One Horse’s canter towards the top THE HORSE GAZETTE By Ingrid Edisen Did you know eques-


trian vaulting is a sport older than actual horseback riding? Did you know it was developed to assist soldiers in being able to mount in motion with all their gear and to help them be able to pick up wounded com- patriots out in the battlefield? And did you know you don’t


invited and at any time those people and mounts may be dropped off the list. Making it onto the Friendship Team, an exhibition team is comparable to being selected to an All Stars or an All American Team. So far, our Texas superstars are Alex Schaubhut, a blond bouncing dynamo teen from


Frank Pace of Ft.


Worth described how Gus made it to the short list: “First, you must realize that organized vaulting started in Texas only about four years ago when Rosie started her group. We started three years ago. So, on a national level, Texas vaulting was considered pretty much


even need to be totally able bodied to do vaulting? Some famous vaulters are missing limbs, fingers or have other handicaps. Vaulting is also used in therapeutic settings. As Frank Pace, the


chief coach of a Ft. Worth- based vaulting club called The Gold Star Pacesetters explains, “The American Vaulting Asso- ciation is the USA’s governing body for vaulting, as is the United States Dressage Federa- tion for dressage, United States Hunter Jumper Association for hunters and jumpers, etc. These associations and the AVA are all USEF, the United States Equestrian Federation, affili- ates.”


Today’s equestrian


vaulters are a rare breed indeed but the popularity of the sport is growing in Texas. These nimble bodied children, teens and adults literally dance with their horses as a steady-as-a- rock lunger stands in the middle keeping order and cadence. Rosie Brown, of Austin, is credited with helping grow the sport in this state as she started The Lone Star Vaulters over four years ago. Two Texas-based


participants have been invited to be considered as perform- ers of The Friendship Team at the World Equestrian Games starting in late September in Lexington, KY. Others U.S. performers have also been


Austin, and Gustauff, a strong rounded massive rose roan American Sporthorse (Perche- ron X American Quarter horse) from the Ft. Worth area. Alex has tested for her silver medal just after her 13th birthday and passed with a commended score. Alex is the daughter of Melanie and Larry Schaubhut. It takes a team to


support these endeavors--the pit crews and the other vaulters and horses all work and practice together. Vaulting is not as expensive as some other horse- back sports. For example, some vaulting clubs only charge $50 a month for participation. And you really only need one good horse for a small team (of two to eight) to get off the ground. Much of the foundation build- ing exercises are done on stand- ing barrels and gymnastic mats. In Europe vaulting is often the way children are introduced to riding to begin with as it is so efficient at helping one gain one’s balance on horseback. The two clubs--Lone


Star Vaulters based in Man- chaca, just south of Austin, at September Song Stables and The Gold Star Pacesetters of Ft. Worth, based at Frank and Patty Pace’s Almost a Ranch Stables, that fostered Alex and Gus--frequently work together by driving to each other’s home base to practice jointly. The Schaubhuts own September Song Stables.


a non-entity. In March 2007 Rosie spearheaded the effort to hold the AVA National Con- ference in the Fort Worth area bringing vaulters from around the country (and the world) to Texas for the first time in history. Then once Rosie took a team to Nationals in 2008, the US vaulting community knew that something was stir- ring in Texas. {I know this is a little different than his exact quote, but is more accurate.} And then we came along and helped stir the pot. But the thinking was that we were still a bunch of nobodies until our kids started winning/placing well on borrowed/rented horses at various competitions. So no one had ever seen our horses at competitions. But, and a big BUT it is, all, not many or most, but all of the clinicians and visiting vaulters who watched or vaulted on Gus kept telling us what a good vaulting horse he could become (in the early days) and then recently they were telling us that he IS a very good vaulting horse. The final deciding factor to nominate him was last fall in Austin when Mary McCormick, the reigning National Champion and Inter- national Champion, watched him at a clinic she was giving. At the end of the day, she ap- proached our longueur, Tom Pritchett. Paraphrasing because I wasn’t there she said she very seldom vaults on horses she


Kay Prince and Hansum Photos by Robbin Cresswell Kay Prince bought


Paddys O Pep (aka Hansum) sight unseen from a ranch in Oklahoma. Heirs were trying to sell all of the livestock of an elderly gentleman who had died, leaving almost 100 horses roaming his 300 acre ranch. All of the horses were registered wellbred AQHA cutting stock, but most had never been handled. Kay asked for a three-year old gelding with good feet and legs. Well, she got an underweight, covered with ticks, ugly little three-year-old stallion who had an injury to his mouth, making it almost impos- sible for him to graze. He wasn’t even halter broke when the haul- ers unloaded him directly from their trailer into our circle pen. Luckily, Kay had found her “dia- mond in the rough.” Hansum had a wonderful disposition. He was easy to halter and saddle break. After a visit to the vet to have his teeth worked on, to get all of his shots, and to be gelded, Hansum started progressing and hasn’t stopped since. Kay and Hansum (who has grown into his name!) place regularly in the Open Divi- sion of the ACTHA rides.


