Vaulting instructors brought young disabled children into the center ring, and the youngsters showed what they had been learning. One little girl was placed onto a horse, and with a little bit of help and absolutely no fear, rotated her body, switching to side-saddle and then riding backwards on the carefully walking horse. Another smiling girl who was unable to walk suddenly could while she moved on the back of the gently stepping horse.

The children were from Via Rehabilitation Services, a local agency that serves those with physical and developmental disabilities. The proceeds from the challenge benefit Via and its programs.

But, truth be told, Ride the Edge is far from a money-making effort. The Garrods will likely just make a donation to Via instead, event director Marianne Rose says. There just isn't much money in horse vaulting, which is, simply put, gymnastics in harmony with a cantering horse.

And yet crowds gathered at Garrod Farms for the two-day event: athletes and coaches from all over the world, seasoned spectators and folks who were simply curious about a sport that combines horses and back flips.

Entrants flew in from places as varied as Australia, Brazil, Germany and Canada to what is known as the highest level international competition held in the United States. They compete with passion and a genuine love of the sport, and that's their reward, along with any awards and medals they may win along the way.

Ages of competitors range anywhere from about 6 years old--the team competitions require a small, light member, or flyer, who is ideal for performing lifts--to over 30 years old. Each trains extensively for the handstands, flips, lifts and dance demanded by the sport, in addition to learning to move with and react to the horse carrying them. Both human and animal receive scores in competition, so the emphasis is on cooperation and harmony rather than the achievements of the athlete alone.

"Some think that if you have a gymnast, they'll be the best vaulter," says Rose, who has coached at Garrod Farms for several years. "But gymnasts really want the beam or the floor to stay still, and the horse won't. I'll take a dancer over a gymnast. And a horse person--someone who thinks of the horse and knows they need to work with him."

Rebecca Hillman, who competed with the team from Australia, is a horse person who turned to vaulting at age 12. While taking riding lessons on a ranch, she spied some girls learning to vault and thought she'd like to try it. Now 20, Hillman performs as if she's always been a gymnast, but the equestrian enthusiast in her finds that sometimes the horse makes all the difference. Her team had to borrow a horse for the competition and the adjustments the situation required spoke to the sport's challenges.

"They call him 'The Washing Machine,' " Hillman says laughingly of the horse they'd been loaned, "because his back moves in a strange circular motion. We can do our routines on our horse at home without a problem, but this was different--even though he was a good horse."

The team competition that Hillman participates in is what Rose calls the "essence of vaulting," as the event encourages partnership and understanding between teammates. She once taught a boy who was heavy-set, and might have been made fun of by other children. But his vaulting team relied so much on his strength as a base on the horse that they accepted and appreciated him.

The team competition also brings together different age groups, as a mix is conducive to the types of moves needed. The nature of the sport is one of inclusion because it takes so many different cogs to make a successful team.

"This sport is not about strength, but about courage," Rose says. "You do gain strength, but also poise and confidence. Any kid who does it has confidence, because they know they can stand up unafraid on a horse."

Just as successful vaulters have similar personality traits--confidence, cooperative nature, work ethic--so, too, do the horses involved require certain dispositions. Ideal vaulting horses are calm and consistent, and no breed seems preferable to any other. They do extensive cross training and strength training, in addition to plenty of dressage work, which is in essence ballet for horses. This regimen helps the horses respond more favorably to the vaulters' routines. Dressage especially emphasizes a horse's responsiveness to certain subtle commands, which is important to maintaining the grace and beauty of vaulting in motion.

Though the sport often seems dangerous--jumping on and off of cantering horses seems rather daring to most first-time viewers--vaulting actually has the lowest injury rate of any equestrian sport. Sheri Benjamin, whose daughter Megan competes with the Mt. Eden Vaulting Club, says this is so for two reasons--the high level of control over the horses, and the fitness of the athletes.

In vaulting, the horse is attached to a "longe" line, guided and controlled by a skilled, experienced longeur, whereas in other sports including jumping, young children are controlling the horse. In addition, the space is confined, and the ground is carefully prepared with sand and shavings to make it safer for the competitors. Rose says it isn't unusual to spend $5,000 on the competition ground to ensure safety.

And secondly, the athletes are very skilled at falling, curious a skill as that may seem. During competition on June 30, one vaulter dismounted with a bit too much momentum and simply tossed herself into a graceful forward roll to remedy the situation.

"These people are gymnasts; they know how to use different parts of the horse and fall so that they don't get hurt," Benjamin said.

In fact, Hillman has never had an injury in eight years of vaulting. Her teammate Charlotte Aplin has had two injuries thus far, but both, Aplin says, were related to gymnastics and not vaulting.

"You just get heaps of bruises," Hillman said with a good-natured grin.

Horse vaulting is only beginning to take off as a sport in the United States. Vaulting can be traced back centuries across the Atlantic--it is especially popular in Germany, where children who learn to ride are taught vaulting simultaneously. Several American clubs travel to Europe to compete in their high-level championships, though as Americans they are not eligible to win. Due to the widespread appreciation for the sport abroad, international travel has become necessary for U.S. vaulters, who often stay with other vaulters' families rather than in hotels during competitions.

"It's almost like our own exchange program," said Benjamin, who hosted a few Ride the Edge competitors. "The horse vaulting community is like a family."

That family should be getting even bigger. With the growing number of Americans who excel at the sport comes a heightened level of interest in horse vaulting, both competitive and recreational. The start of it all in the U.S. can be traced to Elizabeth Searle, who witnessed the sport in Europe and resolved to teach it in California. Searle began instructing in Santa Cruz County in the 1950s, and then co-founded the American Vaulting Association in 1966 with J. Ashton Moore.

Searle and Moore were both present at the Ride the Edge Challenge--Searle was part of the President Appeals Committee, while Moore was one of the four competition judges. Emma Garrod Drinker, head coach of the Mt. Eden club, is widely regarded as the best coach in the country and was the longeur for several competitors over the weekend. Devon Maitozo, who is notable for his skill and his use of theatrical aspects in his routines, competed at Ride the Edge. He is a multiple winner at nationals and has several international wins to his credit. Many members of the Garrod family participated, whether as competitors or organizers, showing the family's unwavering support for the sport and its possibilities.

"Saratoga has the crème de la crème of coaches, vaulters and judges," Rose says.

Outside of horse vaulting, the Ride the Edge Challenge featured a number of attractions. Several spectators, children especially, roamed the expansive stables to admire other horses, while Jane Garrod, an accomplished painter, held an art show of her own work. Many visited the Cooper-Garrod Vineyard and Winery or had picnics in between competitions.

"This is Saratoga at its finest," Rose said.