club reports page 4 - american vaulting5 marissa hamar, showtime 6.862 silver men 1steven bertling,...

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN VAULTING ASSOCIATION

11845 SKYLINE BLVD., LOS GATOS, CA 95033 www.americanvaulting.org FEBRUARY 2003

CLUB REPORTS page 4

Mt. Tabor - Region IX

Oak Hills Fun Fest - Region I

Bee Creek - Region IV

Pacific Coast - Region II

Redwing - Region III

Photos: courtesy respective clubs

2 February 2003Vaulting World

FUNDRAISING

AVA High PointWinners - 2002Gold Women1 Pam Geisler, Diamond Bar 8.2852 Samantha Smith, Pacific Coast 8.2093 Jill Main, Woodside 8.2084 Megan Benjamin, Mt. Eden 8.1645 Julie Keville,Tambourine 8.038Gold Men1 Maitozo, Devon F.A.C.E. 8.7122 Geisler, Kenneth Diamond Bar 8.5033 Martonovich, Erik GoldenGate8.4604 Dahlgren, Blake F.A.C.E. 8.3455 Matsumoto, Adrian F.A.C.E. 7.722Silver Women1 Florence Rubinger, Tambourine 7.0412 Stephanie Freedman, Mt. Eden 7.0223 Emily Gleason, North Wind 6.9404 Brittany Dutra, Mt. Eden 6.8875 Marissa Hamar, Showtime 6.862Silver Men1 Steven Bertling, Pinto Ranch 6.7522 Sean Keville, Tambourine 6.406Bronze Women1 Alyssa Woodman, Mt Eden 6.2662 Monique Corralez, Coast Line 6.2113 Brittany Fair, Pacific Coast 6.1234 Hannah Boyd, Mt Eden 6.0885 Kenna McKenzie, Mt Eden 6.028Bronze Men1 Eric Garcia, Tambourine 5.8062 Joel Gordon, NuBalance 4.985Trot Women1 Sara Jennings, Valley View 5.7232 Fallon Klug, Agape 5.6983 Cassidy Palmer, Kings Mtn 5.6864 Janna Jarvis, Pinto Ranch 5.4335 Kelly Williams, Pinto Ranch 5.411Trot Men1 Luke Lovell, Valley View 5.4942 Patrick Stevens, Tambourine 5.1883 Cosmo Nims, Morning Star 4.879

Congratulations!

Don’t forget about the AVA AnnualMeeting in Lexington, Kentucky on Feb-ruary 27 to March 2, 2003. You can stillregister (see Vaulting World December,pages 4-5). Find out how the AVA runs, par-ticipate in committee meetings, voiceYOUR concerns, network with other vault-ing enthusiasts, visit with friends.

Update: The schedule for Sunday hasbeen changed. The Committee Reviewmeeting (Sheri Benjamin) will be held onFriday at 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm. The Execu-tive Board meeting is TBA. The USET willhold an open forum to answer your ques-tions from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. The openUSET Vaulting Committee meeting willbe held from 10:45 am - 12 pm. The Thera-peutic Vaulting Committee will be at 10:45am - 12:00 pm, Athlete’s Council, and Re-gions Meetings will be held from 12 pmuntil 1:30 pm. For info., contact NaomiTakemoto at 831/462-6783, [email protected].

If you are not attending, you may stillparticipate donating to the auction or by tak-ing a sponsorship. Send auction donationpledges and/or sponsorships to CarolBeutler, 2780 Goodwin Ave., RedwoodCity, CA 94601 or mail donations directlyto the Four Points Sheraton, 193 StandonWay, Lexington KY 40511. Attention: Holdfor American Vaulting Assn. All donationsare deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Do you need help with any aspect of your vaulting program — management, equip-ment, training, horse management, safety, even creative inspiration? If so, sendyour request to Vaulting World, Help Wanted, [email protected]. TheApril and June issues will have a FREE Help Wanted (as space allows) section.Keep your requests to four sentences or less.

AVA High Point Q&A

What was your mostsuccessful fundraisingeffort?

The April and June issues ofVaulting World will feature YOURanswers to the above question. Sharewith the rest of the vaulting commu-nity your big hit — the one that putyour club over the top financially. Letus in on your secrets for successfulfundraising events. Show us howmuch work it took to get those bucks!Let us suffer with you as you tellabout your angst and anguish tryingto maintain your program in a lessthan positive economic climate. Didyou cash in with little fundraisers likecandy sales, car washes, bake salesor big fundraisers like auctions, rafflesor ??? — we want to know.

Annual Meeting

Help Wanted?

Help Offered?Can you help with any aspect of vaulting — administration, vaulter or horse train-ing, equipment resources, competition management, enthusiasm maintenance, etc.?If so, send your offer of expertise or time or real goods to Vaulting World, HelpOffered, [email protected]. The April and June issues will have aFREE Help Offered (as space allows) section. Please keep your offers to foursentences or less.

Promotion is Everyone’s JobDid you see the December 2002 issue

of Equestrian Connection (Pacific HorseAdvertiser)? Page 58 features a reprint ofNancy Steven-Brown’s excellent articleabout sportsmanship. Nancy wrote a new

article called “Vaulting - Harnessing thePower Within” for the December/Januaryissue of USA Equestrian magazine. That’sthe issue with a young endurance rider do-ing a vaulting riding seat on the cover.Congratulations Nancy.

Vaulting World 3 February 2003

Table of Contents

If you have any changes or corrections to your mailing address forVaulting World, are having problems receiving your issues, or wishadditional copies please contact the AVA National Office at 7060Fairfield Business Drive, Fairfield, OH 45014-5480, phone 513/874-7732, fax 513/874-3229, email: [email protected] mailing lists are generated by the National Office and extra cop-ies of Vaulting World are kept at the National Office.Vaulting World is published by the American Vaulting Association.Mail all submissions for publication to: Vaulting World, 11845 Sky-line Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95030, or 201 Bear Oaks Court, Martinez,CA 94553-9753.2003-2003 Deadlines are: March 7 for publication April 1; April 30for publication June 1, June 30 for publication August 1, August 31for publication October 1; October 31 for publication December 1,December 31 for publication February 1, 2004.Vaulting World classified ads are $5 each for three or four lines. Dis-play ad rates are $12 per column inch, $100 for one third page, $115for one half page and $200 for full page. Submit information andcheck payable to “AVA” and mail to Vaulting World, 11845 SkylineBlvd., Los Gatos, CA 95033.No part of this publication may be reproduced either in whole or partwithout written permission. Bulk rate postage paid at Cupertino, CA.To subscribe: Affiliate AVA Memberships are $30 (+$15 for first classpostage) domestic, $55 foreign, payable annually in U.S. funds drawnon a U.S. bank. Copyright by American Vaulting Association 2003.

Editor: Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

Proofed by Katie Dalby 703/754-0118, [email protected] by Roberts Press 408/255-3937

AVA High Point Winners 2002 ..............................2

Life in the Last Lane, Nancy Stevens-Brown.........3

2002 Club Reports .................................................4

Region I ...........................................................4

Region II .........................................................6

Region III ...................................................... 11

Region IV ......................................................12

Region IX ......................................................15

Region X .......................................................20

Hawaii ...........................................................21

Foreign ..........................................................21

Region IV Grows Membership

Noel Martonovich .........................................22

Taking Your Horse to the Next Level

Kate Flannigan .............................................23

Nationals Update .................................................24

Letter to the Editor

Noel and Yossi Martonovich .........................24

Can I Have Your Coach? Kristy Flemming .........25

AVA Membership Form .......................................26

AVA Directory .....................................................27

Calendar of Vaulting Events ................................28

Nancy Stevens-BrownAs we launch into 2003 and the

upcoming vaulting season, oncemore the focus is on our membervaulting clubs with the annual ClubReport Issue. For me the annual re-ports were always fun to write andeven more entertaining to read.

I founded my club, Timberline,in 1972 and then coached throughtwo and half decades of rollercoaster excitement before finallyhanging up my whip. I thrilled tothe trials, tribulations, and elationsthat are inherent with being a partof a vaulting club. It is a fact that

Life In the Last Lane

Timberline vaulters — for better or worse — shaped me intowho I am today. (We will talk to Freud, Dr. Laura and JudgeJudy about that later!) I had the unshakable certainty that myclub was exceptional! I believed that I had the best kids, finesthorses, and most wonderful opportunities. I wanted to think thatTimberline exclusively held the key to vaulting success, fun,and pride. Yet, no sooner did I retire from club manager, then Ibecame the oft-traveling clinician and promptly discovered thatthough my club had owned my heart, many others could ace myenthusiasm! Some were diamonds in the rough, but all clubshad something inspiring to share. I thought I had experiencedthe last of club spirit until I found myself connected to so manymore. Each brought distinctive and special feelings that I oncereserved exclusively for the “purple people” of Timberline.

It had been easy to base team pride and success on a feelingof separateness, yet discovering that all clubs are more alike thandifferent has been a real victory for me. Every club broadensand adds to the strength and character of our organization. Mycountless club recollections were of competitive victories, life-long friends, and travel. My newest memories involve surpris-ingly simple things: funny stories (I’ll tell you about CabbageHat sometime); charming vaulters (too numerous to ever list);and amazing creativity (most recently the entire Mt. Tabor Cteam brought us all to tears!) I have a passion for impromptugreatness and artistry, and everywhere in America I find talentedclubs with enthusiastic members capable of continually surpris-ing and amazing me. The elation of the creation makes theseextraordinary lessons as unforgettable as any blue ribbon I everwon with my own team. I admit that it took me fifty-five yearsto appreciate that we are truly all alike and that everyone enjoysthe same things.

I thought at last I was free from the vaulting fast lane, but Ifind now that life in this last lane is more fun than ever before!So, though I thought I was through with club pride when I re-tired, I enjoy the feeling of being connected to so many differentclubs. There is no doubt that the most fun and rewarding clubaffiliation ever is the one I now embrace with all of you through-out the AVA. Vault on!


2002 AVA Club ReportsRegion IArizona, Southern California, SouthernNevada, Utah. Regional Supervisor:Connie Geisler 909/[email protected]

BARRONSGATE VAULTING CLUB3583 TRIUNFO CANYON ROAD, AGOURA, CA91301, PHONE: 818/865-0510, COACH: PATTILITTMAN, REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED:2001, COLORS: BLACK/WHITE/GREY/TEAL

DIAMOND BAR COUNTRY VAULTERS2132 INDIAN CREEK ROAD, DIAMOND BAR,CA 91765-3345, PHONE: 909/861-1564EMAIL: [email protected]: GOLIATH (BELGIAN/QUARTER),SNICKERS (BELGIAN); MISS BABS (BEL-GIAN), SUGAR (WELSH/ARAB), SUGAR(WELSH/ARAB), COACH: CONNIE GEISLER,REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED: 1989COLORS: RED/GOLD/BLACK

F.A.C.E. VAULTING CLUB, INC.

Devon Maitozo,Coach of FACEvaulters, is featuredwith Pam Geisleron the cover of the“other” vaultingmagazine.

HAPPY HEARTS VAULTERS4003 ACTON AVE., ACTON, CA 93510-1919PHONE: 661/269-8363EMAIL: [email protected]: MACARONI (HALFLINGER/BELGIAN), HEART FULL OF JOY (CLYDES-DALE), BEAUTIFUL BELLE (SHIRE/QH)COACH: SUZY GRISSOM, REGION: I, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1998, COLORS: PURPLE/RED

JONI FITT’S SCHOOLOF HORSEMANSHIPBOX 1765, CAVE CREEK, AZ 85327-1765PHONE: 480/488-9680, HORSES: BOBBI,MCGEE “WAFFLE” (BELGIAN), COACH: JONIFITTS, REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED: 2001

LOMPOC VAULTERS3765 MIGUELITO CANYON ROAD, LOMPOC,CA 93436-9743, PHONE: 805/736-4420EMAIL: [email protected]: APPLE(QH/PAINT), O.H. ERIN TURA(CONNEMARA/TB), COACH: JEANNIEBEATTIE, REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED:1976, COLORS: BLACK/GREEN/TEAL

M.A.R.E. (MASTERING ABILITIESRIDING EQUINE)18200 JOHNSON RD., BAKERSFIELD, CA93312, PHONE: 661/589-1877EMAIL: [email protected]: PENNY (QH), MRS. BEEZLEE(PERCHERON/MORGAN), CHARLIE (AMERI-CAN CREAM), COACH: DEBORAH FRENCHDURKAN, REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED:2001, COLORS: BLUE/RED/WHITE

OAK HILLS VAULTERS830 N 250 W, PROVO, UT 84604,PHONE: 801/356-1012EMAIL: [email protected]: JELLYBEAN (ARABIAN),SUNCHASER (ARABIAN), KADENZA(OLDENBURG/QH), K-D (STDBRED/QH), LILY(CLYDSDALE), PEPPER (SHIRE/PERCHERON),PAL (QH), KINGSTON (TB), RILEY (TB)COACH: KRISTY FLEMING, REGION: IFIRST REGISTERED: 1996,COLORS: BLUE/GOLD/WHITE

grew to 35 vaulters by the end of April and hit ourhigh point of 52 vaulters in August. Some people mayask how we came to have so many vaulters. Well,performing in five parades, the Utah State Fair, hav-ing two recital performances, doing three newspaperarticles, and hosting our first competition for the OakHills Vaulters paid off! Most of vaulting is word-of-mouth, but why not invite the entire community ev-ery time you have a performance!

None of the vaulters at Oak Hills had ever beento a competition so Region I Championships was agreat eye-opener for them. We took 15 vaulters, threehorses, and lots of nervous people! Our wonderfullittle Arabian, Jellybean came up ill the day beforeand did not go well during the first round. The pre-canter vaulters learned about the wonderful generos-ity of other clubs and horses. Thank you to Tina Dyerfor lounging Lompoc’s Erin Tura for them. My vault-ers came home with smiles instead of tears. The walkand trot vaulters had great rounds on Sunchaser, andCharlie followed through with the other pre-canter andBronze vaulters. It was great to see all the vaultingfriends I had made growing up in California on Starlite,Diamond Bar, and The Showtime Vaulters of DG BarRanch. There is something about vaulting that keepsyou coming back for more.

Sunchaser started to get a bone splint afterregionals and had to be given a very long break. Shehad a good four months off to just relax and enjoy thesummer. This was hard on the team because we didn’thave another good trot horse. I started looking aroundfor possibilities and found Pal, a very short QuarterHorse type pony, owned by one of our vaulting par-ents. Pal is doing great and will be really good for the2003 competition season.

During June we performed in three parades! Wesecured the barrel on the back of a trailer and the vault-ing horse walked behind. It was a great way to publi-cize this wonderful sport. We collected a few morevaulters and lots of smiles and handed out over 350flyers about horse vaulting!

Not every vaulter can afford to travel to Califor-nia to compete or show off their moves, so we had afundraising recital for the community and vaulters.We charged $5 a carload and made quilts to raffle off.It was a wonderful experience to see the vaulters shineand show their parents that they could really stand onthe back of a moving horse. The greatest joy in vault-ing is seeing a young face light up before an audienceof parents and friends. They truly shine. We used themoney to help transport our horse to Nationals.

Drawing by Becky Tidwell

Kenny Geisler of Diamond Bar on GoliathPhoto: Eric Jewett

2182 TIERRA ROJADA RD., MOORPARK,CA 93021, PHONE:805/529-4266EMAIL: [email protected]:MOZART (WB),SHAKESPEARE(IRISH DRAFT),MARSHALL (TB/PERCHERON),BALANCHINE(OLDENBURG)COACH: DEVONMAITOZOREGION: IFIRST REGISTERED:1994, COLORS:SILVER/BLACK/RED

Kristy FlemmingThe Oak Hills

Vaulters had an awe-some year! The smallteam of eight vaulters,two horses, and nocoach has explodedinto 37 vaulters, twoAVA competitions,eight vaulting horses,and myself as the newcoach.

We started 2002off with eight wonder-ful vaulters and twogreat Arabian horses:Jellybean and Sun-chaser. In March I quitmy normal job to tryand expand horsevaulting in Utah. We Oak Hills’ Sunchaser


2002 AVA Club Reportsolder Bronze level vaulters were the judges and I madescore sheets of our own. We had planned on the com-petition lasting about four hours, but seven hours laterwe had the awards ceremony. My main goal was tohave every vaulter win a ribbon in every class theyentered. After the day was done I sat down and sheda few tears, both of exhaustion and joy. Now every-one had a vaulting ribbon to hang on their wall. It wasa great day.

In September we started our second vaulting lo-cation in Mapleton, Utah. I gave a clinic for a USPony Club camp and had a lot of interest in this area.So we now have two horses and seven vaulters at thislocation. Riley and Kingston are both very good can-ter horses and learned quickly about what vaulters doon their backs. Kingston is a good possibility for ourC-team Kür and Riley will be wonderful forcompulsories. They are both registered Thorough-breds, but Kingston is 17.2 and quite large. We arereally looking forward to their future as vaultinghorses. These vaulters are learning very quickly andare even going to compete this year. One of my goalsin life is to teach vaulting in every city that I live in soevery child can experience it. So far so good!

It is now the start of a new year and new ideas.In November Anna Tidwell bought us a Percheron/Shire mare to train for vaulting, and Mary Ann Fordfound us a 17.1 Clydesdale name Lily! We had C-team and Trot team tryouts before Christmas. We areso excited for this year’s competition season and hopeto make a lot of new vaulting friends. I have alwaystalked highly of the vaulting community and howfriendly everyone is, so if a blue and gold vaultercomes walking up to you with a smile, they are prob-ably on a quest to know every person in the vaultingworld! I think the people are what keeps me comingback for more.

I would be so ungrateful if I didn’t thank our num-ber one supporter here in Utah, Mary Ann Ford. With-out her generosity there would be no vaulting. MaryAnn lets us use her facility and horses at no cost andeven traded two of her mares on a feeding lease to getus Lily, the Clydesdale. We use her trailers and arenaall the time and always have vaulters running aroundthe barn and getting into things. Thank you, MaryAnn, for all your help in making these vaulting dreamscome true for so many children and especially for me.You are truly an inspiration and strength to us all.

Remember, there is now vaulting in the SpanishFork, Salt Lake area of Utah. So if you are ever aroundor just passing through, we would love to host you fora day or help in any way we can. We can have a clinicarranged in days if you would like to teach, or if youare on vacation and just want to keep practicing, thelights are always on in our indoor arena. Happy vault-ing everyone!!!

SHOWTIME VAULTERS OFDG BAR RANCH4597 AVE 272, VISALIA, CA 93277, PHONE:559/684-8568, EMAIL:[email protected], HORSES: FALCON (DUTCHWB), GUCCI (DUTCH WB), PARADOX (DUTCHWB), COACH: LESLIE HAMAR, REGION: I,FIRST REGISTER-ED: 1996, COLORS: PURPLE/GOLD/BLACKLeslie Hamar

The year 2002 was one of the most exciting, in-teresting, and challenging years for Showtime. Oursummer passed quickly as we trained several horses

Kylynn James, Kristy Flemming, KortniWright at a demonstration on Cadenza.

