Bay’s vaulting team is no circus act
Sparkling outfits and backbends on horseback – it may sound like a circus act, but vaulting is a disciplined sport requiring strength, coordination and teamwork.
The South Island’s only equestrian vaulting team from Golden Bay performed at Nelson’s A&P show last Saturday.
The Vaulties is a team of eight girls who take part in the littleknown sport that is gymnastics and dance on a moving horse.
Instructor Baerbel Hack, who runs horse activities at her Hack ‘n Stay farm at Patons Rock, has been coaching the team for four years.
She said vaulting was a really good way to develop coordination, balance, strength and teamwork.
‘‘It’s very good for getting that ‘seat’ before you actually get into riding,’’ she said.
‘‘Life has changed for the kids these days and we are not so much involved with animals anymore.
‘‘Vaulting really schools us to be aware, empathetic, a team member; all skills which are a little bit lost in our focused world of iPads and cameras all the time.’’
Vaulters are required to train regularly in both gymnastics and horse riding, to work together as a team, and to dress up and perform.
They also spend time grooming, shoeing and looking after Brown Acre the clydesdale.
Brown Acre walks, trots and canters in a circle on a long rope controlled by Hack, who uses a long whip and voice signals to put him through his paces.
Vaulting is a popular sport in Europe, but has only just made it’s way into the country’s equestrian arena in the last decade, where it has since been gaining popularity.
The Vaulties is the only South Island team and is just one of three in the entire country.
In 2014, the Kapiti Equestrian and Vaulting team were the first New Zealand team to attend the prestigious international event, the World Equestrian Games in France, where they brought home ninth place.
Every three months, their top coach travels to Golden Bay to train the Golden Bay kids.
‘‘The equestrian world is sometimes highly competitive, but this is different here and we are a really good network,’’ Hack said.
As a young girl growing up in Germany, Hack was a horse vaulter, and later trained children in both gymnastics and vaulting.
‘‘A lot of kids here [in New Zealand] lack basic gymnastic moves. I strongly believe basic gymnastics is the basis for all other sport.’’