From all the hard work done when vaulting, there are many positive effects. It improves the ability to ride horses, balance, rhythm and timing, suppleness, attitude, provides exercise, work with horses, and it is therapeutic.
Vaulting improves a person’s ability to ride horses. It helps with a person’s seat and riding position. In vaulting, the vaulter’s seat and position must be exactly as they were told, or else they could risk falling off the horse while vaulting. It also helps with riding because it improves balance. Saddles have stirrups, but riders are never supposed to rely on the stirrups for balance. The tack for vaulting horses are only a cushioning pad and a vaulting surcingle with handles for vaulters to hold on to. None of the tack has anything similar to stirrups, so Vaulters need to know how to keep balanced, or else they would fall off.
Vaulting assists with a person’s rhythm and timing. When doing routines, vaulters need to understand the horse’s movement. One part of a horse’s canter can help propel a vaulter into the air, which is needed in some moves. Timing is needed; once riders understand the rhythm of the horse’s movements, vaulters have to time their moves accurately for a successful routine.
Suppleness is another skill that is improved from vaulting. Vaulters are performing on the backs of living horses, and being supple on horses’ backs keeps them content for longer periods of times because their backs are not hurting. In order for the routine to be performed gracefully and smoothly, the vaulter must be flexible and be able to bend with ease.
Vaulters improve a person’s attitude and physical exercise. Vaulters need to have a mature attitude to stay safe, which can lead them to be more mature whether they are near horses or not. They gain the maturity because goofing off and messing around near the horses can lead to dangerous situations around horses, animals that can weigh up to one tom. A vaulter, Jayne, said, “You can’t goof around when a mistake could land someone on their head.” Vaulting provides exercise to people. It is an effective way to regulate an adolescent’s weight and figure. Many of the nation’s best vaulters, the ‘A’ team vaulters (there are only a few ‘A’ teams in the AVA), claim that they stay in shape for and from their dedication to their sport.
Working with horses is every horse lover’s favorite pastime. Vaulters get to work with different horses while part of a vaulting club, since they get to vault on many of the different horses owned by the club or coaches. One vaulting club, the Point Reyes Vaulting Club, even assigns horse care responsibilities to the members, so they can help the owners and coaches. There was a vaulter who wanted to become a veterinarian for large animals, and vaulting and working with horses gave them some background information on some large animals, the horses.
Adaptive vaulting is a form of vaulting, but instead of it being difficult and competitive, adaptive vaulting is a form of therapeutic riding. In it, horses and coaches work with children that have Down syndrome, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. They still practice the same moves, especially the six basic compulsories. Adaptive vaulting improves these children’s coordination and increases their desire to learn, and it gives them the feeling of being in control.
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A/N: I decided to put Positive Effects into only one day of Vaulting week, so I can reserve a day for vaulting images only 🙂
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