Photo: courtesy Kristy Flemming

We gained another vaulting horse about this time.K-D is a Quarter Horse/Standardbred that used to hatevaulting. I grew up with her, riding in the fields ofHanford, California. She finally accepted vaultingand has become a good individual canter horse. Withthe team growing so fast we were becoming desper-ate for horses. We also started using Cadenza, awarmblood owned by our longeur.

Nationals was totally awesome! We took fourBronze vaulters and Charlie as our canter horse. ToddGriffiths placed second overall in the Men’s Bronzedivision and our ladies did outstandingly consideringthat Charlie was giving them some bucks in Kür. See-ing all the large and great vaulting horses made themlong for the perfect vaulting horse. We learned a lotfrom watching and took home many new ideas forKür. Thank you to everyone that made Nationals pos-sible. We can’t wait for this year!

Upon returning from Nationals we found Cadenzawas extremely lame. She had a small puncture woundon her foreleg. We retired her from vaulting, but stilluse her on occasion when other horses need a break.

After Nationals I thought a lot about all the vault-ers at home that didn’t have anything to show for whatthey had done this year. So I decided to host my owncompetition for my 52 vaulters. I made a class signup sheet, ordered 200 ribbons, and set everything upby myself. This is something I will never do againwithout the help of many people! I now understandwhy it takes so long and many headaches to get a com-petition right! In classes from barrel compulsoriesand Bronze Kür to a costume event, 49 vaulters par-ticipated! I set up the arenas like a normal competi-tion complete with judging booths and warm-up are-nas. Classes were just $4 per person and you couldwear anything that was vaulting attire. I even wrotea schedule with longuers, horses, vaulters, and times.

Try having 49 kids in almost every class and re-arranged the horses and times to fit everyone! The

and jumped between competitions and demonstrations.We were once again able to perform our team Kür -for judges comments only — at the Region II Cham-pionships. We did a really good performance and wereable to capture some awesome photos. As Nationalsheralded the end of our summer break things weregoing very well.

Superwomen: Marisa Hamar, Sophia Fisher,Ashlyn DeGroot Photo: courtesy Leslie Hamar

But soon disaster hit. A dismount landed with ashrilling scream. What was supposed to be hurt toesturned out to be a shattered foot. No more vaultingfor me — very bad timing! With three more demon-strations to go, the team pulled it together with helpfrom Steven Bertling, Jackie Bors, and BrittanyFagundes. A huge thanks to them and their parents.They all helped make the demonstrations a success.

Our story does not end there. The week I got mycast off Falcon decided that he too wanted a vacation,however he did not take into consideration that therewas pain and suffering involved. While Falcon washealing, our new and very slow-learning horse Perry,was forced to pick up the slack. Perry has really grownto trust and enjoy vaulting and he loves his girls. Fal-con is now coming back to vaulting and he is betterthen ever — just a little fatter.

Our team has learned so much through these dif-ficult times. When I broke my foot we could not un-derstand why and how it happened. The only thingwe can speculate is that the accident was due to badfooting. But we know why it happened. Looking back,things that seem to be bad at first, can end up being ablessing. My being unable to vault allowed other teammembers, especially Sophia and Marisa, to take myspot. It brought out and built up hidden courage. Itmade them take on a challenge and conquer it. Somany of you helped our team and we really appreci-ate it. A huge thank you to everyone for your friend-ship and support. God bless you in the new year.

SPIRIT VAULTING CLUB13081 BEAVER ST., SYLMAR, CA 91342-2512PHONE: 818/364-1345, EMAIL:[email protected], HORSES:SUNNY (PAINT), INDI (APPY/DRAFT),SUMMER (BELGIAN), COACHES: A. BLUESILL, RON SILL, REGION: I, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 1994, COLORS: BLACK/WHITE/TEAL

(Continued)


2003 AVA Club Reports(Spirit Vaulting Club continued)Ron Sill

Alas, we’re not doing any competitive vaultingat this time. Due to a number of moves (two sincespring) and nowhere suitable to longue a horse wehave not recruited any new competitive vaulters.

Fortunately that doesn’t mean we haven’t beenout spreading the word about the wonderful benefitsof vaulting for people of all ages and abilities. Apartfrom the gratification of working with two wonderfulyoung autistic girls we are growing our Vaulting forRider Improvement program.

For many years we have used the horse trainingtechniques refined by Pat Perelli. Recently we formedan affiliation with a Parelli endorsed instructor, PatMitchell, who recognizes the benefits of vaulting asher students prepare to ride their level one and twotrained horses in harmony and with fluidity. In De-cember we gave a four-hour clinic during one of Pat’sadvanced level two classes to rave reviews. Many ofher students stood on their horses for “show and tell”at the end of the day. Several students overcame con-siderable fear to stand on a moving horse (with thehelp of a skilled neck base — our daughter Caitlyn).

Plans for the future include more classes and clin-ics of this type with the hope that we’ll inspire peopleto move on to competing. We miss seeing our friendsat competitions and hope that we will soon return thecompetitive circle.

Best wishes for the new year.

THE PINTO RANCH VAULTING TEAM33780 BRIGGS RD., MENIFEE, CA 92584PH: 909/926-1634, EMAIL: [email protected]: VANCOUVER (HANNOVERIAN),HENRIETTA (MORGAN/QH), MISTY (PAINT)COACH: MARTINA S. DYER, REGION: I,FIRST REGISTERED: 1998COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/WHITE

Vancouver Photo: Eric Jewett

Valley View Trot Team at Nationals

THE RIDING ACADEMY30300 GARBANI RD, MENIFEE, CA 92584PHONE: 909/301-9272HORSES: HUTCH (FOXTROTTER),COACHES: SARAH & ROY HILLREGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED: 2001COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/BLACK

VALLEY VIEW VAULTERS11295 ORCAS AVE., LAKE VIEW TERRACE, CA91342, PHONE: 818/302-0153EMAIL: [email protected]: GYPSY (PERCHERON), DAN(PERCHERON),PHANTOM (DWB), BABE(BELGIAN), COACH: RICK HAWTHORNEREGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED: 1981COLORS: MAROON/WHITE/BLACK

Photo: Eric Jewett

Region IINorthern California, Northern Nevada.Regional Supervisor: Teresa Keville707/795-2822, [email protected]

CANYON VIEW VAULTERS1090 SHADOWBROOK WAY, #23,PARADISE, CA 95969, PHONE: 530/877-3782EMAIL: [email protected]: PICASSO (PAINT), SHAMU (SHIRE)COACH: KRISTIN FRANCO, REGION: II, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2000, COLORS: PURPLE/REDDanielle and Megan Grove

Our club is down to four members this year andwe are still struggling to find a full time coach. Allthe girls plan to move up to novice canter this year.

Rebecca Overton from the Paint Horse Jounaldid an article on Picasso (as a registered Paint) andvaulting. The resulting article just came out in theJanuary issue and is very well done with great colorphotos. We've already been getting phone calls frominterested people in the Chico area who have seen thearticle. I hope it helps our membership.

COAST LINE VAULTERS158 TOWNE TERR., SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060PHONE: 831/458-9031, EMAIL: [email protected], HORSES: DESIGNER SOCKS(HANNOVARIAN), HUNTER (DUTCH WB),JULIET (PERCHERON), COACH: KATARIINAALONGI. LINSEY RANDALL, REGION: II,FIRST REGISTERED: 1999, COLORS: ROYALBLUE/TEAL/WHITE

The Art of Working Vaulting HorsesKatariina Alongi

One of the main focuses of any vaulting club isto keep its horses in the best possible shape for vault-ing. At Coast Line we not only have a training plan

Melissa Airas rides Juliet. Photo: courtesy Coast Line

Jeannie BeattieAn 18 hand chestnut with a heart of gold — that’s

Vancouver. With a great exhibition of sportsmanshipand generosity he was offered by Martina Dyer forDevon Maitozo of FACE to win Nationals whenDevon’s horse was excused. The first time this oc-curred was at the Nationals in Santa Barbara, Califor-nia in 2000. Vancouver not only carried Devon, butthe entire Barronsgate team to championships. Thisyear Vancouver also carried Pam Geisler of DiamondBar and Steven Bertling of Pinto Ranch. Vancouverwas the only horse to carry three national championsat Livermore!

Martina Dyer of Pinto Ranch is the talented per-son who trained Vinegaroon (Pacific Coast), Marshall(FACE), O.H. Erin Tura (Lompoc) and Vancouver(Pinto Ranch). Hats off to Martina and Vancouver.

WIND DANCE VAULTERSPO BOX 148, TOQUERVILLE, UT 84774PHONE: 435/635-3006EMAIL: [email protected]: ROSIE (MORGAN), COACH: KEMVESTAL, REGION: I, FIRST REGISTERED:1998, COLORS: TOURQUOISE/TEAL/SILVERKem Vestal

2002 was a great year for Wind Dance vaulters.Jeannette our only vaulter at the moment, tried toattend as many competitions as possible, but she is ajunior in high school and has begun the search forscholarships. Her ultimate goal is to become an Emer-gency Room physician. The process is very time con-suming and exhausting and has caused Jeannette tomake some difficult choices. She had to miss the Val-ley View competition — one we have always enjoyedin the past.

We did attend Region I and Region II Champion-ships. Both events were fun and successful. Jeannettehas worked with Kate Levenstein and her family forthe past few years on Valley View composite teamsand this year was no different. Two-phase events andbarrel doubles are always fun. When you are workingwith best friends, it is even better. Thanks to Rick,the Levensteins and anyone else who helped with in-put, advice and suggestions.

Even with all the other things going on this fall,we attended the wonderful National Championshipcompetition in Livermore, California. The camara-derie between vaulters, teams, coaches and parentswas obvious. Jeannette took part in composite teams,as she has in the past, and the experience was great. Itis always fun to see other perspectives on the same

old thing. Missy and Amy from Agape, Alyssa fromNew England Valkyries, Kari and Rebecca from Val-ley View and our Jeannette worked hard under Rickand Virginia’s tutelage. Their two-phase team lookedgreat, worked hard and came away proud of their ac-complishments.

Once again, thanks to all of you who have helped,advised, coached, prodded and counseled this littleol’ team from Utah. At least we are not alone fromthis part of the USA any more - congratulations toOak Hills for all their hard work this year! We lookforward to seeing all of our vaulting friends in 2003!!!


2002 AVA Club Reports

We have three horses at Coast Line and each horseis used in several different ways; one does onlycompulsories, the other team Kür and compulsories,etc. This is taken into account when planning theriding schedule. In an average week each horse worksin vaulting two to three times depending on its workload (team Kür being the hardest). We try to avoidusing a horse two consecutive days for vaulting, andwe never vault on any horse three days in a row (ex-cept at competitions like Nationals).

The days our horses are not vaulting, they getworked under saddle – rain or shine. Working threehorses is a full time job for anybody so therefore thisoperation is definitely a team effort. In fact, we havefour different riders work the horses in dressage andan additional two riders who work the horses only atthe walk.

Our coach Katariina coordinates the riding sched-ule, and also gives riding lessons periodically to allthe riders to ensure that each horse gets worked logi-cally with set goals in mind. Just like the vaulters,each horse has its strong points as well as its weak-nesses, and through weekly communication each riderknows which issues are to be addressed that week.

In addition to talking over the phone and meet-ing at the stables, we keep an exercise diary for eachhorse, in which the riders make short notes concern-ing their ride (or anything else they notice such assmall cuts, etc.). When you have many differentpeople handling your horses, this is the best way tostay on top of what is happening.

In addition to vaulting and dressage our horsesget days off, do some moderate jumping (Socks thinkshe is ready for the Olympics!) and occasionally wetrailer the horses out for a trail ride. We also do in-hand work on the ground and longing without vault-ers. This upcoming year our plan is to take all ourhorses to a couple of dressage competitions!

We believe that the work we put into our horsesand the challenges we give them in riding make themconfident in their “main job” which is vaulting. Italso gives them a longer and healthier life over all.

EVERGREEN VAULTERS9844 PIBROCK LANE, WILTON, CA 95693-9648PH.:916/687-8996, EMAIL:[email protected]: PEARL (PERCHERON), SELBY LANE(BELGIAN), TO THE MAX (TB/PERCHERON),DANNY BOY(BELGIAN X), COACH: BARBARATHOMPSON, REGION: II, FIRST REGISTERED:1992, COLORS: JADE/BLACK/GOLD/WHITE

Katariina rides Socks. Photo: courtesy Coast Line

for the vaulters, but for the horses as well. Our goalis to make our horses better vaulting horses by firstmaking them better dressage horses.

Evergreen vaulters competed on Selby Laneat Garrod’s May Fest. Photo: Eric Jewett

KINGS MOUNTAIN VAULTERS2780 GOODWIN AVE., REDWOOD CITY,CA 94061, PHONE: 650/366-7527, EMAIL:[email protected]: PIXIE (PERCHERON), THUNDER(DRAFT CROSS), COACH: JULIE BEUTLERREGION: II, FIRST REGISTERED: 1999COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/TEAL/YELLOWCarol Beutler

King Mountain Vaulters had a really good year.Our numbers climbed from six vaulters to 15 vault-ers. Thirteen of our vaulters went to Regionals. Itwas the first time for most of them. Parents and vault-ers learned a lot about teamwork and what it takes tomake the vaulting performance a success: loading thetrailer, setting up camp for the day, snacks, braidinghair (human and horse), cleaning stalls, feeding horses,polishing vaulting shoes, cutting ribbons, keeping thebraiding kit organized, practicing on the barrel, allalong with the right mix of fun and rest so we coulddo our best before the judge.

The Kings Mountain Trot Team on PixiPhoto: Eric Jewett

We had our second annual competition in June.Our vaulting arena was ready just in time. Again, allthe parents did their part. Grandma and GrandpaPalmer’s church group and pastor came and mannedthe food booth so the other parents could help with all

the other jobs. We hope that everyone who attendedhad fun.

Eight of our vaulters attended Nationals for thefirst time. We were glad it was close to home for theirfirst time. All we learned attending the Regional com-petitions helped us have a fun and successful time.Everyone came home with at least one ribbon.

We look forward to another new year of vaultingand learning new skills. Thunder is coming alongnicely so we’ll try a little cantering this year too .

LONE OAK VAULTERS8538 BIRUTA AVENUE, ORANGEVALE,CA 95662, PHONE: 916/723-1517EMAIL: [email protected]: BABY HUEY (PERCHERON),MUSTANG SALLY (MUSTANG), BOXER(MUSTANG), COACHES: VICKI CLEARY,SARA CLEARY, REGION: II, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 2003, COLORS: BLACK/GREEN/GOLDSara Cleary

We are hoping for our first year to be a success.So far we have been to two competitions. Our first,Nationals in Livermore, was awesome. It all cametogether with the generosity of other clubs. Goinginto the competition, we were very new, with onlytwo Bronze Medalists — and horseless! My sisterJennifer and I borrowed Northwind’s Charade forcompulsories, and Mt. Tabor’s King for Kür whenLady of Northwind didn’t pass the vet check. We werevery fortunate to have them offered to us. Both horsesworked out perfectly, earning me a second place incompulsories and first in Kür. Without the kindnessof these two clubs and their horses, I might have nevervaulted at Nationals 2002, and won the women’sBronze class. Taking home the National Champion-ship was a great way to start off our season.

Our second competition, Mt Eden’s HalloweenFest, was made possible with the help of Mt Eden’sJack and Pegasus, and Moonlight of Woodside Vault-ers. My little brother, Dillan, made his vaulting debutthere, and took first place in his barrel class!

Photo: courtesy Lone Oak

We are extremely appreciative of all the clubs thathelped us vault and compete this year. Thank you!!!Nu Balance Vaulters played a big roll in contributingto the start of our club, by teaching us to love the sport.My sister and I have vaulted with Nu Balance for thepast three years. Without their annual demonstrationsat the California State Fair, we would never have beenintroduced to the sport of vaulting, which is now asignificant part of our lives. Michelle and KrystalSolorzano taught us the vaulting fundamentals (andthen some) and helped us grow in the sport. The kidsin Nu Balance were our second family for three won-derful years. Our own family, too, has been excep-tionally supportive and has fostered our drive for suc-cess, physically and monetarily.

At this time, our new club has already grown to a(Continued)

Beginners at Lone Oak


2002 AVA Club Reports(Lone Oak continued)

full eight-personteam. Our plan for2003 is to partici-pate in local pa-rades and schoolfunctions, trying tointroduce our sportto the community,while attending asmany competi-tions as possible.We are workinghard to recruityoung athletes astiny tots and trot-ters, too.

Once again,thank you all sovery much foryour contributionsthat have madeLone Oak Vaultersa reality.

Sara Cleary on Mt. Eden’s Jack at Garrod’sSpring Classic Photo: Eric Jewett

MORNING STAR VAULTERS95 SAN MIGUEL WAY, NOVATO, CA 94947PHONE: 415/897-8486EMAIL: [email protected]: BRONSON (BELGIAN), DAISY(BELGIAN/QH), KELLY (BELGIAN/HALF-LINGER), SPARTICUS (PERCHERON), COACH:CAROLYN CONNER, REGION: II, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1999, COLORS: BLUE/WHITECarolyn Conner

2002 was a great year for our club! We not onlyhad lots of fun vaulting but it was our first time everparticipating at Nationals. What started out as a rec-reational club in 1998 with eight kids, a barrel andlots of enthusiasm has turned into a club with 22 mem-bers, eight barrels and four horses!

audience. We laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyedthe exercises that Nancy gave us. Then in February,we attended the Tambourine Barrel Fest. Many of ourvaulters saw their scores much improved since hav-ing the clinic with Nancy!

or vaulters enter just for judge’s comments). JulieKeville offered our horse Bronson to Nu BalanceVaulters to use for A-team Kür. Their horse had comeup lame and after lots of hard work, they were facedwith the possibility of scratching. Bronson had nevercarried a canter team before but all the work that Julieand Pam did on him in the spring made the differenceand he came though quite well — for a trot horse! Inorder for Bronson to carry Nu Balance and not breakthe horse use limit that day, Tambourine vaulters gen-erously lent us their wonderful trot horse, Ruby, formany of our individual trot Kürs. We learned first-hand how vaulting is so much more than just compet-ing. It’s sharing, helping each other and team work.

