HomeWhat is vaulting?

Vaulting is an equestrian sport and is most easily described as gymnastics performed on a moving horse going on a circle line, in full harmony.

At the start vaulting is a team sport, later on individual vaulting becomes more interesting.

A competition vaulting team is composed of six vaulters and one alternate vaulter, one lounger and one horse. The horse canters on the left hand around a circle of a minimum diameter of 15 m. At individual vaulting the vaulter, the lounger and the horse are one unit.

Both the individuals and the team vaulters have to show two partsin a competition: the compulsory test and the free test. Those individual vaulters who manage to achieve the second round of a tournament have to show additional the technical test and a second free test.

At Championships (World or Continental) separate competitions for men only and for women only must be organised. In the team vaulting competition, male and female vaulters may compete together. Pas-de-deux competitions (which are not part of championships) are composed of two vaulters.

The social aspects of the sport are, especially for youngsters, of very big importance. Team Vaulting combines, in a near perfect fashion, the feeling of togetherness (everybody has to rely on the other and on the horse, a strong individuality is not possible), willpower (a weak performance affects the whole group), and a healthy ambition to be better then other groups, without having the possibility to compensate for its own weakness by being rude or aggressive to the opponents.

Germany Junior Team 2005 - Italy 2005


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