Vaulting horses

“We primarily practised tricks on a model horse and spent less time on the actual horse. I could do quite a few tricks on the model horse and had a lot of natural flexibility, but it's a completely different ball game trying to actually do anything on a real horse. There is no classical saddle as you can see in the video, and it took me a very long time to find my balance and even be able to stand up without holding on to the handles. The most frustrating part of my experience was my ability on the model horse did not translate well to the real horse without a lot of work, and I felt a lot of fear trying to do anything on a literal moving object.”

“The camp was a mix between exercises on the ground, on the wooden horse and the clubs horses. Very big horses… But I managed to get on the horse by myself in gallop which I didn’t thought I could. I love vaulting especially since it’s a sport that always challenges you. In the beginning, nearly three years ago, I would always feel a lot of adrenalin after having done exercises in gallop on the horse. It was a big stress (in a good way) where I felt fear mixed with excitement – what a combination! I still feel those feeling when being on the horse, but I do not feel the same adrenalin-rush afterwards, which makes me shake less and also makes me feel more comfortable on the horse.”