Because Nationals was practically in our ownbackyard so to speak, we decided we would do it!Morning Star entered 13 vaulters and shared theirhorses with Libby Papp of Bee Creek vaulters fromTexas. Libby also joined Morning Star in a compositeTrot 2-Phase Team. Fortunately our horse, Kelly, re-covered in time to carry our trotters at Nationals. Thiswas Kelly’s first recognized fest ever and we wereholding our breath to see if she would perform welland stay sound. We needn’t have worried becauseshe was great and the trot team Kür actually went waybetter on 15 hand Kelly than on 17.3 hand Bronson!Nu Balance again borrowed Bronson for their A-team.

Directly following Nationals, Nu Balance vault-ers took Bronson and Sparticus to the California Statefair for two weeks of daily demonstrations. SeveralMorning Star vaulters participated with them and hadgreat fun! Sparticus gained lots of experience as wellin front of crowds. For several performances, Nu Bal-ance had a Star Wars theme. Bronson was a stormtrooper and Sparticus was Darth Vader. I think thehorses had as much fun as the vaulters!

Morning Star planned to hold its first fest in Sep-tember but due to conflicting dates and scheduled con-struction on a covered arena, we had to cancel. In placeof a fest, we spent a weekend at Nu Balance’s facilityin Citrus Heights. In appreciation for lending themBronson for Regionals and Nationals, they gave us amost exciting and fun clinic! We concentrated onmoving up to canter from trot. Many of our vaultersmounted at canter for the first time ever and did lotsof team moves with the more experienced and sea-soned Nu Balance team. The girls all slept in a bigtent and got hair weaves by Leticia “Lettie” Solorzano.The boys all slept in an RV and the moms and coachCarolyn slept in beds! On the second day, we triedvaulting on two horses at once (tandem), first side byside and then one behind the other. It was fun tryingnew and different things!

Nancy Stevens-Brown gives Morning Star abarrel clinic at her gym in Soquel.

Photo: courtesy Morning Star

We started the year with a wonderful barrel clinicwith Nancy Stevens-Brown. She taught us so muchabout using our music and space when developingKürs and creating a story to make it interesting to the

including Shari Smith-Mead, a volunteer in theXenophon program. As we exited each vaulter wasawarded a well appreciated bag of candy.

During the spring, Diamond Bar vaulter, PamGeisler, practiced on our horses to prepare for the 2002World Equestrian Games in Spain. She and our as-sistant coach Julie Keville put many hours in onBronson and Daisy. They practiced with our youngvaulters as well. It was wonderful to have Julie andPam setting such wonderful examples.

Our two mares, Daisy and Kelly, both sustainedinjuries and were laid up for many months. In themeantime, we purchased a new horse, Sparticus, ablack Percheron who is not too tall and has a perfectplatform of a back. Bronson and Sparticus carriedthe lessons while Daisy recuperated from her sprainand Kelly from her pulled hamstring. It was a learn-ing experience to train Sparticus who had never be-fore seen vaulting. With lots of praise, patience andcarrots, Sparticus took to vaulting quickly. The vault-ers spent long practices approaching Sparticus at thetrot, one right after the other until he decided weweren’t chasing him and all we wanted to do was trotnext to him. It was great conditioning for the vaultersas well as the horse!

We competed at the Garrod’s Spring Classic inMay with Bronson. We found out that vaulting whenwet and cold isn’t easy! It rained and the vaultershuddled under horse coolers and blankets even in theline up during competition.

Then in early June we had two days of clinicswith Matthias Lang, the Men’s World Championvaulter from France. He worked us on compulsoriesand gave us lots of exercises for improving our heightin scissors and flank. He taught us to keep our weightin our arms and shoulders over the handles in order tocontrol the come-down from those compulsories. Wealso worked on the mill — getting our head and eyesto turn with our leg. He taught some dance moves tothe team as well. He was an inspiration to us becausehe made it look so easy!

Later in June we competed at the Marin-SonomaFair on the barrel. The Fair is always a fun competi-tion because there are exhibits and rides afterwards.

We took 18 vaulters to the Region II Champion-ships in Grass Valley, our biggest attendance to date.We had a full trot team, a novice trot team and twotiny tots. As usual, it was a great fest and we had somuch fun camping and making new friends. We tookBronson for competing and Sparticus for gaining ex-perience in the ‘California Gold’ classes (horses and/

In March wegave a demonstra-tion in WalnutCreek at a fund-raiser to benefit thehandicapped ridingprogram calledXenophon. We werewell received andcould not believehow much applausewe got for even‘easy’ moves! Sev-eral Tambourinevaulters joined us,

Levi Nims waves to theaudience at the Xenothondemonstration.

Photo: courtesy Morning Star

Mountain Springs vaulters practice intandem at the Nu Balance clinic.

Photo: courtesy Mountain Springs


2002 AVA Club ReportsIn October we competed at the Mt. Eden Hal-

loween Fest. About half our team moved up from trotto novice canter at this fest. We actually had an allboys novice canter team on Bronson, an all girls nov-ice canter team on Daisy and a novice trot team onKelly. Everyone had fun, especially those who en-tered the costume class!

In November we had a vaulting fun day at FlyingCloud’s indoor arena. Several moms tried vaulting andhad so much fun that we’ve decided that the next timewe do a fun day we’ll devote a full hour to the parentswho want to try out vaulting. It’ll be lots of fun forthe vaulters to coach their parents.

Morning Star moms Photo: courtesy Morning Star

December has been very wet and since the infa-mous covered arena has yet to materialize, we’ve beenvaulting on barrels indoors.

MT. EDEN VAULTING CLUB11845 SKYLINE BLVD., LOS GATOS, CA 95030PHONE: 408/868-9476EMAIL: [email protected]: PEGASUS(QH), DIPLOMAT (CLEVE-LAND BAY), RUSTY (PERCHERON X),AMADEUS (HANNOVERIAN X), JACK(DUTCH WB), ANDERS (WB), ROSIE(PERCHERON X), CHIPY (DANISH WB),COACH: EMMA DRINKER, REGION: II,FIRST REGISTERED: 1979, COLORS: BLACK/MAROON/WHITE/BLUE/GOLD

Mt. Eden’s B-Team competed on RustyPhoto: Eric Jewett

Marianne RoseThe Mt. Eden Vaulting Club hosted two major

competitions and some clinics. The Garrod’s Fests inthe spring were damp and cold but the Halloween Festin the fall was bright and sunny — go figure! Ourhard-working vaulting parents led by the generous

Garrod family manage to make the work of the coacheseasier every year. Mt. Eden Club President Sheri Ben-jamin has organized and delegated the club membersand jobs to new levels of comfort and joy.

Our A-team tried for selection to the WorldGames. Although they did not make it, the many festsand the extremely high level of competition helpedform this relatively new group into a real team. TheB-team moved up to a new level with improved andsteadier Kürs. Mt. Eden’s head coach and coach ofthe A and B-teams, Emma Drinker traveled to Spainas Chef d’Equipe of the USA Team. Our newest coach,Jandé Kyes has taken kids with less than a year of trotcompetition and formed them into capable, joyouscanter vaulters.

I still keep the trot kids going — or they keep megoing, I don’t know which! Our steady stable of “oldtimers” has been augmented by a new Danishwarmblood. We all have high hopes for him. We willcontinue bringing along new vaulters, coaches, andhorses.

NU BALANCE VAULTERS7668 COOK AVENUE, CITRUS HEIGHTS,CA 95610-2940, PHONE: 916/725-3001HORSES: PROMISE ME (TB); CHAUNCY(DRAFT X), ROMEO (SHIRE),COACH: MICHELLE SOLORZANO, REGION:II, FIRST REGISTERED: 1992, COLORS: PINKCOTTON CANDY/PEARL WHITE

Nu Balance competed on Morning Star’sBronson at the Region II Championships.

Photo: Eric Jewett

PACIFIC COAST VAULTERS230 JOSSELYN LN., WOODSIDE, CA 94062PHONE: 650/851-8825, EMAIL:[email protected]: VAN DYCK (TB/SHIRE), HEROIC(TB), VINNIE (QH), ARMANI (DUTCH WB),GUCCI (DUTCH WB), PICASSO (DUTCH WB),CAMMIE, COACH: SUE SMITH, REGION: II,FIRST REGISTERED: 1998COLORS: BLUE/TEAL/WHITESusan Frankel

We had a very exciting year. Our trot team hadtheir first hands-on competition experience at Region-als. Everyone was assigned daily jobs such as feed-ing, mucking stalls, cleaning tack and tacking up. Theyalso had to practice their compulsories and remember

their Kürs. Our team concluded that Grass Valley wasthe perfect place for Regionals and they all had a won-derful time. We liked the idea of the California Goldclasses (for judge’s comments only).

This was my first year to manage Hospitality forRegionals. I was hesitant at first. My mother, Sydney,(a longtime vaulter mom) said to give it a try. So Itook on the challenge. My helper, cousin Sherie, andI had the best time meeting new people and makingnew friends while getting sodas, water and food tothe judges and office with no problem. So don’t letthe job of hospitality pass you by — it is great.

Our C-Team for Nationals was a composite fromFalconwood in Georgia, Albuquerque in New Mexicoand Pacific Coast in California. It was a wonderfulinteraction between clubs and we made some specialnew friends in “Awesome August”.

In October we did a demonstration at the MenloCircus Club, a private country club. From tiny tots toBronze medalists, all our vaulters participated. Thanksto our great coaches Sue Smith and Odette Riegman— they have taught us to become a team and shownus what the sport of vaulting is all about.

Pacific Coast vaulters at the Menlo Parkdemonstration Photo: courtesy Pacific Coast

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2002 AVA Club ReportsPEGASUS VAULTERS2643 OLD SAN JOSE RD., SOQUEL,CA 95073-9770, PHONE: 831/251-4479EMAIL: [email protected]: TINA (QH), SAVANNAH(QH/BELGIAN), BILLY (CLYDESDALE), COACH:ROSIE BROWN, REGION: II, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 1980, COLORS: BLUE/RED/YELLOW

ROUGHING IT DAY CAMPPO BOX 1266, ORINDA, CA 94563PHONE: 510/283-3795EMAIL: [email protected]: PEANUTS (ARAB/WELSH)REGION: II, FIRST REGISTERED: 1994COLORS: GOLD/BROWN

STARLITE VAULTERS5220 N. GREENWOOD AVE., CLOVIS,CA 93611, PHONE: 559/323-8550HORSES: NATASHA (BASKAR CURLEY),STARLITE’S PORTIA(BELGIAN)COACHES: ALETHEA TRASKIN, KRISTINATARANGO, JESSICA MESPLEREGION: II, FIRST REGISTERED: 2000COLORS: FUSCHIA/BLACK/SILVERAlethea Traskin

Twinkle, twinkle, little vaulter star,How I wonder at your grace by far,Up upon that beautiful horse so highLike a bird ready to fly.Vaulting at Starlite has been going well. We have

nine registered vaulters ages three to twelve years oldon the team. We took it easy this year, only compet-ing at Region II Championships in Grass Valley dur-ing the summer and Mt. Eden’s Halloween Fest inOctober.

Jessica and Kristina enjoy the Board Walkprior to Halloween Fest.

Jessica Mesple on Tom at Regionals — wemiss him. Photo: courtesy Starlite

Photo: courtesy Starlite

At Grass Valley we camped in the back of ourcars and in a very large, fancy travel trailer. We en-joyed a train ride, a local tour, dinners, music, bikerides and just had a great time being together. For theHalloween Fest we stayed at the AYH Youth Hostel

in Saratoga and played at the Board Walk in SantaCruz. The nice thing about competitions is that we goto such beautiful places and bond with our vaultingfriends and families.

We did a demonstration at Malloch Elementaryin Fresno for the school carnival to show off our stuffto a new, enthusiastic crowd.

The team performed in the Clovis Rodeo, ClovisChristmas, and Sanger Christmas parades. We addedto our costume wardrobe with new elves hats andhandmade red vests. We have ordered new team andindividual uniforms for the new year. We held a fewvaulter sleep-overs where they didn’t sleep. Theseare always great for team-building.

Thank you Starlite parents and sponsors for put-ting the sparkle in Starlite.

SUNDANCE VAULTERS NORTH250 MOUNTAIN HOME ROAD, WOODSIDE,CA 94062, PHONE: 650/851-7597EMAIL: [email protected]: COSMO(POLISH WB), DRIKUS(DUTCH WB), VICTOR VII (DUTCH WB),LITUS (POLISH WB), DUDLEY(QTH), JONAS C(BELGIAN WB), FAUSTUS (GERMAN WB),IMPERIAL (DUTCH WB), DENIS (GERMANWB), SCARLETTO SUN (TRAK), KILLARNEY(DUTCH WB), EAGLES LAST(QH), TESS,COACHES: KELLEE RASOR, CHERYLTAYLOR, AMY LEWIS, ELAINE MITCHELL,LISA DISANTI, REGION: II, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 1978, COLORS: BLUE/GOLD/ORANGE

TAMBOURINE VAULTERS1 LIBERTY RD., PETALUMA, CA 94952PHONE: 707/665-9281, EMAIL: TAMBOURINE-

greatly appreciated. Parental support too made the yeargreat. Our vaulters accomplished many personal goalssuch as new friends, new medal levels, and newheights. We continue to work as a team to accomplishour goals, building on the strengths of individuals toachieve the greatest success for the group.

We look forward to next year and the fun chal-lenges that it will bring with rock climbing, team treksdown river, a road trip to Colorado, white water raft-ing, side trips to Montana, and who knows what else.One thing to be sure of is that we will embrace thesituation as it arises and enjoy the moment sharingthe friendships and special bonds that we asTambouriners create and strenghten each day.

THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN VAULTING1756 GARZA, SANTA CRUZ, CA 95062PHONE: 831/464-9644EMAIL: [email protected]: TINA (QH), FROSTY (ARAB),COACH: SUZANNE CARLTON, REGION: IIFIRST REGISTERED: 2001

WOODSIDE VAULTERS250 LA QUESTA WAY, WOODSIDE, CA 94062PHONE: 650/851-0250 OR 473-9906EMAIL: [email protected]: BEAU DAZZLE (CLEVELAND BAYTB), LADY LIGHTFOOT (BELGIAN/APPY),BEN (AMERICAN CREAM), MOONLIGHT(DUTCH WB), COACH: ISABELLE BIBBLERREGION: II, FIRST REGISTERED: 1991,COLORS: PURPLE/TEAL

New logodesigned by

Morghan Gill

Tambourine’s Julie Keville performs herGold Kür. Photo: Eric Jewett

[email protected]: RUBY (CLYDESDALE),MONTE (CLYDESDALE),MAUDE (BELGIAN), MAJOR(BELIGIAN); GUNTHER(DUTCH WB), PIRATE (TB),ROBBY (MORGAN), CAMPER(MORGAN), TANK (BELGIAN),MOOSE (BELGIAN), JEWEL(CLYDESDALE/QH),COACHES: KELLEY HOLLY,TERESA KEVILLE, REGION: II, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1983, COLORS: GREEN/BLUEKelley Holly

Fantastic!, what a year of fun, accomplishments,growth and change. Our horses made us very proud;for some this was their first year of participation andfor others it was old hat, each filled a niche that was

Woodside Vaulters on Ben at NationalsPhoto: Eric Jewett


2002 AVA Club ReportsRegion IIIIdaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington,Wyoming. Regional Supervisor:Wendy Ware 503/628-0918,[email protected].

BATTLE POINT VAULTING CLUB5115 NE NORTH TOLO RD., BAINBRIDGE ISL.,WA 98110-3464, PHONE: 206/780-8184EMAIL: [email protected]: MURDOCK (PERCHERON),COACHES: JUDY BALOGHY, PENNYMAYDAK, REGION: III, FIRST REGISTERED:2000, COLORS: NAVY/TEAL/BURGANDY

EMERALD CITY VAULTERS5821 KEY PENINSULA HWY N, LAKEBAY, WA98349-9664, PHONE: 253/884-5212EMAIL: [email protected]: BUDDAH (MORGAN X), COPPERBILL (AMERICAN BASKAR CURLY), YELLOWSTORM (AMERICAN.BASKAR CURLY),THUNDER (PERCHERON/LIPPIZAN),PEACHES (PERCHERON), LADY MAE (QH/CLYDESDALE), JACKIE (PERCHERON)MORNING DOVE (AMERICAN BASKARCURLY), COACH: TAMEA C. DENAULT,REGION: III, FIRST REGISTERED: 1992,COLORS: BLACK/TEAL

LEADING EDGE VAULTING TEAMW 1810 PARADISE RD., SPOKANE, WA 99204PHONE: 509/789-4630,EMAIL:[email protected]: JULIE STEPHENS, REGION: III, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1992, COLORS: TEAL/GREY

MT. RAINIER VAULTERS9412 258TH AVENUE E, BUCKLEY, WA 98321PHONE: 360/829-4298,EMAIL: [email protected]: BONNIE (PERCHERON), SMOKEY(DRAFT X), CORY (SWEDISH WB)COACHES: BONNIE KUKI, GINGER DOHMEN,ELIZABETH RICE,REGION: III, FIRST REGISTERED: 2002,COLORS: BLACK/WHITEGinger Dohmen

This past year has been an interesting and educa-tional one for our club. We had been vaulting for abouta year as a branch of Emerald City Vaulters. Both Em-erald City coaches Tammy Denualt and Jodi DohmenRinard were instrumental in helping us develop ourclub. As our branch continued to grow, it became ap-parent that it was time to “bite the bullet” and formour own club. Completing all the necessary paperworkto establish Mt. Rainier Vaulting Club in time for ourRegional competition in October required the com-bined efforts of coaches and parents, as well as a lotof help and guidance from the AVA. All of the vault-ers performed very well and we were happy to makeour first appearance as Mt. Rainier Vaulters at such asuccessful competition.

The other coaches and I are very fortunate to havesuch helpful and involved parents, and talented vault-ers. I’m happy to announce that we will take a trotteam to Nationals in Denver this year and I’m look-ing forward to it. Most of our individuals will be go-ing and are all very excited. It will be a first National

competition for most of our kids and I’m sure the newsituation will cause some rocky moments. Luckily,our coaches, parents and vaulters have learned thevirtue of patience.

C-team for Nationals featuring Northwind, EmeraldCity and Battlepoint vaulters. Our Kür horse, Lady,went lame. Thanks to Del Dyer, we were able to usehis horse, King. Our team of beginning canter vault-ers, with one silver medalist, rose to the occasion andperformed a stunning Kür.

Finally, we ended the year by attending the North-west Combined Championships (our Region III cham-pionships and the British Columbia Provincial Cham-pionships) in Chilliwack, B.C. Lady was honored witha well-deserved Horse of the Year award.

REDWING VAULTERS5524 258TH AVE NE, REDMOND,WA 98053-2515, PHONE: 425/836-0693, EMAIL:[email protected]: DERVISH (SHIRE/TB), TEDDY(BELGIAN), COACHES: CINDY & KATYDUPPONG, REGION: III,FIRST REGISTERED: 1996,COLORS: BLACK/RED/YELLOW

COACHESAREALWAYSCOACHING!