Page 22


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doesn’t know, but she would like to vault on Gus. Tom con- sented. Mary did a great free style routine on him. When she was finished she told Tom, again paraphrasing, that Gus was the best vaulting horse she had been on in a very long time. That cemented our belief that he is a very good vaulting horse. We then sent in all of the appropriate applications and form to the lady, Priscilla Faulkner, in Covington, GA and visited with her several times on the phone. Again, those questions about who were we to think that we had a horse good enough to represent vaulting at the WEG. After all, no one has very much heard of you and you’re in Texas where no one thinks vaulting exists. And on and on. So we decided the best thing to do was to let her see him in action. In mid April, Tom Pritchett; Kim Pritch- ett, his daughter and my best vaulted; Austin vaulter Alex Schaubhut and her mother load- ed Gus up and went to Georgia to a vaulting competition that Mrs. Faulkner was holding. After Mrs. Faulkner watched him there, had other vaulting experts watch him and report back to her, had interviewed all four of those associated with Gus and then visited with me on the phone after they had left Georgia, she let me know that he is Short Listed. Wow!” And if Gus is actu-


ally chosen, Frank explained that there are still some more challenges. It won’t just be a


people (me as coach, my wife as Gus’s dressage trainer [he’s ‘dressaged’ two or three times a week in addition to his lunge work], Tom as longueur, Kim as groom/caretaker, and Tom’s wife, Kellee, as Chef d’Equipe, are there for up to two weeks. Two days there, at least one day of rest, ten days perform- ing, two days back home. Lots more conditioning – he’ll be performing two to three times a day for possibly ten days straight. He needs to be able to canter for 15 -20 minutes non- stop.”


I ronical ly, Tom


matter of popping up to Ken- tucky for a quick performance. Frank ticked off the list of demands: “Jump through lots of veterinary medical demands from WEG (World Equestrian Games) and Kentucky Horse Park. Raise enough funds for expenses while him and five


Pritchett, Gus’s lunger, came onto the scene without any prior history of handing horses. His daughter recruited him one night as she dashed off to vaulting prac- tice about three years ago. So, he came onto the scene as a blank slate and some be- lieve this led to his success as a lunger. He had no “bad” habits to un- learn. Stand- ing at six-foot- three and us- ing quiet voice commands, he keeps Gus and the Pacesetters’ other lunging horses steadily going for the team. For his


day job, he is the Burleson Independent School District’s Emergency Energy and Facili- ties Manager. And although one


might conclude that riding dressage and vaulting would coincide nicely, there are cave- ats. Tom, Melanie and Rosie all


stressed that care must be taken with a vaulting horse to NOT give or teach him conflicting signals. So, as vaulting riders are trained not to cue a horse with their legs or feet, a dres- sage rider would be advised NOT to make use of any similar cues either when working with a vaulting horse. The vaulting horse must be solely reliant upon the lunger’s (ground per- son/handler) commands--for safety reasons if nothing else. Also, a good vaulting horse must be able to tune out any outside distractions precisely because the humans performing on his back are depending on him as a reliable “platform.” From July 29-August


1st, the USEF/AVA National Championships will be held in Santa Barbara California. For the first time in 30 years, two legged and four legged members from both Texas clubs will be there to show off what vaulting in Texas is all about. It is after this event that the announcement will be made as to who actually made it to the Friendship Team, and will be attending the World Eques- trian Games to show the world what vaulting in the USA is all about.


For more informa-


tion you can contact Rosie Brown of Lone Star Vault- ing at 512-968-1561, email: lonestarvaulters@gmail.com, web: www.lonestarvaulters. com or Frank Pace of Gold Star Pacesetters at 817-295-5968, email: fpace@flash.net or visit www.americanvaulting.org.


Photos: Top Left:


Kim Pritchett competing on Gus. Photo by Bob Richard. Top Right: Practice session with Gus. Photo Kim Lasater. Bottom Photo: Alex Schahbut performing an arial dismount.


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