Winning] actually makes me have more desire to do it. I want to prove myself as a world champion." Between casting calls Maitozo plans to continue his training with a vaulting club north of Los Angeles, where he will work as a coach. He said he wants to stay in shape so he can compete in the next world championships, in 2000, to defend his title. He said he thinks he can do it "if I keep in shape, stay healthy and avoid injuries." The ultimate, Maitozo said, would be to combine his love of vaulting with acting. "I have a lot of ideas about theatrical performances involving vaulting," he said. Maitozo also would like to act as a role model for other boys, to encourage them to get involved in vaulting. "That's one thing that's really lacking in America: male participation," he said. "It's been very important in my life; it has done a lot for me." [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.