Redwing competed at Nationals.Photo: Eric Jewett

The other coaches and I feel very privileged tobe working with such dedicated club members andcommitted parents. I know this next year and those tocome will be very exciting and interesting.

NORTHWIND VAULTERS16355 SW 319TH PLACE, HILLSBORO,OR 97123, PHONE: 503/628-0918, EMAIL:[email protected]: CHARADE (CLYDESDALE/TB),LADY (BELGIAN), COACH: EMILY GLEASON,REGION: III, FIRST REGISTERED: 1996COLORS: NAVY/TURQUOISEWendy Ware

2002 was a very busy year for us. We trailered tothree selection trials in California and then once againfor Nationals. Needless to say we know I-5 well andmet wonderful people along the way who housed ourhorses and vaulters.

We were more involved with other clubs in Re-gion III this year. The Battlepoint Vaulting Club hosteda clinic in January, Emerald City hosted a spring festand a summer camp. We performed as the NorthwestVaulters at the Greater Northwest Equine Expo inAlbany, Oregon; representing vaulters of Northwind,Redwing, Battlepoint and Cheam from Canada. Ourfinal feat of regional cooperation was our composite

Mt. Rainier Vaulters Photo: courtesy Mt. Rainier

Photos:courtesy Northwind

It’s out of our hands. WOW!THEY DID IT!!!

Wendy Ware,Northwindcoach andTameaDenault,Emerald Citycoach watchtheir compositeC-teamperform theirKür atNationals onborrowedhorse,Mt. Tabor’sKing.


Region IVArkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, NewMexico, Oklahoma, TexasRegional Supervisor: Noel Martonovich303/277-0356, [email protected]

ACORN VAULTERS53 GUEST COURT, EDGEWOOD, NM 87015PHONE: 505/286-0540EMAIL: [email protected]: FOR PETE’S SAKE,COACH: SUSAN CASKEYREGION: IV, FIRST REGISTERED: 1992COLORS: BLACK/SILVER


ALBUQUERQUE VAULTERS117 CAMINO ALTO, CORRALES,NM 87048-7573, PHONE: 505/898-6185EMAIL: [email protected]: BLUEBERRY (PERCHERON), MAX(TB/CLYDESDALE), COACHES: MERRY COLE,KAREN KITTERMAN, REGION: IV, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1983, COLORS: TURQUOISE/

Acorn vaulters competed at NationalsPhoto: Eric Jewett

competed at every Nationals since the club wasfounded in 1982. Through the years the club has di-vided and spread seeds for new clubs. Region IV hasdeveloped to become known for its creative, far-out,push-the-envelope, fun vaulters. For us, vaulting isnot only competitive, but entertaining as well.

BLACKBRANCH GROUP:PONDEROSA BRANCHPHONE: 505/289-2890,EMAIL: [email protected],HORSE: BRAVO(DRAFT CROSS),COACH: ANNASCHULTE.Merry Cole

Hey, the Albuquerquevaulting club is 20 yearsold and still going strong!We were the first team inthe New Mexico/Coloradoarea, the first to host anAVA annual meeting out-side of California, and thefirst to host an AVA Na-tional Championship out-side of California. Eventhough the team has beenat a great distance frommany Nationals, Albu-querque vaulters have

Last February we hosted a great barrel competi-tion and clinic with Erik Martonovich and we heldrelaxing medal tests with Kitchy Burdette in theSpring. Regionals were held in Albuquerque withclubs from Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Oursensational “Night of the Stars” which uses local tal-ent alternating with vaulting made money for the Re-gion and exposed more of the horse community tovaulting. We performed an excellent demonstrationwith the Acorn Vaulters at the New mexico Horse Fair.We fielded vaulters at all levels for Nationals. GoldenGate’s horse, Boone, provided a last minute mountfor our composite C-team with Acorn when our horse,Max was unable to participate.

We were again invited to the Santa Fe Dog andPony Show. Acorn and Albuquerque Vaulters per-formed in three vaulting circles at once. ErikMartonivich joined us as he was on his way homefrom the World Games in Spain.

One of the highlights for our region was the Hal-loween Fest at the beautiful Old Towne Farm Stablesin Albuquerque judged by Joyce Gussenhoven. Su-san Oakes organized the region’s junior group to runthe competition. During their spare time our vaulterswon prizes in parades and fairs for demonstrating theirvaulting skills.

Artist and friend of vaulting Emilie (Rainbow)Touraine conceived a patriotic vaulting painting and,with our help, the beautiful Triple Flag was born.

We have some special parents who provide crosstraining and other help. Lee Thomas is a yoga, cre-ative dance and riding teacher specializing in children.Francie Rodriguez is a gymnastic instructor. MarcyGrace has a riding/ballet background and an eye fordetail. Ursula Kelly puts together our web site and isa terrific longeur. AnnaClair Hunter helps ride andexercise the vaulting horses. Catherine Kitterman hasbeen our club president for four years. KarenKitterman has taken over coaching the trot and begin-ning canter vaulters. Somehow she juggles schooland teaching, longeing and vaulting. Quite a gal!

For the second year we have supported a branchclub in Cuba, New Mexico coached by Gold Medal-ist, Anna Schulte. Her group is doing very well. Wehope to field a new team or branch club in Santa Fewith Marcy Grace and Isobel Ripple.

BEE CREEK VAULTERS3713 BEE CREEK RD., SPICEWOOD, TX 78669PHONE: 512/264-9969EMAIL: [email protected]: CALYPSO (QH), COACHES: PAULAJARAMILLO DE RAHAL, TAMARA PAPPREGION: IV, FIRST REGISTERED: 2002COLORS: RED, WHITE, BLUETamara Papp

Bee Creek Vaulters celebrated its one-year anni-versary this December. Our first year was a total learn-ing experience. We traveled to New Mexico for ourRegionals and to California for Nationals and aThanksgiving clinic with Morning Star vaulting club.The kids and I have learned so much, we just want tokeep coming back for more!

There is not much vaulting activity here in Texasbut we are working on that. I hope to purchase a trailerso our team can give some local demonstrations. Ourhorse, Calypso, a 15 year old Quarter Horse, loves hisjob of vaulting and cannot get enough of the vaulters’hugs and kisses. He is great at the walk and canter,but we had to give up on his trot. It is too fast and justtoo bouncy for the girls. His canter is beautiful —nice and slow — so we will stick with that.

We lost one vaulter to a move, but gained an-other one to maintain our three vaulters. Having onlyone horse right now, I think this is perfect.

If anyone is ever in the Austin area, please lookus up. We’d love to do some vaulting with y’all.

Albuquerque’s KarenKitterman on Max

Mother and daughter Albuquerque Vaulters,Lee and Maya Thomas competed at theRegion IV Halloween Fest.

Photo: courtesy Albuquerque

Photo: courtesy Albuquerque

CAMP HORSEMANSHIP ASSOCIATION5318 OLD BULLARD ROAD, TYLER, TX 75703PHONE: 800/399-0138, REGION: IV,FIRST REGISTERED: 1998

CAPRIOLE VAULTERS9521 RIO GRANDE BLVD NW,ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87114PHONE: 505/890-4338HORSES: GALLOWAY (OLDENBURG), TESSA(ARABIAN), SIR GEORGE (PERCHERON)COACH: MELANIE OMER, REGION: IVFIRST REGISTERED: 2001COLORS: BLACK/ROYAL BLUE/SILVER

When told to close her eyes to concentrate onbalance, this little Bee Creek vaultercomplied — and so did her patient mount.

Photo: courtesy Bee Creek



EQUE STARZPO BOX 1025, FRANKTOWN, CO 80116PHONE: 720/851-4925EMAIL: [email protected]: ETERNAL SAN (QH), RED RIBBON(BELGIAN/PERCHERON),COACH: STAR HUGHES, REGION: IVFIRST REGISTERED: 2001

GOLDEN GATE VAULTERS5016 CRAWFORD GULCH RD., GOLDEN,CO 80403-8112, PHONE: 303/277-0356EMAIL: [email protected]: DOC(BELGIAN), BOONE (BELGIAN),COMET (BELGIAN), JEZABEL (IBERIAN WB),COACHES: ERIK MARTONOVICH, MATTHEWMARTONOVICH, ALETHEA SHELTONREGION: IV, FIRST REGISTERED: 1994COLORS: BLACK/REDNoel Martonovich

Expanding our HorizonsNew vaulters, old vaulters in new routines, new

programs, new demonstration venues, and new clin-ics have been the focus of Little Spring Ranch andGolden Gate Vaulters this year. After taking a look atwhat we have done in the past, we decided that thiswas the year for new things. We opened up a tiny totsprogram, a therapeutic program, new explorations intothe world of performance, and an outreach programwith clinics for vaulting and for training vaultinghorses.

Our older vaulters got the chance to see vaultingfrom “the other side” when we put on a fun day withthe vaulters running the show. They were the judges,clinicians, scorers, scribes, gatekeepers, announcers,longeurs, and music players. It was a new experiencefor all of them and made them appreciate how hardall competition volunteers and judges work. We hopethis experience gives the vaulters the confidence togo on and become our new generation of judges,coaches, longeurs, and volunteers.

Since all of our vaulters were beginning to get alittle “long in the tooth”, we decided this was the yearto recruit younger ones, so we started a tiny tots divi-sion. Since our horses are all well over 17 hands, weweren’t expecting very young vaulters but, low andbehold, we received calls from parents of a five-yearold and then a three-year old. Three seemed much tooyoung to me but the child’s mother insisted that Marithad been riding since she was 18 months and this isjust what she needed because she has hip dysplasia.When I suggested that our horses are much too wide,

her mother said, “the wider the better”. As soon as Iunderstood that this therapy might keep a wonderful,active, and creative little girl out of a body cast, I wassold and so was our Belgian, Boone. Thus started ourentry into the field of therapeutic vaulting and it hasbeen an incredible experience upon which we hope toexpand.

For another first this year, Yossi and Noel begangiving clinics on training vaulting horses. We startedin our region and went on to do a well received clinicin Virginia. It was great fun. As we all know the mostimportant member of the club is the horse. In order toimprove the safety and training of the horses, we allneed to provide help to clubs to improve their horses.

with our own horse, Doc. What an amazing experi-ence!! If a little team east of the Rockies can sendsomeone to WEG, all you other isolated little teamsout there should set your sights higher — all the wayto the top.

HIGHLAND MEADOW VAULTERSHC 77 BOX 27, LAGUNA, NM 87026-9701PHONE: 505/831-2423EMAIL: [email protected]: SPICE GIRL (PAINT), MATILDA(DONKEY), CINNAMON STAR (TB X), PEPPERANN (ARABIAN/SADDLE BRED), TEDDYBEAR (TB X), COACH: LYNDA LAURSENREGION: IV, FIRST REGISTERED: 2000COLORS: PURPLE/BLACK/FOREST GREEN/SILVER

MILE-HIGH VAULTERS2100 DARTMOUTH AVE., BOULDER,CO 80305, PHONE: 303/931-7072EMAIL: [email protected]: LAPUS LAZULI (BELGIAN),LLORELEI (BELGIAN), PEACHES(PERCHERON), AMIDALA (PERCHERON/PAINT), XENA (PERCHERON/OLDENBURG)COACH: JODI RINARD, REGION: IVFIRST REGISTERED: 2002COLORS: GREEN AND GOLDJodi Rinard (formerly Dohmen)

The Mile-High Vaulters is a brand new club inBoulder, Colorado. I moved to Boulder when I gotmarried. I brought my Percheron mare, Peaches, withme from Seattle and started recruiting. All our vault-ers this year are brand new to vaulting. We appreci-ate the support of all the Region IV clubs in helpingus get started.

In February we gained two pregnant Belgianmares (Lazi and Lori) and then we got future vaultinghorses Ranger and Red when their colts were born.

We also expanded on our tradition of bringingvaulting and performing to a larger audience. Our teamperformed on Doc accompanied by a full symphonyorchestra at the Denver Stock Show. At the RockyMountain Horse Expo Pat Parreli acted at our emceefor two days of educational vaulting seminars. JanWeber manned the AVA sponsored vaulting booth allduring the Expo. Taking performance vaulting to anew level, Erik, Alethea, and Greta spent three weeksdoing a show at the California State Fair along withthe famous Kambarov Riders, formerly from the Mos-cow Circus. Taking a group of our vaulters on a roadtrip can be exciting and Erik’s trip to Kansas City forthe American Royal Horse Show was certainly that.After many travails which would qualify them for aChevy Chase road trip movie, they arrived and put ona great performance accompanied by a live symphonyorchestra and their singer. Vaulters from our club wentout to give clinics to pony clubs, 4- H clubs, and Erikeven managed to give a clinic at the University levelwith the great U Conn Vaulting Team.

With an incredible amount of help from thecommunity,we went to the World Equestrian Games

Golden Gate’s “Super” team at the RegionIV Halloween Fest on Boone.

Photo: courtesy Golden Gate

Lazi and Ranger Photo: courtesy Mile High

Our first event was a trip to regionals in Albu-querque. It was a great experience and all the vault-ers got motivated to improve. Our next stop was ademonstration at the Boulder County Horseman’sAssociation horse show. We gave the audience a

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CHERABLE VAULTERS225 COUNTRY ROAD 516, IGNACIO,CO 81137-9728, PHONE: 970/563-6517EMAIL: [email protected]: CHER (HALFLINGER), CRAYON(HALFLINGER), COACHES: BARBARA T.ENGEL, KATHERINE DARLING, REGION: IVFIRST REGISTERED: 1995COLORS: PURPLE/PINK

DOUGLAS MOUNTAIN VAULTERS3915 DOUGLAS MTN DR., GOLDEN, CO 80403PHONE: 303/277-0299EMAIL: [email protected]: JAX (WB), COACH: TERRI HOFFMANREGION: IV, FIRST REGISTERED: 1999COLORS: BLUE/SILVER



chance to try vaulting after the performance. Every-one seemed to love it and several of the adults en-joyed it so much that we began an adult vaulting class.Our adult vaulters like the chance to relax with thehorses, improve flexibility, c oordination and balance,and have a little fun.

(Mile High Vaulters continued)

Mile High’s Coach, Jodi , performs a bridgeon Peaches. Photo: courtesy Mile High

We also vaulted in a local parade and gave dem-onstrations afterward. The organizers of the event hada,”bank robbery” planned. Unfortunately the Sheriff’shorse was delayed by a flat tire. The Sheriff asked ifPeaches would mind helping out. She agreed and soPeaches and the Sheriff amazed the crowd and arrestedthe “bank robbers”.

In November our very small club was joined by aUS Pony Club group for a four-week introduction tovaulting. They enjoyed vaulting so much they decidedto vault regularly. All of these vaulters are dedicatedand talented horse people and they learned veryquickly.

Our last event of the season was a competitionand clinic, New Year Fun Day, designed specificallyfor beginning vaulters. The more experienced vault-ers in the area got a chance to organize and judge acompetition. I hope they learned as much as the Mile-High Vaulters beginners. We certainly appreciatedtheir help and teaching. All of our vaulters had a greattime and came home with piles of ribbons. Most ofthem had been vaulting for six to eight weeks and theyput on wonderful performances. One of the greatestthings about vaulting is to see how much new vault-ers can improve. This very talented group did morethan I would have believed possible.

After a successful first year, we are hoping forour first trip to Nationals here in Denver in 2003.

ROLLING CLOVER VAULTERS9854 W HAWAII DR., LAKEWOOD,CO 80232-6312, PHONE: 303/987-5993EMAIL: [email protected]: RED HUMMER (TB), ROCKY(BELGIAN/DRAFT), COACHES: ANGELA &VERONICA TURNER, REGION: IV,FIRST REGISTERED: 2001,COLORS: GREEN/WHITE/BLACKVeronica Turner

This year has been a fun and exciting year forRolling Clover Vaulters. It has also been hard at timesas any beginning, growing team would be. We movedto a small horse property about three miles east fromwhere we used to live. It is about two thirds of an

acre, but we have room for our two horses, three dogs,and an outdoor vaulting arena. It still needs a lot ofwork: lighting, a music stand, and better arena foot-ing. The ranch owner, Dave Elsner, has been a greathelp by making our arena level with his tractor andletting our team keep the ranch’s name— Rolling Clo-ver. With his help and that of many others, it is allcoming together.

In early December we did our first vaulting dem-onstration at The Urban Farm, a nonprofit organiza-tion dedicated to giving city kids a chance to learn,care for, and ride horses. This week we learned theyare starting their own vaulting team. Rolling CloverVaulters and Golden Gate performed well, from wav-ing and blowing kisses to dancing. It was fun and agreat learning experience.

As owner and longeur of our 17.3 hand Belgianvaulting horse, Rocky, I took him to a small hunter-jumper schooling show this past fall. Imagine a showfull of ponies and small hunters and Rocky! He wasthe talk of the show and earned a fifth place in thehunter cross-rail division, and schooled over the two-foot cross-country course. It was amusing when theannouncer yelled, “The draft horse is jumping thecross-country course!” and told riders to clear out.Heads turned to watch as we went lumbering acrossthe field and over jumps.

Rocky has also mastered the art of bowing, whichhe showed off when he bowed to the judge at RegionIV’s Halloween Fest in New Mexico. He is now start-ing to learn to lay down on cue. He seems to enjoy—actually love — this activity as it brings him manytreats and pats. He also cross trains with dressage withthe help of my riding instructor and horse trainer, NoelMartonovich, from Golden Gate. Noel has helped alot with our Rolling Clover team and is a big roll modelfor our vaulters.

Recently we gained four new members with apossible fifth starting soon. We also participated inRegion IV’s first holiday fest on December 29th, withone of our newest vaulters. What a way to end theyear! Way to go, Rolling Clover!

WELSH RABBITS3721 COUNTRY VISTA DR., BURLESON,TX 76028, PHONE: 817/561-9947EMAIL: [email protected]: LADYBUG (TB), NITA, COACHES:MEG FLETCHER, CHRIS PRATT, REGION: IVFIRST REGISTERED: 1998,COLORS: BLACK/PURPLE(Editor’s note: ghostwriten by Chris Pratt)

Hi this is Nita, short for Hermanita, and I am amember of the Welsh Rabbit Vaulting Club. I wantto tell everyone about My First Year as a VaultingHorse.

The club brought me from my home of NewMexico last year but I didn’t get into vaulting muchover the summer. Do you have any idea how hot andhumid the Texas summers are? That first summer Igot overheated just by walking around Meg Fletcher’sproperty! They gave me the summer off, but after theweather cooled, I started my training as a vaultinghorse.

