Equestrian Vaulting Champs enthral
KYALAMI – The Gauteng Vaulting Championships was recently held at the Kyalami Equidome.
The Gauteng Vaulting Championships ended on a high note after the championship recently took place at the Kyalami Equidome.
The beautiful sport of equestrian vaulting is a small equestrian discipline where athletes perform gymnastic routines on the back of a lunged, walking or cantering horse.
Michelle Blaauw from Gauteng Vaulting said, “The relationship between horse to lunger to vaulter is paramount and the performance is rather alluring whilst choreographed to theme and music. The sport is fighting hard to become a new Olympic discipline given its huge spectator appeal, although one of the last remaining hurdles is that not enough countries currently compete.”
Blaauw said that great inroads have been made in South Africa in bringing this sport to the disadvantaged with several vaulting programmes underway in Diepsloot and Soweto.
Mark White Nissan came on board this year and kindly pledged sponsorship for the Gauteng Vaulting Championships and subsequently followed up with the sponsorship of the final Gauteng 2016 show that was held recently at the stunning Kyalami Equidome. “Without such support, the sport would not be able to thrive as it is currently, and we are proud to be hosting several competitors that have an opportunity to qualify for next year’s Junior World Championships in Austria,” said Blaauw.
“The standard of vaulting was high and evidenced by the number of athletes competing at the more advanced levels for juniors. Furthermore, two squads were down to compete, [it’s] a pity the IVLA Squad withdrew, leaving the highest award going to the well-executed performance of the Riba Junior Squad on Riba’s Rebel Hill,” said Blaauw.
The Canter Pairs class (known as Pas de Deux) was won by the very clean and creative routine of Erin Muller and Asea Pozniakow on Riba’s seasoned Riverdance.
“At the individual level, top awards were received across the male athletes from the IVLA Shumbashaba development vaulters, again such a privilege to see young and aspiring young men coming through the ranks from Diepsloot,” said Blaauw.
