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Meet a Rider(s)
A Curly Vaults to
Nationals
by Tames Alan
When Tammy Denault,
owner of Dreamswept Farm and coach of the Emerald City Vaulters, pulled out
of her place with two horses, Yellow Storm (ABC-S-495), and Thunder Road, a
half-Percheron half-Lipizzaner mare, she knew it would be a long, hot ride
cross-country to Massachusetts for the National Vaulting Competition. The
four members of the team accompanying her, (the other seven team members
would be flying out), ranged in age between 12 and 14. The kids were very
excited, as none had been out of Washington state before. This was a big
adventure for them, and what an adventure it turned out to be. There was
extreme heat all across the country, a tree falling only two car-lengths
ahead of them during a thunder and lightning storm in Montana, tornado
warnings in the Midwest, and rainstorms on the East Coast.
On the long drive, Tammy had time to reflect about her long career with
vaulting. Her introduction to the sport came at Mt. Holyoke College, where
she was earning her degrees in psychology and education. She smiled,
thinking how things seem to go full circle, as the national vaulting
competition was being held at her alma mater, and her students would be
performing for her former teachers.
Tammy has spent the last 15 years coaching and training vaulting horses,
which must have a smooth, consistent gait. This is what makes Curlies ideal
vaulting horses. Along the way, she earned her certification with the EVA
(Equestrian Vaulting Association) of BC as an equestrian vaulting trainer.
Tammy, with her college roommate, Jodi Dohmen, formed the Emerald City
Vaulters, the oldest American Vaulting Association club in Washington state.
Many people associate vaulting with bareback riders at the circus or with
trick riders in the movies. However, vaulting is the sport of gymnastics on
horseback set to music and is a recognized discipline by the Fédération
Equestre Internationale for international competition. Participants are
judged on a set of compulsory moves and a set of free-style moves, called,
in German, a kür. There is competition for individuals, pairs, and an entire
team. It's one of the few sports where men and women can compete on the same
team, and where all learn balance, movement with the horse, gymnastics, and
music interpretation. Most importantly, vaulting requires trust and teamwork
between the vaulters, the horse, and the longer, who controls the horse
moving in a circle on a longe line. In this competition, Tammy would be the
longer.
To break up the long journey, Tammy told her vaulters about the rich history
behind vaulting. It started as a way to train the cavalry of the Roman
Empire and the knights of the Middle Ages, and it acquired its name la
voltige from Renaissance France. Vaulting was included as artistic riding by
cavalry officers in the 1920 Olympics and was later demonstrated at the 1984
and 1986 Olympic games.
Finally, they arrived and settled in with the rest of the team. They knew
they'd be competing as a trot team, as they had too few members ready to
compete at the canter level. It didn't matter. The competition would be
stiff. The team had been preparing all year, perfecting their compulsory
moves, choosing music for individual kürs and pairs, and perfecting their
team kür to a medley of Mary Poppins songs. They'd attended clinics in the
summer to work with Colin Schmidt, a world competitor from Canada; Nikko
Tanaka and Jodi Dohmen, silver-medal competitors; and Tames Alan, a retired
dancer and choreographer. Everyone thought nationals would be a good
learning experience for the team.
Yellow Storm, a Curly, had long been everyone's favorite horse for
compulsory moves because of her smooth gait. She never missed a step, and
even the judges commented on her way of going. Thunder was used for the team
kür, as she would have up to three vaulters on her back at one time. Both
horses were used for the individual kürs and pairs part of the competition.
There was much excitement when the team took first place in the compulsory
moves, thanks in part to Storm's even pace.
Then they took a first in individual kürs and did very well in pairs. It was
all coming down to the team kür. There was much anticipation as the team
warmed up with a dance routine they learned that summer, and everyone
prepared for the event that would decide the national championship. All went
well until one team member fell off the horse, but the team had been trained
by pros and continued with the competition. Imagine their surprise and
elation when the scores came in, and they saw they'd won the team kür
despite the fall. The Emerald City Vaulters had just become the US National
Trot Team champions for 2001!
There was much celebrating, and Tammy, always one for education, made sure
to find time afterward to take the kids to historic sites before heading
back West with the trophy and experiences of a lifetime.
For more information
and pictures of vaulting, visit Tammy's web site at: www.oz.net/~tdenault
and the American Vaulting Association at
www.americanvaulting.org
or downloadable (pdf) file.
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