In the early spring, they brought me to an eventcalled Horse O Rama. I heard them say it’s an eventthat started about 15 years ago as a way to bring peopleinterested in horses together and a way to share infor-mation. We did a vaulting session (they called it a“demo”) during the day in one of the arenas. Thatwas my first performance and it was fun and not too

Just a couple of months later, the Welsh Rabbitsand I were invited to be a part of the Dallas DressageClub’s big spring show, called Dressage in Bloom. Itwas so special I even got a bath before we went on,and a farrier trimmed my hooves. I looked lovely, if Ido say so myself. It was in a covered outdoor arenaso it was similar to what I know, but I have to tell you,I made it difficult for the vaulters because I kept mak-ing very small circles as I trotted around. Everyonewas mad at me but I still got lots of carrots.

scary and lots of people came over afterwards to sayhello and give me a pat. That same evening, all of uswere part of the evening entertainment, called theTexas Showcase. It was a huge arena with lots ofpeople but I did not like that pickup truck at the farend of the arena setting things up for the next part ofthe show. Somehow they stopped that truck and wewent on with the vaulting. There were so many horsesat Horse O Rama but none were my size, so I cer-tainly caught a lot of attention!!

Meg Fletcher coaches rider MichelleMcWhorter at the dressage clinic.

Photo: courtesy Welch Rabbits

Ann Allen and Lydia Pratt perform at HorseO Rama. Photo: courtesy Welsh Rabbits

They all went away for a few days to somethingcalled Regionals. Then when they came back, I foundout what vaulting camp was all about. They did it lastyear with their old horse, Ladybug, but this was myfirst experience. For one week the vaulters and otherpeople I didn’t know came vaulted most of the day.First it was on those stationary horses called barrelsbut then they put the surcingle on me and made me anintegral part of the camp. I never worked so hard in


2002 AVA Club Reportsmy life!! Of course at the end of each day they gaveme treats and carrots and I was hosed off which feltgreat! The end of the week we put on a performancefor friends and family to show what we all learnedduring vaulting camp.

As I said these Texas summers are brutal and I’mvery glad the humans think so also. Over the summerthe vaulters would come later in the evening and some-times they didn’t use me at all. That was real nice.

My most recent public performance was in thefall. A dressage instructor had scheduled a three-dayclinic for her students and wanted to add vaulting as apart of the clinic, to help her students increase theirflexibility and to have them be more comfortable bal-ancing on their horses. At least that’s what I heardfrom the humans anyway. My vaulters did a littlework on me, and then I got to be the first vaultinghorse that most of those adults had ever been on. Therewas a lot of laughter that day! The only bad part wasgetting out of the trailer there and then when we re-turned home. It would have been so much easier ifthey would have let me turn around and walk out butfor some reason those humans think I should back outof trailers. There was a long “discussion” when wereturned home and I finally backed out but didn’t like

I needed help and encouragement getting outof the trailer. Photo: courtesy Welch Rabbits

it at all!I’m going to be sad later this year because one of

my vaulters, Ann Allen, is leaving the club. I’ve heardthem say she’s going somewhere called “college” andalthough I don’t know where Santa Cruz is, I thinkit’s far away. She said she’s going to join a vaultingclub there and I sure hope that vaulting horse likesher as much as I do!!

So things are good for me in my new life as avaulting horse. There are other horses here and plentyof people to visit with me. The vaulters move allaround me and I don’t mind, but I sure get tired ofthat woman with the vaulting whip that makes me goaround and around. Walk, Trot, Ho, Stand, Trot – Isure wish she’d make up her mind!! They do have astallion here named Moose but I don’t get to visit himmuch because they don’t turn him out and let himloose. It’s too bad because I think he’s really cute!!

WINDSONG VAULTERSP.O. BOX 1574, WIMBERLEY, TX 78676PHONE: 512/847-0642EMAIL: [email protected]: BUBBA (TB X), DAKOTA (APPAL-OOSA, REGION IV, FIRST REGISTERED 2003

Is your club NOT represented by a story,article, picture or drawing? Next year’sClub Reports issue will be the February,2004 Issue. Remember to send in yourmaterial in December, 2003.

Region IXAlabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachu-setts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, NewJersey, New York, North Carolina, Penn-sylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia. RegionalSupervisor: Jen Williams 301/317-7964,[email protected]

BALANCE VAULTERS1867 SPRUCE LANE, MAIDEN, VA 23102PHONE: 804/556-6376EMAIL:[email protected],WEBSITE: WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/BALANCEVAULTERS/, HORSES: ORION (CANADIANSPORTHORSE), KURT (BELGIAN), NORMAN(PERCHERON/TB), COACHES: EMILY ANDKATIE FLANNAGAN, BONNIE REDDINGREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1996COLORS: GREEN/WHITE, PURPLEKatie Flannagan

Balance Vaulters had an awesome year. Our en-ergy was focused on developing a solid vaulting pro-gram and building membership based on the program’squality. Two years ago our club had dwindled to threevaulters. We will start the new year with twelve en-thusiastic vaulters, an awesome group of parents, anda team of willing horses.

Our vaulters successfully competed in regionalfests, enjoyed fun fests and earned medals. All of ourvaulters did an awesome job of achieving their per-sonal vaulting goals by the Great Falls/Topaz Fall Fest.They prompted their coach to keep her promise to dyeher hair blue for the evening pizza party.

We went out into the community. Vaulters per-formed demonstrations for our summer campers andfor the Rising Stars 4-H Horse Show. Several vault-ers and parents helped with our summer campers.Vaulters visited a local horse farm to help teach res-cued Premarin foals to lead, tie, and stand for groom-ing. The local newspapers generously covered oursport and club activities and our NBC affiliate fea-tured vaulters on a local news program about the sportof vaulting.

Grooming lessons at camp Photo: courtesy Balance

Balance Vaulters had the opportunity to host tworemarkable clinics this year. Nancy Stevens-Brownjoined us for a weekend in the summer to inspire ourcanter vaulters and others from around Region IX. Weclosed our vaulting year with a much welcomed vault-ing horse/longeur training clinic taught by Yossi andNoel Martonovich.

One of our vaulters, Silver Medalist EmilyFlannagan, retired from competition and became en-gaged to Brian Kirkpatrick this year.

Balance Vaulters look forward to 2003 with greatenthusiasm. We hope to reach more youth in the com-munity through demonstrations and camps. We aredetermined to raise enough money to send vaulters toNationals in Denver. And we want to vault, vault,vault!

BLUE STAR VAULTERS2545 WHITE HORSE ROAD, BERWYN,PA 19312, PHONE: 610/408-9846HORSES: PRINCE (PERCHERON/TB)COACH: NICOLE D’AURIOLREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 2003COL-ORS: DARK BLUE/LIGHT BLUE/SILVER

CAMP FARWELLPO BOX 84, WEST NEWBURY, VT 05085PHONE: 802/429-2844EMAIL: [email protected]: SUE BEAR (DRAFT X), MOLLIE(DRAFT X), COACH: LEANNE WOODWARDREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 2002

CATOCTIN VAULTING CLUBPO BOX 169, LINCOLN, VA 20160PHONE: 540/338-0059EMAIL: [email protected]: SOCKS (QH)COACH: VIRGINIA GELLERREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1994COLORS: TEAL/PURPLE/BLACK

CAVALIER VAULTERS193 DUCK POND DR., GROTON, MA 01450PHONE: 978/448-4193EMAIL: [email protected]: DAN (TB), REGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 1996, COLORS: HUNTERGREEN/NAVY BLUE/WHITE

DARE TO DREAM HI-FLYERS16 DANIEL SHAYS HWY, ORANGE, MA 01364PHONE: 978/575-0341, EMAIL:[email protected]: WF’S FLASHDANCE (APPALOOSA),MOLLY (PERCHERON), COACH: SANDRAWHITMORE, REGION: IX, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 1997, COLORS: RED/WHITE/BLUE

DURHAM CREEK VAULTERS1820 ELM STREET, BETHLEHEM, PA 18017PHONE: 610/867-5040EMAIL: [email protected]: JAKE (PERCHERON/ARABIAN)COACH: CLOTILDE PETERS, REGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 1997COLOR: ROYAL BLUE

FALCONWOOD VAULTERS1187 FLOYD STREET, COVINGTON, GA 30014PHONE: 770/786-7283

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We always enjoy the camaraderie and fun of vault-ing events and hope to work with other teams to helpmake 2003 a terrific year for east coast vaulting.

HIGH VAULTAGE114 MASON ROAD, VALATIE, NY 12184PHONE: 518/392-7682, EMAIL: [email protected], HORSES: WILLIAM, HAN,COACH: ANJA O’TOOLE, REGION IX, FIRSTREG.: 1999, COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/BLACK

(Falconwood Vaulters continued)EMAIL: [email protected], HORSES: ANGUS(QH), OLANO (DUTCH WB), DENNIS(BELIGIAN/QH), GARETH (BELGIAN),SCOTTIE (BELGIAN X), COACH: PRISCILLAB. FAULKNER, REGION: IX, FIRST REGIS-TERED: 1989, COLORS: BLUE/BLACK/RED

GREAT FALLS VAULTERS1015 BROAD BRANCH CT., MCCLEAN,VA 22101, PHONE: 703/903-2496, EMAIL:[email protected]: MURPHY (BELGIAN X), GOLDIE(BELGIAN), COACH: JENNIFER WILLIAMSREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1978COLORS: DEEP GREEN/MAROON/ROYALBLUEJen Williams

2002 was a year of team-building for Great FallsVaulters. Several of our vaulters passed medal ex-ams. We began training new horses. We borrowed fromand lent horses to our neighboring teams and we par-ticipated in several clinics and competitions. Our in-credible team parents took care of and conditionedthe horses, ran our annual spring and fall competi-tions (in cooperation with other local teams), builtbarrels, supported the vaulters at demonstrations, anddid everything else to ensure that we always had a funand safe time at vaulting. Great Falls parents alsoparticipated in AVA educational activities by helpingto host the East Coast Judges Forum (led by JeffMoore) in September.

Our biggest event this year was our October dem-onstration at the Washington International HorseShow. This was by far the most prominent and glam-orous demonstration that most of our team membershad ever done. For all except a couple of our seniorvaulters and our stalwart Belgian-cross Murphy, it wasquite a new experience! We practiced diligently formonths to ensure that the big day would go off with-out a hitch. We knew that all of our preparation hadpaid off when we left the arena to the appreciativeroar of the crowd — a fast-moving and flawless democompleted!

Photo: courtesy Great Falls

Many of the Great Falls Vaulters withMurphy and Goldie in Washington, D.C.

HUNTERS RIDGEEQUESTRIAN CENTER2507 MILL RD., POWHATAN, VA 23139PHONE: 804/598-2780HORSES: PERSONAL KEEPSAKE (WELSHCOB), HUNTERS CHELSEA (WELSH),SNICKERS (APPALOOSA), CHEYENNE(APPALOOSA), BUCKSHOT (MINI), TINKER-BELL (SHETLAND), TRACK (TB),COACH: KATHY PITT, REGION: IX, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2001, COLORS: GREEN/TAN

IN HARMONY VAULTERSPO BOX 156, HOPKINTON, RI 2833PHONE: 401/364-0598EMAIL: [email protected]: CASSIE (BELGIAN), BALOO (TB)COACH: VICKI SHERRADEN, REGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 1998COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/WHITE/BLACK

MAPLELAWN FARM VAULTING CLUB10981 ROUTE 38 N, NEWARK VALLEY,NY 13811-1731, PHONE: 607/642-8754EMAIL: [email protected]: PADDINGTON (BELGIAN), FOXYLADY (QH), COACH: STEPHANIE SIEMENSREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1997COLORS: FOREST GREEN/WHITE/NAVY

MARE WILLOW VAULTERS168 BEAVER DAM RD., PLYMOUTH, MA 02360PHONE: 508/224-9559EMAIL: [email protected]: SAMSON BUCK (QH), DAGOBERT(CANADIAN), COACHES: MARTHACANTRILL, AMY MCCUNE, REGION: IX FIRSTREGISTERED: 2002

MATRIX VAULTING PROGRAMSPHONE: 508/830-0448EMAIL: [email protected]: SAMPSON BUCK (QH)COACH: AMY MCCUNE, REGION: IX

COLORS: BLUE AND WHITE

MID-ATLANTIC VOLTIGEURS7 MEADOWVIEW, ANNANDALE,NJ 08801-3357, PHONE: 908/735-2570EMAIL: [email protected]: ALICE OLDFORDREGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 1991COLORS: BLACK/RED

MT. TABOR VAULTERS620 DEERCROFT DR.,BLACKSBURG, VA 24060-8910PHONE: 540/951-4816

EMAIL: [email protected]: KING (PERCHERON), JACK(PERCHERON), ASHLEA (PERCHERON),WARLORD BARS (APPALOOSA), HIGH HATANDY, COACHES: KIM BEISECKER, DORISDYER, REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1990COLORS: PURPLE/JADE GREEN/BLACKKim V. Beisecker

When do vaulters become stars? When they rep-resent the lion kings of the past during the premieretheatrical musical on horseback of The Lion King. MtTabor Vaulters enjoyed the privilege of participating

in the 2002 United States Dressage Federation (USDF)Musical Freestyle Symposium held in Raleigh, NorthCarolina on November 1 through 3, 2002. The sym-posium presenters included Terry Ciotti Gallo, JennieLoriston-Clarke, and Debbie McDonald judging se-lected riders from USDF First Level through elite FEIGrand Prix Freestyle Champions.

Mt Tabor vaulters presented a demonstration ofvaulting to the symposium participants. After the dem-onstration, vaulters answered many questions regard-ing the training of vaulting horses and vaulters. Manyparticipants expressed interest in vaulting as trainingfor young riders to keep their interest strong whileincreasing their skills.

The vaulters later participated in “Dancing withHorses”. This musical equestrian extravaganza fea-tured costumed riders performing the theatrical musi-cal of The Lion King. Kim Beisecker and parents,Christie Dapper and Sanford Price-O’Brien designedand made the royal blue and silver unitards to enhancethe vaulter’s depiction of constellations in the sky.Other riders wore elaborate African animal costumes.

Tigger Montague, FEI rider and trainer who haschoreographed music for dressage freestyles since1991, directed the evening performance. Tigger hadseen Mt Tabor vaulters at a local demonstration morethan a year ago. As rehearsals began she felt that vault-ing would be the best way to portray the constella-tions. With Tigger’s specifications, the team choreo-graphed the routines to taped music and then went toNorth Carolina for the dress rehearsal, presentation,and celebrations. The Dyer’s horses, King and Ashlea,carried the eleven vaulters in the show. The vaultersexited to a standing ovation by thousands of specta-tors. They also developed friendships with many ofthe dressage riders. At the end of the event Tiggernoted, “I’ve become your biggest fan.”

Further adding to this exciting travel experiencewas the team’s attendance at the premier showing ofStar Wars in the IMAX format. Their team warm-upsuits caught the attention of the media covering theevent and team members were interviewed for theevening news.

Mt. Tabor vaulters Photo: Christine Appel-Bucierka


2002 AVA Club ReportsNEW ENGLAND VALKYRIESPO BOX 404, LITTLETON, MA 01460PHONE: 978/952-6787EMAIL: [email protected]: GENERAL ORESZAK (BELGIAN/QH/APPALOOSA), FAXX (BELGIAN/TB), DEVON(PERCHERON/TB), NORMAN (DUTCH WB),COACH: RACHAEL E. MARKELS WEBBER,REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1994Rachel Markels-Webber

Our year ended on a sad note. Our horse Faxxwas put down on December 16. Faxx was a special,once-in-a-lifetime horse. During his brief career hecaptured the hearts and imagination of everyone hetouched. As our first canter horse, he helped numer-ous vaulters achieve their goals in competition andmedal tests. He was selected to be the Best Canterand Best Trot Horse at the Great Falls Fest his firstyear vaulting.

Stellar as his career was in vaulting he was anequally talented dressage horse. With another blackdraft cross, we created a pas-de-deux, which was per-formed at large recognized dressage shows through-out New England where we never scored below a70%. After placing fifth in the NEDA Sweepstakes,held at a CVI, Faxx went on to dazzle the crowds bydoing an award-winning vaulting demonstration! Faxxwas featured in the Chronicle of the Horse severaltimes as a dressage horse and a vaulting horse. Wemiss him.

We spent a lot of this year without a canter horse.Although frustrating, it gave us the incentive to havevaulters play elsewhere which they enjoyed tremen-

through sheep shearing contests and four-in-hands!Vaulting is growing in the northeast and we have a lotof fun introducing new audiences to vaulting.

On a bright note, one of my dressage studentsbrought her horse for dressage training this month.He seemed like he might be the vaulting type so wethrew the surcingle on and he’s taking to it so quicklythat we wonder if perhaps he was a vaulting horse ina previous life! Hopefully you’ll be hearing more abouthim. His name is Molliere but I call him Moses be-cause he seems so wise!

We’re so looking forward to Nationals in Denverand can’t wait to see you all there!

SHOOTING STARS VAULTING CLUB6903 HARDING HWY, MAYS LANDING,NJ 8330, PHONE: 609/476-4266EMAIL: [email protected]: SCOTTY (BELGIAN/QH), KRAMER(PERCHERON), BEN (BELGIAN), COACHES:DANA VAN VRANKEN, HELENE TERRY,REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1998,COLORS: PURPLE/SILVER/BLACKRick VanVranken

Maybe it was a sign of things to come. Maybe itwas just a coincidence. On November 17, 2001, peoplealong the east coast were treated to the biggest andbrightest Leonid meteor shower of the century. Ear-lier that same day, a few of those folks were treated toa vaulting demonstration by a reorganized and rein-vigorated Shooting Stars Vaulting Club. That demon-stration, at the grand opening of the new arena andstables of the Atlantic Riding Center for the Handi-capped (ARCH), was the start of our biggest andbrightest season yet in 2002.

The team went to that demo with just four vault-ers, having limited practices at fair-weather-only fa-cilities, and not knowing if our Belgian-QuarterhorseScottie, who came to us with contracted tendons,would ever be able to canter consistently. The perfor-mance so impressed the coordinators at ARCH thatthey offered us their facilities, and intrigued a fewspectators who anxiously joined the team. 2002 be-gan with seven vaulters, weekly practices at the ARCHindoor arena, and the regular workouts helped Scottieget better.

dously! Alyssa Bray-shaw spent six weeks inthe spring doing an in-ternship with RickHawthorne for whichshe received highschool credit! She re-turned to Valley Viewover the summer andwas able to compete atNationals. Not to beoutdone, Claire Rosen-feld spent some timewith Mt Eden in the spring and then returned to com-pete with them at Nationals as well. For both girls,these were life-changing experiences.

Horse problems continued to plague the canterteam this fall so the vaulters joined the University ofConnecticut team and did some college vaulting! Oneof my proudest moments as a coach came this fallwatching Kathryn Bjorklund receive her BronzeMedal after only getting to do all the moves at thecanter four times! Barrel work apparently does payoff — as does sheer determination!

