Vaulting, anybody's opinion

Personally, equitation I find MIND NUMBINGLY boring and completely useless, however, have no quarms about other people enjoying it, and finding a sport from it- horses for courses surely.
Just because you personally don't like (or in this case don't understand) something, doesn't make it ok for you to classify it as "not a sport".
I have only vaulted once, I was terrible, trying to do what these people do on a horse that is moving is incredibly difficult. One of my best friends used to vault nationally, she spent hours and hours on the horse, riding it, as well as vaulting on it. She also hunted, and teamchased it. I think any horse which has it's whole life spent doing one this day in day out must have a boring life, I think a lot of riding school ponies who spend their days going round the same arena must have lost the will to live years ago.
 
It's been interesting reading these replies. However just because its performed on a horse DOES NOT make it an equestrian sport, how can it?
A gymnastic sport yes but most certainly not an equestrian sport, since most vaulters are 'failed gymnasts'. Many other equestrian sports require a high level of athletic ability.
I've read Joanne Eccles blog on horsehero and at no time have their horses done anything other than training or competitions. Are they ridden at all?

It all comes down to the handler/ lunger or perhaps controller is a better term for the person in the centre who controls the speed of the horse.
Basically the vaulter isn't riding , just using the horse as a moving platform so in that respect to save the cost of transporting horses around the world why doesn't someone build a mechanical horse made, kind of like the bucking bronco (except it stays steady, even, slow and rhtyhmical) where the vaulters can use that. Just think it would do away with the lunger, no horse is required so accessible to all, competitions around the world would be easy as there wouldn't be transporting issues etc etc
Just a thought ...;-)
 
Yes, but I think it comes under equestrian sport because without the horse, you couldn't do the vaulting, could you? I mean, it's a pretty important requirement that the horse is present, otherwise it's just some dude in a jump suit.
 
asset2004 said:
It's been interesting reading these replies. However just because its performed on a horse DOES NOT make it an equestrian sport, how can it?
A gymnastic sport yes but most certainly not an equestrian sport, since most vaulters are 'failed gymnasts'. Many other equestrian sports require a high level of athletic ability.
I've read Joanne Eccles blog on horsehero and at no time have their horses done anything other than training or competitions. Are they ridden at all?

It all comes down to the handler/ lunger or perhaps controller is a better term for the person in the centre who controls the speed of the horse.
Basically the vaulter isn't riding , just using the horse as a moving platform so in that respect to save the cost of transporting horses around the world why doesn't someone build a mechanical horse made, kind of like the bucking bronco (except it stays steady, even, slow and rhtyhmical) where the vaulters can use that. Just think it would do away with the lunger, no horse is required so accessible to all, competitions around the world would be easy as there wouldn't be transporting issues etc etc
Just a thought ...;-)
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness... go back to sleep.
 
To address your 2 questions to me Gillian..

I had a good look of the pictures, videos forum, last night. Found a lot of enjoyable posts but unfortuntely not yours, please can you point me in the right direction cos as I have said before I would like to understand this.

All joking aside, I do believe that there are some horse management issues in this sport, but I am more than open to being shown that this is not the case. And I hope we will agree on this point that the horses come first..
 
Sorry added pics and video to earlier in this thread or the one in CR, not sure which.

Of course the welfare of the horse is most important. And i think its a shame that the Eccles don't ride their horses, they were never horsey before they got into vaulting. But as far as i know they are in the minority, all the horses i know are ridden all of the time. My friend did some vaulting with her eventer, he a slightly sensitive soul and before going to vaulting every day she would take him hacking and gallop him just to take the edge off. Didn't really help as he got fitter and fitter and she ended up working and working him.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47015540@N00/4575231615/in/set-72157623860465225/
Do excuse the slightly worried face in a couple, this was his first competition and when he got into the arena he was slightly on edge.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47015540@N00/sets/72157623860465225/
Link to all the pictures of him.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47015540@N00/sets/72157600512744955/
All my online vaulting pictures, have loads more here but havn't sorted out most of them.
The videos are linked in to one of my posts, sorry would link to them again but sis found them and she's at work now.
 
As far as I'm concerned it smacks of circus tricks. Sure you all have a fab time and I'm as sure your horses welfare is uttmost in your minds but to my eye it's circus. Just my opinion not wanting to offend those that enjoy it but I certainly won't be watching anyone doing it.
 
copper100 said:
All joking aside, I do believe that there are some horse management issues in this sport, but I am more than open to being shown that this is not the case. And I hope we will agree on this point that the horses come first..
Click to expand...

So make a formal conplaint to the necessary bodies then. Complaning on HHO is not going to get this matter anywhere, if you actually believe that there is an issue there then what is posting on this forum going to do about it?
 
Sorry to say it, but the pics on this thread of children standing & performing gymnastic movements on a horse with no hat on just make me cringe :eek:

I don't pretend to understand the in and outs of vaulting. But seriously, that's a long way down, and a horse is still a horse, no matter how well trained on the lunge...
 
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