Saratoga News
News
No horsin' around for Mt.Eden--they take their vaulting seriously
By Shannon Burkey
It takes tremendous strength and agility to hold another person on your shoulders while standing atop a galloping horse, but athletes in the sport of vaulting make it look effortless.
Saratoga's Mt. Eden Vaulting Club will host about 200 vaulters from across the country May 19-20 in the season's first national equestrian vaulting competition at Garrod Farms' annual May Fest.
"Vaulting is a sport that is known as gymnastics on a horse and sometimes dancing on a horse," said Marianne Rose, editor of Vaulting World Magazine and a coach at Mt. Eden Vaulting Club. "It's the basis for all equestrian sports. It's how soldiers were taught to fight in old Roman times."
For those looking to become familiar with the sport, the Bay Area is the right place to be.
"The greater Bay Area is the heart and soul of vaulting in this country," Rose said. "It originated in Germany and was brought to this country about 50 years ago. Santa Cruz was the first place it was brought to, and when competitions started in this country all the judges lived in the Santa Cruz area."
The two-day May Fest event will include individual and team competitions with levels ranging from experienced adults to tiny tots and disabled vaulters. Saturday's competition will be top-level vaulters from as far away as the East Coast, while Sunday will be more of the local and lower-level vaulters.
"This sport is very unique because it is not judged on how high, how fast or how far, but on how well the human and the equine work together," Rose said. "The vaulters use the power of the horse to make their moves bigger and better."
Although Germany is still considered the powerhouse of vaulting, where every community has a government-subsidized club, it's a sport that is quickly growing throughout the United States.
Mt. Eden Vaulting Club has been operating for 25 years and there are 10 other clubs in the Bay Area.
The Mt. Eden club has accomplished some amazing feats in the world of vaulting. In August 2006, Saratogan Megan Benjamin, 18, won the gold medal at the world vaulting championship in Germany, becoming the first American woman to hold the title. For the previous 20 years, a German woman had worn the crown.
A Mt. Eden team of vaulters also took second place in the team competition, the highest an American team has ever placed.
"The Germans dominate the sport in every way, but we have medaled at every single world vaulting championship we have entered," Rose said.
Although Benjamin is taking a hiatus from competition, several members of the world championship team will compete in the May Fest competition.
"It is truly an amazing sport," Rose said. "Sometimes we have to keep reminding people that we are a horse sport. Sometimes people don't think we are because we don't wear helmets and boots, we wear spandex. But we are a sport and we are growing."
Garrod Farms Spring Classic and May Fest equestrian vaulting competition will take place on May 19-20 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Garrod Farms, 22647 Garrod Road. Admission and parking are free.