Another highlight was having German exchangestudent, Fritti Biegler, spend the year with us. She fitright in. Her upbeat attitude and enthusiasm for thesport added much to our club. Her coach actually wasimpressed with the training she got here and she nowvaults on a B-team! Having Fritti was a great experi-ence for all of us and we continue to keep in touchthrough email and the occasional phone call.

We continued to promote vaulting at several dem-onstrations, all of which were great fun! Dressed inpoodle skirts and ponytails we dazzled crowds at fairsand fancy equine centers as we warmed up to the musicfrom Grease! Our young horse bravely trotted around

Carol LandThe highlight of our year was a trip to Thiers,

France (see October 2002 issue of Vaulting World,page 18); organized by my sister’s team (VaultingVisions). We spent a week with our hosts preparingfor a French-USA vaulting exhibition that included:clowns, acrobatics and accessories. The whole groupwas also involved in a quadrille with dancers on theground and vaulters behind the riders. After the exhi-bition, some of us rode the six exhibition horses fortwo hours through the lovely countryside back to thebarns — bareback!

Our group of US vaulters, from five differentteams, became much closer as a result of this experi-ence. It was especially precious for me to be able totravel with my family members.

The Thiers group was inspiring to both the vault-ers and our coaches. We look forward to hosting themnext summer and giving them a taste of the USA. Itwas such a wonderful opportunity to see more of theworld and have the opportunity to vault on greathorses.

PREMIER’S RIDING SCHOOL1675 BLUEBIRD DR., SUMTER, SC 29115PHONE: 803/469-3099EMAIL: [email protected]: LITTLE BIT (TB), JOHN (BELGIAN)COACH: PAMELA SHEAF,REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 2000COLORS: HUNTER GREEN/NAVY BLUE

SHEA-ROSE VAULTERS2411 WAXHAW-MARVIN RD., WAXHAW,NC 28173, PHONE: 704/843-4306EMAIL: [email protected]: PETALBROOK ELECTRA(MORGAN), BASIC DOC (QH),MOSES (PERCHERON),COACH: CAROL LAND, REGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 1993COLORS: RED/BLACK/WHITE

American and French vaulters dance inThiers. Photo: courtesy Shea Rose

exhibits, blaring sirens, and Miss America’s singing,but thousands of youngsters and their parents pattedScottie, who stood like a trooper through the eighthour event, while the team talked about vaulting. Itwas a similar experience, though outdoors and onlycompeting with a fantastic bluegrass band a few hun-dred feet away, when the team put on a ‘Born to beWild’ demo at the Earth Day Celebration hosted atthe Atlantic County Utilities Authority Eco-park. Funperformances for enthusiastic crowds, which was evengreater at our Atlantic County 4H Fair in August,brought us six new vaulters this year.

Throw in a some successful competitions andyou’d think our vaulters would be satisfied, but a quickpoll of some of the team members revealed the high-lights of 2002 were, by far, clinics with world classvaulters Kerith Lemon, Matthias Lang, and ErikMartonovich; vaulting with friends at UConn; andhaving Scottie named Canter Horse of the Fest at theGreat Falls-Topaz Vaulters Fall Fest. Scottie carriedall the Shooting Stars and UConn canter vaulters, aswell as a couple of trot kids, without fussing a bit.

Clinics bolstered the enthusiasm and confidenceof every vaulter who participated and our coaches,

Our ARCH connec-tion has been great inother ways too. They in-vited us to join them fortwo more demonstra-tions. In March, the teamperformed in the AtlanticCity Convention Centerfor Kid’s Fair, a localevent that attracts nearly10,000 spectators. A fewhundred people saw thetwo demonstrationsamongst the hundreds of

(Continued)


Dana and Helene, brought that enthusiasm back to therest of the team. However, our youngest vaulter is thebest example and our endorsement of the value ofworking with top level vaulters. Little Anna was con-sidering moving up to canter after winning trot classesin the spring, but Mom and Dad were more than alittle skeptical. Reaching the handles to mount 16.2hand Scottie at the trot seemed to be enough of a chal-lenge, but after a weekend with Kerith, she was mount-ing UConn’s 17 hand Rio at the canter. She went onto win unrated canter classes on both Scottie at theGreat Falls/Topaz Fest and Rio at the VIP Fest in thefall. Follow that up with pointers from Matthias andErik, and Anna is getting pretty fearless.

Anna is now flying high. Sharing horses and clin-ics with UConn Vaulters helped set the stage for ournext goal. Look for a UConn-Shooting Stars compos-ite team as we’ve set our sites on Denver.

SILVER STAR VAULTERS3235 BENTON RD., CEDAR HILL, TN 37032PHONE: 615/389-2962EMAIL: [email protected]: STAR (QH), GRACE (PERCHERON),WINCHESTER (HAFLINGER), CAPTAIN (QH/BELGIAN), COACH: MARY MCCORMICKREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 2002COLORS: TEAL/SILVER/WHITEMary McCormick

The Silver Star Vaulters officially became a clubin February of 2002. Since then good fortune and hardwork have helped this team begin to take shape. Nowthat vaulting is gaining some well-deserved recogni-tion in Tennessee, we have gotten a lot more interestin the sport and are increasing AVA membership.

(Shooting Stars continued)


Our horses also participate in activities outsideof vaulting. We make it a point to go on a relaxingtrail ride at least once a week to give the horses a breakfrom the weekly routine. Captain and Winchester areridden in Pony Club activities, and Star and Grace areboth ridden leisurely and jumped on occasion. We doa variety of different activities on the horses to keepthem fresh and willing to vault and to help keep themhealthy and happy, and not bored with their careers.

Going the DistanceVaulting takes a lot of dedication, and traveling

is all part of it. Silver Star knows this first hand! Wehave vaulters from Kentucky and Tennessee who allhave at least an hour drive to make it to practice. Sincethis can put quite a strain on the vaulting parents, wedevised a plan so that they didn’t end up driving theirlives away! There is a wonderful equestrian facilitythat is located in Arrington, Tennessee — a muchshorter commute for the majority of our vaulters. So,every Monday afternoon Star makes the journey (about70 miles) to Peachtree Farms in Arrington so that ourvaulters get a chance to practice. On the weekends,

Mary McCormick at Equifair in MemphisPhoto: courtesy Silver Star

KaitlinLibbyjumps

herhorse.

Popeyeat theMiddleTenesseePonyClubHorseTrials

DemonstrationsI have found that when explaining vaulting to

someone who has never heard of it – a picture is worth1,000 words, but a real live demonstration says it all!This year we have performed at Equifair in Memphis,TN, the Robertson County Horse Show, the RobertsonCounty Parade, local horse shows in NewJohnsonville, McEwen, and Springfield, Tennessee,and for the Middle TN Pony Club. Our audiences have

always been amazed and appreciative of our perfor-mances. I was featured in the Mid-South Horse Re-view in a great article about vaulting with pictures.On a local level, we encourage vaulters to bring theirfamily and friends to practice so they can get a chanceto see vaulting in action.

Cross TrainingIn order to keep vaulting fun and interesting for

both people and horses, we participate in other activi-ties. Every one of our vaulters also rides horses. Themajority are members of a United States Pony Club. Ifind that USPC teaches many valuable lessons includ-ing good horsemanship, responsibility and teamwork.Having vaulters with previous horse experience isextremely helpful when training a new horse. It is alsohelpful for them to be familiar with horses and howthey move when they start vaulting. Some of our vault-ers also participate in dance classes, which help de-velop flexibility and balance. It’s a great way for themto stay in good shape for vaulting as well.

Photos:courtesy

Silver Star

our practices are held in our home town, Cedar Hill,Tennessee. The constant traveling for practice doesn’thold a candle to the miles we will travel to compete.

So far this year, we are planning on attending fivecompetitions which will rack up a total of 6,836 miles.Despite this staggering number, we are all very ex-cited and can’t wait until our first competition! Ofcourse, special measures and extra time will be incor-porated into our travel plans to make sure that thehorses are comfortable at any cost, after all, they travelas much as we do! We’re hitting the road and will seemost of you this year!

SMALL WONDER PONY CLUBVAULTING TEAM421 KINGS HWY., MILFORD, DE 19963PHONE: 302/422-4171,EMAIL: [email protected]: BUBBA(BELGIAN/CLYDESDALE),TWIGGY (PERCHERON), DIESEL (CLYDES-DALE X), COACH: GLENDA & JACLYNADKINS, REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED:2000, COLORS: RED/BLACK/WHITE

SMALL WORLD VAULTING TEAM937 WEST EVANS ROAD, VIOLA, DE 19979PHONE: 302/284-9898HORSES: SUNDAE (PAINT), DAKOTA (PAINT)COACH: JOWANA LAMB, REGION: IXFIRST REGISTERED: 2001COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/WHITE/BLACK

TOPAZ VAULTERS3912 CHANTILLY ROAD, CHANTILLY,VA 20151, PHONE: 703/378-5987EMAIL: [email protected]: TOPAZ (GRADE/DRAFT), DUKE(PERCHERON X), BREEZE (TRAK/TB),ANDROMEDA (SHIRE), GINGER (BELGIAN),MY ALIBI (TB/PERCHERON)COACH: CHRIS APPEL-BUCIERKAREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1981COLORS: BLACK/MAGENTA/PURPLEChristine Appel-Bucierka

Four years ago Adromeda, better known asDrommie, came to the Topaz club as a donation. Shewas a barely broken eight-year-old who had beenkicked in the face as a foal and hit by a car as a filly.We dealt with teeth problems and vehicle spookingproblems. Drommie wore a longing cavason and nobit could be in her mouth for three years. After exten-sive dentistry (see Vaulting World, April 2002 issue,page 21) she was deemed ok to wear a bit for the FallFest of 2001. Her competition performance was lessthan satisfactory so she was given six months to shapeup or she would be out of vaulting. Red Revelle, ahorse trainer of 47 years, was hired to teach “Behav-ioral Training” to her longeur and to train her primaryrider how to deal with her under saddle.

Red’s techniques are similar to those of MontyRoberts, Pat Parelli, Kenny Harwood and numerousothers. With the use of a strong rope halter and a 12to 14 foot rope, the trainer gets the horse to do a seriesof exercises by using specific signals with the rope orhis hands. The exercises are done quickly to keep thehorse focused on the trainer. At the September AVAJudges Forum in Virginia, J. Ashton Moore used thesetechniques to work with different horses.

To deal with the horse’s fear of vehicles, a sta-tionary riding lawnmower with the engine running wasplaced in the arena. Drommie was asked to eat her


2002 AVA Club Reportstreats off the hood. When the mower was drivenaround her she was asked to face it at all times. Even-tually she ate treats off larger running vehicles.

not to be the last “chicken on a hen house” or leapingthrough the air into another vaulter’s arms as the com-mand “lover’s leap” was shouted. Throughout theprogram, we participated in many activities that en-couraged participants to take on leadership roles anddelegate jobs. However, during one activity, any by-stander would have been thoroughly confused as thir-teen blind-folded vaulters appeared to wander aim-lessly across the grass, attached to a huge tangle ofrope, while communicating with each other only inrhyme.

Our experience at Project Adventure includedmany activities that built upon skills that are essentialto vaulting. Learning how to communicate quickly,clearly, and creatively was vital to the success of manyactivities. In addition, the Ropes Challenge Courseenabled us to utilize and combine our individualstrengths in order to complete the course as a team.The day was one filled with laughter, play, and chal-lenge that ultimately strengthened our bond as a team.

VAULTERS OF ICE POND94 HOPE VALLEY RD., AMSTON, CT 06231PHONE: 860/228-1827EMAIL: [email protected]: MIRABELLA (PERCHERON),CARRICK (TB), BUNKY (WELSH/TB)COACHES: VICKI SHERRADEN, ELIZABETHSHERRADEN, REBECCA CALDWELLREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1993COLORS: RED/BLACK

VAULTING VISIONS239B ASBURY STATION RD., SWEDESBORO,NJ 08085, PHONE: 856/467-4511EMAIL: [email protected]: DUCHESS TESSIE (QH/DRAFT),YANYCK (BELGIAN/TB), CORONADO (QH),PRINCE (BELGIAN/QH), PEACEFUL NEWS(TB/TRAK), COACH: ALISON GIESCHENREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 1993COLORS: BLACK/TEAL/WHITEDan Geischen

Last year was one of the most interesting andexciting in our ten year history. We started the sum-mer with our traditional trip from New Jersey to NorthCarolina for a combined vaulting camp of about 30vaulters with Shea Rose. Soon after, our team packedtheir bags to fly to France for a highly educationaland fun filled 12 days of vaulting with the team fromThiers. During the summer, we performed at lest fiveexhibitions a month, our most prestigious being Dres-sage at Devon. Intertwined with all the other activi-ties we had the privilege of working with such distin-guished clinicians as Kerith Lemon and Mattias Lang.

Some of our favorite vaulting memories, are ourholiday parties. Each holiday we gather as a teamand a family and friends and celebrate in a typicallywild vaulter fashion. We celebrated Halloween withan exciting scavenger hunt in the dark, ending withburied treasure in the riding ring. For Christmas, wealways include our buddies Janyck and Tessie and theyare included in the festive partying and caroling. Westill can’t get them to sing any of the Christmas car-ols, but we are working on that. We look forward toanother great season, our highlights being host to 33French vaulters and our gigantic trip across countryto Nationals in Colorado. See you all there!

VIRGINIA VAULTERS12009 ROBIN DR., CATHARPIN, VA 20143PHONE: 703/754-0722EMAIL: [email protected]: JIGGS (MORGAN), LEGACY (QH)DAKOTA (QH), COACH: LARA BORSONREGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED: 2001COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/GOLD/WHITELara Borson

Virginia Vaulters has spent much of the year justgrowing as a team and establishing ourselves. We sentvaulters to the Spring barrel competition hosted byCatoctin, the Great Falls/Topaz Spring & Fall Fests,the VIP Fests, and the Blacksburg Extravaganza. Weperformed in demonstrations with the Vaulting VisionsTeam in New Jersey, as well as numerous clinics. Ournew uniforms were designed by our team managerTom Haynie. We have since decided he missed hiscalling as a fashion designer!

At the Great Falls/Topaz Spring and Fall Fests in2002 Drommie performed very well. She wasawarded the “Best Trot Horse” at the Fall Fest. Shecontinues her training by doing the series of exercisesfree-moving with no halter or rope, just with hand sig-nals. All the Topaz green horses will now be trainedin this way. We are planning a clinic in March orApril 2003 for others to learn this successful tech-nique.

UCONN VAULTING TEAMP O BOX 567, HEBRON, CT 06248PHONE: 860/228-3906EMAIL: [email protected]: UC BUCKINGHAM(MORGAN), RIOBRAVO (DRAFT/QH), ABIGAIL (BELGIAN X),SANDSTORM (BELGIAN), COACH: ADELEDAWLEY, REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED:2000, COLORS: ROYAL BLUE/BLACKStephanie Harris

The UConn Vaulting Team recently set out for aday of fun, challenge, and team bonding when the teammembers and our coach, Adele Dawley, participatedin the Project Adventure program at Saint JosephCollege in West Hartford, Connecticut. Project Ad-venture incorporates communication-building activi-ties, group problem-solving initiatives, games, trust-building activities, and a challenge ropes course intoa comprehensive team building program. While theUConn Vaulting Team is mainly composed of college-age vaulters, we are a diverse group consisting ofmembers ranging in age from six to fifty years old.

Bundled up and well prepared for the chilly No-vember temperatures, we started the day off with someice-breakers and team-work games. The layers quicklyflew off as rubber chickens were thrown across thegrass and vaulters went sprinting after them while slid-ing across the recently melted snow. Even the threatof a head-first slide into the mud could not keep usfrom running circles around our group and trying topass a chicken through the line of vaulters before theother team finished. During another activity, vaulterscould be seen crawling on each other’s backs trying

Topaz’s Andromeda (‘Drommie’)Photo: Chris Appel-Bucierka

Vaulting Visions club Photo: courtesy Vaulting Visions

Virginia Vaulters coach, Lara BorsonPhoto: courtesy Virginia Vaulters

Our team is growing in members and we areblessed to have hardworking and dedicated girls andvery supportive parents. The girls have a lot of funand keep the smiles going even when we had a prac-tice outside in a steady rain – that’s dedication! Nowthat winter has forced us off of our beloved horseGlory, we are fortunate to be able to work inside at agymnastics gym using all the equipment to round outall of our vaulting skills. The gym’s owner even letsus keep a vaulting barrel inside next to the four bal-ance beams. They gymnasts always get a kick out ofwatching us practice.

Besides working in the gym on Fridays and Sun-days, all of our girls have been taking riding lessonsto help their vaulting. Katie Haynie is becoming quiteaccomplished and loves jumping. Christine Beauchenehas a quiet way with the horses and you can see themrespond to her. Ashley Jewel, our competitive gym-nast, took on an abused Percheron mare that coachLara Borson rescued. That horse disliked humans andhad severely foundered. Now she is sound, happy,

(Continued)


Our horses are worked to be as well rounded asour vaulters. Glory, our beloved Quarter Horse mare,was a dream come true at our last competition. Strongand steady, she carried our girls to numerous ribbons.Glory continues to astound us. She can be ridden dres-sage, eventing, show jumping, trail riding, swimming,and she is in the process of learning how to drive. Inthe last snowstorm in Virginia, coach Lara Borsonconvinced Glory to pull her around on a snowboard!

Good horses are what life is all about. VirginiaVaulters also has the pleasure of using Kody and —two horses who tolerate the many games that we in-vent . All of the horses thrive under the love (and tonsof carrots) that the girls give them.

This year we have hopes of Virginia Vaultersmaking its first appearance at the National Champi-onships. Best wishes to everyone; safe and happyvaulting, and we’ll see you all in Colorado!

WELLINGTON VAULTING ACADEMY13522 FOUNTAIN VIEW BLVD.,WELLINGTON,FL 33414, PHONE: 561/792-9418EMAIL:[email protected], HORSES: BOBY,CINAMMON, GYPSY, COACHES: LUIS/MARIABERNAL, REGION: IX, FIRST REGISTERED:1999, COLORS: BLUE/RED/WHITE

(Virginia Vaulters continued)


and able to be ridden around the paddock without tackby Ashley’s youngest brother. Erica Hoogerland istaking dressage lessons and has developed a wonder-ful seat. Our newest member, Alyssa Feudo, has beenriding her mother’s horses and taking lessons for afew years now.

