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August 21, 2002
Saratoga, California Since 1955 |
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
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Samantha Smith of Saratoga practices vaulting
routines on her horse, Cami, in preparation
for the World Equestrian Games, which take
place this September.
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Local equestrian vaults her way
to fame
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Shari Kaplan
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The fearless feats of strength, balance and
flexibility that 16-year-old Samantha "Sam"
Smith performs on horseback are ones that
most people couldn't even do on solid, steady
ground. Perhaps that's why the Saratoga
resident is part of an elite group of
competitors heading to Spain this September
to participate in the World Equestrian Games.
Her particular brand of equitation is
vaulting, which involves doing gymnastics
while riding on the back of a cantering
horse. It's like second nature to Sam,
according to her mother, Sue Scherf-Smith,
who says her daughter was practically born in
the saddle.
"It was a natural thing; she has been riding
a horse since she could walk," recalls
Scherf-Smith, who vaulted in her youth and
participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics in
Los Angeles, where vaulting was a
demonstration sport at the time. She has
since shared her equine interest with both
Sam and younger daughter Tammy, 10, both of
whom began riding as toddlers.
"I played on my pony even when I didn't have
anyone teaching me. I used to take my pony
and go on trails, and the Garrod's was on one
of my trails," Sam recalls of her childhood
growing up at Chez Scherf Pony Farm - named by
her grandfather, Ed Scherf. The Garrod
property to which she refers is nearby Garrod
Farms Riding Stables, a longtime Saratoga
fixture at 22600 Mt. Eden Road.
Despite her mother's initial reservations,
Sam was vaulting by the age of 6, under the
guidance of coach Emma Garrod Drinker. "I was
concerned about her being on a team so young.
But they treated her with kid gloves. I was
the problem, not her!" Scherf-Smith says,
chuckling.
A student at West Valley Gymnastics - former
stomping grounds of Olympian Amy Chau - from
age 3 through 14, Sam says that gymnastics is
an important prerequisite for anyone who
wants to excel at vaulting. Her current
classes in ballet and jazz dance are also a
benefit.
"I like vaulting because it's like a lot of
sports combined," says Sam, who practices
five days a week and also works out at a gym.
"It has the grace of gymnastics or ice
skating, and it has the fun and speed of
horseback riding."
Among the many graceful moves vaulters do are
one- and two-footed stands, cartwheels,
handstands, flips and positions known as
"mill," "flag" and "scissors." There are also
various ways to mount and dismount a
cantering horse.
"When you try a new move, you have to
practice it, just like in gymnastics. Then it
becomes like riding a bike," Sam explains
matter-of-factly. "You have to learn how to
fall properly, too. When you fall off a horse
in vaulting, you usually just land on your
feet."
In all her years of vaulting, Sam has only
sustained one serious injury, which happened
this past June during a demonstration. She
was dismounting via a backflip and landed on
a patch of the arena that was especially
hard. She broke her left foot and was advised
by a doctor to stop vaulting for two years.
Thanks to Sam's own determination, her young
body's healing ability and her mother's skill
as a physical therapist and physical
education teacher, Sam was back in the saddle
in a month and amazed her doctor at how fast
her foot was healing.
Not a moment too soon, as she will be joining
a small group of American women and men at
the World Equestrian Games at Jerez de la
Frontera, Spain, Sept. 10-22. Compulsory
exercises (Sam's favorite) as well as a
freestyle routine, called " kür, "
comprise the event. To qualify as a
representative of the United States,
Scherf-Smith explains, Sam had to earn a high
number of points in a series of vaulting
competitions, called selection trials, held
all over the country.
Another hurdle for Sam was in obtaining a
horse and getting it to Spain. Her favorite
horse at her family's stables - a patient,
friendly Percheron-Appaloosa cross named
Cami - is too inexperienced to go to the
event, and the horse Sam had been "borrowing"
during her selection trials went lame. One of
her teammates, a young man from Colorado,
came to her rescue by offering one of his
horses.
Whatever happens at the international
competition, Sam will still be returning to
Saratoga for her senior year at Saratoga High
School, where she is a member of the track
and field team. Upon graduation, she'll
attend West Valley College for a time and
continue to join her mother as a vaulting
coach and teacher at Chez Scherf Pony Farm.
Eventually, Sam predicts, her love of working
with children will lead her to obtain a
teaching credential and a job as an
elementary school teacher. She also predicts
that her sister, Tammy, will vault into fame
of her own within a few years. And
Scherf-Smith couldn't be more proud.
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