Christine on Glory Photo: courtesy Virginia Vaulters

Region XIllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, SouthDakota, Wisconsin. Regional Supervisor:Jueli Klug 616/983-3813,[email protected]

AGAPE VAULTERS5329 OLD PIPESTONE ROAD, EAU CLAIRE,MI 49111, PHONE: 269/461-6171EMAIL: [email protected]: SAHARA (PERCHERON X), LADYGUINEVERE (PERCHERON), PEBBLES(PAINT), COACHES: JANE EGGER, KAREN

KOLLER, REGION: X, FIRST REGISTERED:1986, COLORS: BLACK/RED/WHITEJane Egger

Last year was packed with education and compe-tition for the Agape Vaulters. We hosted clinics byKenny Geisler and Erik Martonovich and the Mid-west Vaulting Fest with Eric judging. Agape Vaultersalso competed at the Mother's Day Spring Fest inHerdon, Virginia. The vaulters and their families ar-rived early enough to spend some time touring theNational Mall in Washington, D.C. An added bonuswas a personal tour of the United States Park PoliceMounted Unit's stable. Our tour trooper gave us someinsight into the riding abilities of some of our Presi-dents. He also gave us one of their badges to bring usluck at the fest. The luck rubbed off on the competi-tors. It was quite exciting for the team and, as always,Great Falls and Topaz put on a great competition!

Four of our vaulters traveled to Livermore, Cali-fornia for Nationals. The trip gave Amy and MissyDeja, our new Silver vaulters, the opportunity to learnmore about vaulting from Rick Hawthorne and theValley View Vaulters, this being their second visit withthem. Bridget Alsbro and Fallon Klug trained withConnie Geisler and Diamond Bar. What a wonderfulopportunity for these vaulters to train and compete onthe west coast!

Brooke Ruggles, one of our vaulters, acquired ablack Percheron gelding, DJ (Diamond Jubilee), inthe spring and gave an impromptu vaulting demon-stration at the Cass County Fair in July! Brooke'smother, Judy, did the lounging honors while Brookeperformed the compulsories and a Kür at the trot. Littledid DJ know he enlisted in a new career when he camehome with the Ruggles.

A pasture mate of DJ's also joined the vaultingteam. Pebbles, a Paint mare, is working out to be avery tolerant canter horse. With many of our trot vault-ers moving up to canter, we are happy to have her onboard! Agape Vaulters are enthusiastic about their

Brooke Ruggles and her draft horse, DJ

Agape Vaulters at the Lincoln Memorial.

Photo: courtesy Agape

Photo: courtesy Agape

BLACK RIVER FARM & RANCH5040 SHERIDAN LINE, CROSWELL, MI 48422PHONE: 810/679-2505EMAIL: [email protected]: CALVIN (SHIRE), HOBBES (SHIRE),DELVERT (PERCHERON), ZEB (BELGIAN)REGION: X, FIRST REGISTERED: 1996

BLUE MOON VAULTERS10460 ALLEN ROAD, CLARKSTON, MI 48348PHONE: 248/437-3578HORSE: SIR LANCE A LOT (PERCHERON),COACH: KAREN RACH, REGION: X, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2003, COLORS: BLUE/SILVER

DIAMOND E VAULTERS10300 COREY DR., THREE RIVERS, MI 49093PHONE: 616/244-5125EMAIL: [email protected]: INDY (TB), COYOTE (TB), NINA(MORGAN), EDGE (QH), COACH: CHRISTINALUBIENIECKI, REGION: X, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2000, COLORS: GREEN/GOLD

HEARTFELT VAULTERS6600 FISHER RD., HOWELL, MI 48843PHONE: 517/546-8505EMAIL: [email protected]: SCOUT (PINTO)COACH: SUSAN MERKLE, REGION: X, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2002, COLORS: NAVY/WHITE

PEGASUS FARM7490 EDISON AVENUE, HARTVILLE,OH 44632-9328, PHONE: 330/935-2300EMAIL: [email protected]: MICAH (PERCHERON)COACH: TAMMI GAINER, REGION: XFIRST REGISTERED: 1996COLORS: GRAY/ BLACK

sport. Even better, their parents are just as enthusias-tic and very supportive! The parents' help at vaultingpractices, demonstrations, and competitions is directlyresponsible for the Agape vaulting club's progress.Parents, you are appreciated!


UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY VAULTERS11178 CO RD. 201, FINDLAY, 0H 45840PHONE: 419/424-4859EMAIL: [email protected]: EMPIRE (DUTCH WB)COACH: LORI CRAMER, REGION: XFIRST REGISTERED: 2001COLORS: ORANGE/BLACKLauri DeLalla

2002 was another year of learning and growthfor the University of Findlay Vaulters. In March wetraveled ten hours to William Woods University forour first Fest! The long travel was worth it when ourvaulters were able to watch other vaulters in person,not just on videos! After the William Woods Fest ourhorse, Empire only had two days to rest before head-ing down to the Ohio Expo Center for Equine Affair,where he was one of two horses used for the Friend-ship Team Demonstrations.

We are continuing to do demonstrations at inter-collegiate horse shows and other local events. The endof the year has brought the exciting addition of twonew horses to help out with the increasing number ofvaulters. Tuppance and Tonto are both Paint/QHcrosses As we go into 2003 we are looking forwardto hosting our first fest on March 22nd!

WILLIAM WOODS UNIVERSITYVAULTERS200 W. 12TH ST., FULTON, MO 65251PHONE: 573/592-4298EMAIL: [email protected]: IAN (PERCHERON), LANCE (SHIREX), COACH: JEAN KRAUS, REGION: X, FIRSTREGISTERED: 1999, COLORS: BLUE/YELLOW

HawaiiPIIHOLO VAULTERS21 MAKANI #2, MAKAWAO, HI 96768PHONE: 808/573-4975EMAIL: [email protected]: BEN (WELSH/MORGAN), COACH:VALERIE K. VAIRETTA, REGION: HI, FIRSTREGISTERED: 2001, COLORS: RED/WHITE


ForeignCANADA

MT. ARROWSMITH VAULTERSBOX 457, COOMBS , BC, VOR IMO, CANADAPHONE: 250/248-6282,EMAIL: [email protected]: GENTLEMEN JIM (PERCHERON),LASSIE (PINTO), COACH: DONA NAYLOR,REGION: FOREIGN, FIRST REGISTERED: 2000,COLORS: BLACK/GOLD

Vaulting in CanadaBarb Schmidt

There was plenty of good news on the Canadianvaulting scene this past season. New and expandingclubs are enjoying the sport in several provinces. Clubshave now been identified in British Columbia, Alberta,Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. A

It was a year of many exciting firsts for Canadi-ans. Two new clubs traveled all the way from Albertato the west coast of British Columbia in October tocompete in their first vaulting competition — the Com-bined Northwest Vaulting Championships. This festwas a joint venture of the Equestrian Vaulting Asso-ciation of British Columbia and the AVA’s Region III.The combined championships brought together almost100 vaulters from the two countries — a real coop-erative international vaulting event if ever there wasone. The dates have already been set for our 2003Combined Championship: September 27 and 28, 2003in Chilliwack, British Columbia. We hope to see aneven larger contingent from both countries this com-ing year.

Canada sent its largest number of vaulters everinto the international arena. At the World EquestrianGames, for the first time Canada has sent more thantwo vaulters to a world championship or WEG. Al-though all the Canadian competitors were from Brit-ish Columbia, Romany Pinto has since moved toSaskatchewan to pursue veterinary studies — andhopefully to expand the Canadian vaulting frontier atthe same time. For more information visit www.vaultcanada.org.

PHOTOS: Jim Marland

Photos fromCombined BC/RegionIII Championships

SOUTH AMERICA

ESCUELA DE EQUITACIONSAN JORGEAPARTADO AEREO 80713, ENVIGADO -ANTIOQUIA, COLUMBIAPHONE: 574-3138786,EMAIL: [email protected]: SIRENITA, NUBECITA, PENELOPE,QUO VADIS, COACH: ANGELIKA KOPPEL,REGION: FOREIGN, FIRST REGISTERED: 2001Angelika Köppel

Vaulting in Colombia started over 30 years ago,with what we call historical vaulting — vaulting donein Germany in the 20’s. My father, Thilo Koppel,introduced this fantastic sport in the 60’s to his threedaughters in Colombia. What we did was what Ger-many did in the 20’s.

I have been a vaulting coach since I was 15 yearsold, with several interruptions: college studies, becom-ing a mother etc. For the past ten years I have beenthe official vaulting coach at San Jorge, our familyriding school in the beautifull city of Medellín. Be-tween 1994 and 1997 Maria del Carmen García, friendand vaulting coach in Ecuador, and I held several vault-ing fests and competitions in Quito, Ecuador,Medellín, Colombia and Wellington, Florida, that wecalled America’s New Stars.

Nina waves “hello” to all her friends in theUSA. Photo: courtesy Nina Wiger

Colombian vaulters perform triples.Photos: courtesy Angelika Köppel

new national organization, VaultCanada, is beingformed under the auspices of our National Federa-tion. Once this process is complete there will be a newnational badge, medal testing program, and coachingcertification. These programs should all available earlyin the new year.

youngsters. Five are boys! We had our first medal testjust before Christmas. I have a 25 by 25 meter vault-ing hall that can be heated and we are practicing allyear. I and my vaulters would love a visit from Ameri-can vaulters traveling in Europe. Contact me [email protected].

EUROPE

DER VOLTIGIERZIRKELREILSHEIMER WEG, D 69251GAIBERG/HEIDELBERG, GERMANYPHONE: 110049-6223-970041EMAIL: [email protected]: FOREIGN, FIRST REGISTERED: 1998

News from NorwayNina Wiger

Happy New Year! I have 30 vaulters, from Bronzelevel to three years old. Many came from the localchild protective services and many are very talented

(Continued)


In 1997 I held the first clinic in Bogota for twelvefuture vaulting coaches. Here vaulting rapidly becamean interesting and challenging equestrian activity.With the Club Hípico Bacatá in Bogota city, I orga-nized an international clinic featuring Björn Ahsbahsfor vaulting coaches from Ecuador and Colombia in1998. In 2000, in Quito, Ecuador I met Ulrike Rieder,German judge and publisher of Der Voltigzerkel andVicky Smith, then AVA national office manager andassisted with a clinic for vaulters and coaches. Weplan to hold national competitions this year.

Club Reports(Escuela de Equitacion SanJorge continued)

I hope to present one of the best — if not the best— team of vaulters in Colombia. These youngstersare vaulting pioneers and the most developed and old-est vaulting team in Colombia. We have started per-forming triples on the back of our huge black, 13 yearold Hannoverian, Qüo Vadis. Qüo is our most impor-tant and beloved member of the C-team.

We want to keep growing, making new friendsand sharing vaulting experiences. We also would liketo show our beautifull country to anyone who wouldlike to come and share vaulting knowledge with us.Please do not listen to closely to all what is said aboutour country in the news. We live well and are able todevelop this fantastic sport.

GUAYAQUIL VAULTING CLUBURBANIZACION PARQUES DE LOS CEIBOS,MANZANA 1 VILLA #4, GUAYAQUILECUADOR, PHONE: 593-4-851744,EMAIL: [email protected]: TIO MILK (ARGENTIAN WB),COACH: GABRIELA LARREA, REGION:FOREIGN, FIRST REGISTERED: 2001

HIPICO LA GOLONDRINAAPARTADO POSTAL 150, OAXACA, OA 68000MEXICO 11, PHONE: 52-951-27570EMAIL: [email protected]: SPRING RUSH (TB), COACH: SISIKAANNON DE NAVA, REGION: FOREIGN,FIRST REGISTERED: 1999

Colombian vaulters reach for excellencePhotos: courtesy Angelika Köppel

Noel MartonovichRegion IV hosted a series of events

dedicated to reaching the AVA board’s goalof 30% increase in membership. Our kick-off event was a Fun Day hosted by TheUrban Farm — a nonprofit organizationdedicated to bringing the values of farm-ing and ranching to urban youth in the Den-ver metropolitan area.

We set up an AVA informational boothfor the parents to run. Then we held threeshort educational clinics: longeing andtraining the vaulting horse; scoring/judg-ing/how to interpret score sheets; vaulting— advanced vaulters working with smallgroups of beginning and prospective vault-ers teaching the basics of vaulting and com-petition etiquette (how to run in, how to findthe judge, bowing, etc.). Every vaulter inour region with a barrel brought it to theclinic. More than 120 new and prospectivevaulters, experienced vaulters, Pony Clubkids, 4-H kids, longuers, and coaches camefrom Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexicoto our Fun Day.

Region IV Grows Membershiprunners, music managers, and even helpedwith the scoring; a former vaulter was ourEMT. It was a successful event with theemphasis on fun and education. The bestthing was: the Urban Farm wants us back!!They are starting a team and are willing tohost several fun days a year in their won-derful indoor arena. Many thanks to them

for their support.We finished the day with an inspiring

demonstration by the advanced vaulters.Stuffed animals for the tiny tots and rib-bons for the older vaulters were distributed.The participating vaulting clubs were: MileHigh, Miles of Smiles, Golden Gate, Eques-trian in Motion, Albuquerque, Capriole,Highland Hills, Rolling Clover, and theUrban Farm. Thanks to the parents. Youwere all so important in making this en-deavor a success.

Our expansion plan for the region in-cludes judges training. In order to keep thefun days viable, we need a pool of possiblejudges. We hope to run a class twice amonth to discuss and practice judging, learnthe score sheets, etc. We plan to bring anAVA judge to these sessions as the oppor-tunity arises. Hopefully the participants willenter the AVA judges program and help oursport grow.

We plan to provide, with the help ofRick and Virginia Hawthorne, clinics to thetherapeutic riding centers in our area andinclude them in our Fun Days. Clubs inour Region will collaborate with local USPony Club and 4-H organizations to bringvaulting into their programs. We will con-tinue to do demonstrations and perfor-mances and provide clinics for trainingvaulting horses.

After a pot luck lunch, which gave thenew parents a chance to meet and talk toall the clinicians and members of otherclubs in the region, we held a competition.Same-day registration allowed several ofthe new vaulters to compete. Advancedvaulters from Golden Gate and Albuquer-que Vaulters ran the show. ErikMartonovich judged in the horse arena andAlethea Shelton judged in the barrel arena.We ran both arenas simultaneously. Expe-rienced vaulters were the scribes,gatekeepers, announcers, timers, longuers,

Photo: Jodi Rinard

Photo: Jodi Rinard

Awards at the end of the Fun Day

Barrel competitions were a great beginningfor new vaulters.


A Practical Seminar with Yossiand Noel MartonovichKatie Flannigan

Coaches, longeurs, and vaulters fromVirginia, Maryland, and Delaware bravedfrigid temperatures in mid-December totake their vaulting horses to the next levelwith Yossi and Noel Martonovich. BalanceVaulters from Maidens, Virginia hosted thelongeur/trainer’s seminar to help clubs fur-ther develop their member’s training andlongeing skills.

Saturday began with each longeur in-troducing his horse and stating his goals forthe seminar. Problem areas were discussedand addressed through private and groupinstruction. It was concluded that most ofus hope to develop a calm, supple, and obe-dient horse who works to enhance the per-formance of the vaulter.

Taking Your Horse to the Next Levelhorses to extend along straight sides andcollect going into small circles. Longeursworked to reinforce obedience and supple-ness, while maintaining calm as theywarmed up their horses. Again vaulterswere introduced according to the individualhorse’s level of training.

Noel and Yossi Martonovich are train-ers and longeurs for Golden Gate Vaultersin Golden, Colorado. Each possesses anindividual style that complements the otherto make them an effective and fun clini-cian team. A lifetime of searching for thebest way, hard work, and experience havegiven them a wealth of knowledge on train-ing vaulting horses that makes them a greatresource to the vaulting community. Theirclassical approach to training helps newtrainers and longeurs feel like the fog haslifted and the path to better training standsclear before them.

A training video of day one of the semi-nar is available from Balance Vaulters.Contact Katie Flannigan, Balance Vaulters,at 804-556-6376 or email [email protected] for video information.

A quiet moment

Well-trained vaulting horses accept thevaulter’s approach and maintain balanceand gait with different vaulters. Throughcorrect and regular training and condition-ing, teams can have good vaulting horses.

Individual instruction began with workin-hand and longeing. Trainers focused pri-marily on communication techniques todevelop obedience and maintain calmnessin their horses. The principles of longeingwere applied with and without vaulters.

After a great lunch of potato soup fromthe Balance Vaulters’ snack bar, everyonegathered back into the indoor ring for agroup riding lesson. Instruction focused onclassical dressage principles, horse supple-ness, improvement of the rider’s seat, andthe use of aids. The figure eight was usedto help riders develop control and enhance

Formerly VALENTINES

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1107 SW Stephenson Ct., Portland, OR 97219

For a New, Free2003 Catalog

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Yossi demonstrates with GoldiePhoto: courtesy Noel Martonovich

the cadence (rhythm) of their horses. Seminar participants and members of

the Balance Vaulters team joined theMartonoviches for a relaxing dinner at thehome of Keith and Katie Flannigan. Dis-cussions begun earlier in the day were con-tinued around the wood burning stove.Guests watched vaulting and dressage com-petitions videos from the World EquestrianGames in Jerez, Spain.

On Sunday, individual instruction inlongeing began with work on extension andcollection along the wall. Communicationwas stressed while longeurs asked their

Photo: courtesy Noel Martonovich


Tentative Schedule:* Fest information/entries posted online/mailed approx. May 30, 2003(published in June Vaulting World) • Entry Deadline July 7, 2003 • Orderof Go posted/mailed July 23, 2003 • Unrecognized and AVA competi-tions on Aug. 7, 2003 • AVA and USAE competition on Aug.8-10, 2003.

Nationals Update Letter to the EditorWhile perusing the recent issue of the Vaulting World,

we came across a small article labeled “FEI Vaulting Com-mittee Report”. Yossi and I found ourselves interested. Wethought the FEI committee would probably have some goodideas about how to make the sport safer and more audiencefriendly for teams. Instead, what we read was that the com-mittee has decided that they need to “improve the perfor-mance of team horses”. They then stated that, “The commit-tee unanimously agreed that it was clear that an improve-ment in the quality of the canter of many team horses wasrequired. Making the horse score more severe and changingthe judge’s mentality towards being more severe were sug-gested ways to implement this goal.”

In Alois Podhajsky’s, The Complete Training of Horseand Rider, Chapter 2 — The Definitions of the Classical Artof Riding, “The object of the classical art of riding is to traina horse not only to be brilliant in the movements and exer-cises of the high school, but also to be quiet, supple, andobedient, and by his smooth movements to make riding atrue pleasure.” Alois Podhajsky was the head of the Span-ish School of Riding for 20 years, the bastion of classicaldressage. Why are we then in the vaulting world looking tomake vaulting into a more and more dangerous sport pittingthe horse against the vaulter instead of rewarding the horseand the vaulters for working in true harmony and balance.Shouldn’t the judges be rewarding the horses whose train-ing so epitomizes the true aim of dressage? Is this art or is ita demolition derby? Are we looking to the new age dressageriders, trainers, and breeders who are looking for bigger andbigger movements out of their horses instead of a horse whocan produce a well balanced beautiful three beat canter with-out the giant stride that these new age gurus are looking for.What does this gait have to do with vaulting?

The Olympics is seriously considering droppingeventing from the Olympics because it is getting more andmore dangerous, do you think that a team vaulting on a horsethat has a more suspended canter is safer and more beautifulor just more dangerous?

The sport of gymnastics has recently rebuilt their vaultapparatus because they were having more and more inju-ries. They made it bigger and safer for the gymnasts. Whyare we trying to make vaulting more dangerous?

Our rule book states that the horse should have a threebeat canter with suspension phase, good cadence, good car-riage, good submission. These all seem to be reasonable re-quirements but where does it say that the longer the periodof suspension, the better. I don’t know when the last timeyou went to see a dressage show but if you think those rid-ers are on horses that would be considered a pleasurableride, try taking one of them out on a trail ride.

We, as a sport, need to be leaders instead of followers.If we want to improve the sport, provide ourselves withgrowth, and become appealing to an audience, we need tolook in other directions. Following the current fashion ofthe modern competitive dressage is perhaps not the modelthe vaulting world needs to be following. There are otherclassical models of training and horsemanship that perhapslend themselves better to the safety, fluidity, and harmonywe desire.

Noel & Yossi Martonovich

Hospitality Mgr: Brenda SimmonsArena Decor: The Urban FarmScoring Manager: Carol BeutlerDay Managers: ?Office Manager: ?Workers Coordinator: ?Sponsors/Advertising: ?Vendors/Sales Manager: ?

If you are interested in helping out by managing some aspect ofNationals, please contact Marianne Rose at ph/fax 408/867-1789or marianne_rose@ worldnet.att.net.

AVA V.P. Compet.: Marianne RoseUSAE Fest Manager: Carol BeutlerFest Managers: Yossi/Noel MartonovichFest Treasurer: Judy BaloghyStable Manager. Bill SherradenFooting Manager: Mike CzyzewskiMusic Manager: Paul CaskeyAwards Manager: Kathy Jamison

StablingThe best place for stabling before Nationals is the Jefferson County Fair-grounds. Contact Debra Adams, [email protected] for arrange-ments. Get in touch with her as soon as possible as space is limited. Thebeautiful facility is right at the base of the mountains and there are hotelsnearby. The hotel next to the fairgrounds is the Courtyard Mariott Denverphone 1 800-228-9290. RV camping is available at the fairgrounds. Thereare several arenas there so you would be able to practice. You can moveyour horses into the National Western Complex in Denver any time afterTuesday, August 4, 8 am.

HousingBest Western, Central Denver, 200 West 48th Avenue, Denver, CO 80216* Phone 800/964-4001 or 303/296-4000 * Rate $65 per room for 1-4persons * Mention “American Vaulting” for rate * Closest hotel to theNationals site * Complimentary breakfast buffet * Restaurant * Swim-ming pool & hot tub.

Program AdvertisingProgram will be 8-1/2” x 11”. Rates are $25 for a business card sized ad,$100 for 1/3 page, $115 for 1/2 page, $200 for full page. For color orother special requests, contact Marianne Rose.

Therapeutic Vaulting DemonstrationThere will be a demonstration by the Horses of Hope on Thursday duringthe lunch break. For more information contact Horses of Hope RidingCenter, Inc., 6968 SE 20th, Baxter Springs, KS 66713, contact:[email protected] or visit: www.horsesofhope.org.

ScoringWith the help of Paul Caskey, we are aiming for on-line registration (forthose who can access the net). To cover all clubs, a response email willbe sent out prior to posting/mailing and those who do not respond willreceive mailed hard copies of the entry/information.

VendorsCost for vendors available soon. We have lots of space — all indoors!

Sponsors• Bronze Level ($1000): Half page ad in program, class sponsorship ofchoice as available, announcements during the day, VIP seating for two,tickets for two to Night of Stars. • Silver Level ($2500): Half page inVaulting World, full page ad in program, two class sponsorships of choiceas available, announcements during the day, banner for arena, VIP seat-ing for four, tickets for four to Night of Stars. • Gold level ($5000): Fullpage ad in Vaulting World, full page ad in program, two class sponsor-ships of choice as available, announcements during the day, banner forarena VIP seating for six, tickets for six to Night of Stars. • Class Spon-sorships (between $50 and $200) will be listed in the April 2003 issue ofVaulting World) • Custom sponsorships and other packages available,contact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789 [email protected].

Officials/Managers:


The American Vaulting Association presents an excitinginteractive horsemanship program for vaulters & coaches

For your opportunity to participate in thismotivational program, please request an application

and guidebook from:

EARN A CERTIFICATE AND PATCH!

Designed to stimulate, educate, enhanceour relationship with our most important

teammate: the horse.

I had six or seven vaulters, a beautifulfacility, and great horses. I became theyoungest registered AVA coach in America.That is when my vaulting career turnedaround. I found out how hard it is toprogress without a real coach for myself.Yes, you can teach younger vaulters to helpyou point your toes and sit up straight, butthere is a big difference between that andtop level competition. I have not had acoach since 1995, but have never left thevaulting world. My surcingle goes with mewherever I move. My videotapes of Na-tionals and competitions became my onlyteacher while at college. I would watchthem every day and take notes on suchthings as John Alongi’s incredible Kür,Kerith Lemon’s perfect compulsories, andDanny Sommerville’s ground jump into ashoulder stand on the neck. I watchedIsabelle Bibbler’s 1993 Nationals Kür overand over. I must say “Thank you” to allmy teachers. Those videos taught me a lot.

The hardest thing is rememberingthose times when I was young and was sickof listening to my coach tell me to do an-other click; then realizing that I’d give any-thing to have any coach now — just to tellme to point my toes and hold the handles adifferent way. Coaches do so much for theirvaulters without anyone else noticing. Ithink I took them for granted too much

Can I Have Your Coach?Kristy Flemming

I started vaulting when I was nine yearsold on Starlite Vaulters with coach AletheaTraskin. I vaulted for five years on a mulenamed Penny and learned a lot from Aletheaand the other vaulters on the team. At 14 Itook a five-hour train and bus ride everyother week to practice with Diamond Bar’sB-team and individuals on Goliath andBeautiful Belle. 1995 was my best Nation-als, finishing fourth in Bronze out of 105vaulters and I passed my Silver medalexam. Then at 15 I started my own team:The Showtime Vaulters of DG Bar Ranch.

when I was young. Once they are gone yourealize what you have lost.

I am now 23 years old and still tryingto improve my vaulting. My goal is to havemy Gold medal within a year. I can’t waitto have that one on one learning experiencewith a coach. I have always felt like I havethe desire and potential to become a world-class vaulter, but haven’t had the chance.

I am extremely glad that I started theShowtime Vaulters and that they are doingso well today. Leslie and Marisa Hamarused to be my little shadows and have sincepassed me up. I have found happiness incoaching and seeing those young faces lightup with self-confidence and determination.Coaching is a joy I hope everyone can ex-perience. Now with Oak Hills Vaulters, Icould never give up my coaching job. Myvaulters are wonderful. I just hope that Ican improve with them.

Next time you don’t want to go to prac-tice and listen to your coach tell you to dothe compulsories again, remember thatthere are people out there who would loveto take your place. Say “thank you” to themsometimes and remember how much theydo for you. They are truly amazing people.

And “thank you” to all those wonder-ful people and coaches out there who havetaught me so much through example.

Happy Vaulting!!Coach Kristy and vaulter.

Photo: courtesy Kristy Flemming

Marge Oakes, 732 Camino Del Bosque NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114,Email: [email protected]


AMERICAN VAULTING ASSOCIATION2003 Vaulter, Sustaining/Contributing/Benefactor/Life/Alumni Membership Form

Sex Male/Female US Citizen Yes/No AVA#:______ AVA Rating USAE #:___________

****PLEASE CHECK ALL INFORMATION LISTED BELOW VERY CAREFULLY****The AVA data base has been revised and we need everyone to submit current and accurate information!

INSTRUCTIONS: • One form per member • Complete Required* sections and include other information as available • Keep acopy of the membership form and cancelled check • Give your coach or your club manager your complete form(s) and one checkmade payable to your club. If you are not sending your membership through a club, please see below. Information correct Please make changes shown Do NOT publish contact information

MEMBERSHIP: Vaulter Family (Sustaining) Family (Vaulter) Alumni $40 $125 $0 $25

Sustaining Contributing Benefactor Life $40 $100 $300 $750

First Name*: _________________ Last Name*:___________________ Date of Birth: _______________ (Required* for Vaulters)

Street Address*:________________________________________ City*: _________________________

State*: ______ Zip*: ________________ Email: ____________________________________________

Home Ph*:______________________ Wk. Ph:______________________ Fax:_____________________

AVA Registered Club of which you are a member*: ___________________________________________(“Independent” if not a member of AVA club. All Vaulter members 18 years old and younger MUST be members of an AVA Registered club).

Required* for Vaulters Required* for Vaulters

AVA Medal History: ____________________________________________________________________(Include date highest medal earned)

First Year AVA Registered: _________

Check all that apply Vaulter Coach Longeur Parent Vaulting Horse Owner Special Needs

Memberships 4H USPC NAHRA CHA GSA Other: _______________________________

SEND: Vaulting World 1st Class ($15 extra charge) DO NOT SEND Rulebook, Directory Vaulting WorldAll foreign memberships pay an additional charge of $25.00 per year for postage

For Family (Vaulter) memberships, please include name of Sustaining member in your Family membershipFor Family (Sustaining) memberships, please include names of ALL Vaulter members in Family membership.Additional information:

If you are NOT sending in your membership through your club, please make check payable to AVAand mail to: American Vaulting Association, 7060 Fairfield Business Drive, Fairfield, OH 45014-5480Credit Card Visa Mastercard Number: __________________________________ Exp. Date: ___/___/___Name on Credit Card: ____________________________________ Signature: ______________________________________If name, billing, or phone on your credit card is different from membership above, please note below

AVA MembershipAVA membership forms were mailed

to all clubs in December. If you have notreceived/mailed in your 2003 AVA mem-

bership form, please check with your coachor club manager before filling in this form.If you are a member of a club, please have

your club send in your membership alongwith all fees and any other membershipswhich have been submitted to your club.


VOLUNTEER EXECUTIVE BOARDPRESIDENT: Nancy Stevens-Brown - ph/fax 831/476-5901, [email protected]

EXEC. V.P.: Kelley Holly - 707/665-9281, fax 707/665-9232, [email protected]: Judy Baloghy - 206/780-8184, [email protected]

V.P. COMPETITIONS: Marianne Rose - ph/fax 408/867-1789, [email protected] V.P. DEVELOPMENT: Sheri Benjamin - 408/741-5272, [email protected]

V.P. EDUCATION: Stephanie Siemens - 607/642-8754, fax 607/642-8685, [email protected]. MEMBERSHIP: Teresa Keville - 707/795-2822, fax 707/795-8019, [email protected] SECRETARY: Jen Williams - 301/317-7964, [email protected]

NATIONAL OFFICE: Phone 513/874-7732 • Fax 513/874-3229 • 7060 Fairfield Business Drive, Fairfield, OH 45014-5480AMERICAN VAULTING ASSOCIATION DIRECTORY

www.americanvaulting.org

Office Hours: 10am - 3pm M-F Eastern Standard Time • Email: [email protected]

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONSALUMNI: Patti Reschar - 408/356-8660, fax 408/356-3435, [email protected]

ATHLETES COUNCIL: Kim Deaver - 541/758-2152, [email protected] • AWARDS: Jeannie Beattie - 805/736-4420CLINICS: Stephanie Siemens - 607/642-8754 • COACHES: Jen Williams - 301/317-7964

CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS: Joy Coburn - ph/fax 818/888-8621 • EXHIBITIONS: Kelley Holly - 707/665-9281FEST 2003: Yossi Martonovich 303/277-0357, [email protected]

FRIENDSHIP TEAM: Priscilla G. Faulkner - 770/786-7283, [email protected] • GRANTS: Jan Garrod - 408/741-1191, [email protected]: Judy Toothacher - 661/724-2206 & Jane Garrod - 408/867-9145

SAFETY: Kim Deaver 541/758-2152 • TECHNICAL: Adrienne Stang - 408/867-0184, [email protected] RECOGNITION: Shari Ballenger - 831/462-2734, [email protected]

STAFFNATIONAL OFFICE MANAGER: Janet Brown - 513/874-7732, fax 513/874-3229, [email protected]

VAULTING WORLD EDITOR: Marianne Rose ph/fax 408/867-1789, [email protected]

VOLUNTEER STAFFHISTORIAN: Nancy Stevens-Brown - 831/476-5901 • LIAISON CHA: Stephanie Siemens - 607/642-8754, fax 607-642-8685

LIAISON Chronicle of the Horse: Chris Appel-Bucierka - 703/378-5987, fax 703/802-6886LIAISON 4-H: Amy McCune - 508/746-7085, [email protected] • MEDAL TEST SCTY: Sue Detol 503/357-9651, [email protected]

TECHNICAL ADVISOR: J. Ashton Moore - (6 am - 8:30 am) 408/623-4446, fax 408/623-0607, [email protected] SITE MANAGER: Eric Jewett - 408/741-5759, [email protected]

VOLUNTEER SPECIAL PROGRAM DIRECTORSNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THERAPEUTIC VAULTING: Rick Hawthorne - 818/302-0153, fax 818/302-0154, [email protected]

UNITED STATES of AMERICA EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION Victoria Nahorniak - 859/258-2472x2027, [email protected], website:www.equestrian.org • USAE VAULTING COMMITTEE: Adrienne Stang - 408/867-0184

LIABILITY INSURANCE (AVA): Betty Ferri, Sypolt Insurance Services, Inc., 2934 Gold Pan Court, Ste 4, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670,800/995-4770 x204, 916/669-1362, fax 916/669-1363, [email protected]

Topaz Vaulting ClubNew email: [email protected].

Northwind VaultersNew email: [email protected].

New AVA Directory/RulebookWill be published in March.

New CompetitionsIf you know of any competitions whichhave not been listed in the calendar on theback of Vaulting World, send the informa-tion to Marianne Rose at [email protected]. All competition informa-tion will be posted as soon as possible athttp://home.att.net/~avafest -->2003 Calen-dar. There are resources for competitionmanagers at that site also.

Got Clinics?If you are holding a clinic or would like toput out the word about needing a clinic,please send your information [email protected]. Informa-tion about clinics will be published in Vault-ing World and posted at http://home.att.net/~avafest -->Clinics.

Corrections/ChangesMarianne Rose

Alert: We have found that the cop-ies of The Compulsories - Training forCoaches with the REVISION DATE at thebottom of the title page of 1-3/08/01 hasone or more missing pictures on pages ii,1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 17, 21, 25, 30, 31, 36,38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 56, 57,60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 71, 77, 78, 80, 81,84, 85, 86. Anyone with one of these cop-ies should contact Emma Drinker (ph/fax408/8678-9476 or [email protected]) or Marianne Rose (ph/fax 408/867-1789 or [email protected])to receive a new and complete copy at noadditional charge. We hope to have the cor-rected, new version available at 2003 AVAAnnual Meeting.

The Compulsories

REMINDER - AVA NATIONAL OFFICENew Manager: Janet Brown

New Address:7060 Fairfield Business Drive,

Fairfield, OH 45014-5480New phone: 513/874-7732

New fax: 513/874-3229New email:

[email protected]


CALENDAR OF VAULTING EVENTSCALENDAR OF VAULTING EVENTS

TIME VALUE MAILDO NOT DELAY

AMERICANVAULTING

ASSOCIATION

7060 FairfieldBusiness DriveFairfield, OH45014-5480

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE - MARCH 7, 2003

February 8 Tambourine Barrel Fest, Petaluma, CA. ContactKelley Holly 707/665-9281, tambourine-farm@worldnet/att.net

February 22 Winter Warm-up Barrel Fest, Storrs, CT. ContactA.Dawley 860/228-3906, [email protected]

Feb 27-Mar 1 AVA Annual Meeting , Lexington, KY. ContactN.Takemoto 831/462-6783,[email protected]

March 8 Catoctin’s Barrel Fest, Leesburg, VA. ContactK.Dalby, 703/754-0118, [email protected]

March 22 University of Findlay Fest, Findlay, OH. ContactL.DeLalla 419/306-0297, [email protected]

March 29-30 Horrell Hill Longeing Clinic, Hopkins, SC.Contact Claudia Garner 888/567-8898, website:www.horrellhilldressage.com

April 12-13 VIP Spring Fest, . Contact Carol Land 704/843-4306, [email protected]

April 15 Shea Rose Southern Sunshine Fest, Waxhaw,NC. Contact Carol Land 704/843-4306,[email protected]

April 25 CVI** Nitra, Slovakia. Contact Victoria Nahorniak859/258-2472, [email protected]

May 9-11 Great Falls/Topaz Spring Fest, AVA Recognized,Herndon, VA. Contact Jen Williams 301/317-7964, [email protected]

May 10 CVI** Fenstat, Czech Rep.. Contact V. Nahorniak859/258-2472, [email protected]

May 17 Garrod’s Spring Classic (USAE/AVA Recog-nized), Saratoga, CA. Contact M. Rose 408/867-1789, [email protected]

May 18 Garrod’s May Fest (AVA Recognized), Saratoga,CA. Contact M. Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

May 30-June1 CVI** Stadl-Paura, Austria. Contact V. Nahorniak859/258-2472, [email protected]

June 1 Woodside Fest , Menlo Park, CA. Contact JulieDivita 650/216-6072, [email protected]

June 6 CVI** Sala, Slovakia. Contact Victoria Nahorniak859/258-2472, [email protected]

June 28-29 CVI* Saratoga , Saratoga, CA. Contact M.Rose408/867-1789, [email protected],www.cvisaratoga.org

2003

FIRST CLASSU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 542CUPERTINO, CA

July 5 CVI** Lack, Poland. Contact Victoria Nahorniak859/258-2472, [email protected]

July 24-27 Region II Championships, Grass Valley, CA.Contact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

Aug. 7-10 CH EU-V Saumur, France. Contact VictoriaNahorniak 859/258-2472,[email protected]

August 7-10 USAE/AVA National Championships, Denver,CO. Contact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

September 19-21 Great Falls/Topaz Fall Fest, AVA Recognized,Herndon, VA. Contact Jen Williams 301/317-7964, [email protected]

October 26 Mt. Eden’s Halloween Fest, Saratoga, CAContact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

What dohorses want?

Mt. Eden’sRusty is

pretty clearabout that...

“FEED ME!”

Photo: Kim Lanfri

For more information on USA competitions: http://home.att.net/~avafest

club reports page 4 - american vaulting5 marissa hamar, showtime 6.862 silver men 1steven bertling,...

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