Paityn Phillips practices on horse Clair De Lune throughout equestrian vaulting apply at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on Friday, July 7, 2023. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden. Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
Left to proper, Gracie Griffiths, Emma Wilson and Mikell Stoddard apply their routine on horse Cabo San Lucas at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden. Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
The women thank their horse Cabo San Lucas after practising their routine at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on Friday, July 7, 2023. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden. Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
The Oak Hills Vaulting group warms up at apply at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden. Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
Jacey Muir, left, and Amber Terry apply their routine on horse Cabo San Lucas at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden. Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
At Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem, Utah County, as much as three teenage women can journey a horse on the similar time — simply not in the way in which you'd anticipate.
All three actively do gymnastics on the transferring animal, with one performing as a base, holding up one other vaulter, who in some instances can even grasp the flyer — the gymnast that is within the highest place. Many occasions, the vaulters will do handstands or splits, both on the horse or within the air.
“It’s identical to the proper mixture between my love for horses and my love for gymnastics,” stated Jacey Muir, a 16-year-old competitor on the Staff USA junior squad.
This 12 months, a gaggle of Utah vaulters will showcase their expertise to the world within the 2023 FEI World Championship for Younger Vaulters, which can happen in Flyinge, Sweden, from July 25-30.
The championship alternates between competing with junior squad groups, these ages 11 to 17, and senior squads, these above the age of 18. This 12 months, Oak Hills Vaulting's Staff USA junior squad is comprised of six vaulting opponents with two alternates.
The group will compete within the junior squad division of the competitors, whereas different younger vaulters from across the nation will compete within the junior particular person feminine and the junior “Pas de Deux” (the pair) classes.
Within the junior squad’s occasion, all six members of the group must get on the horse a minimum of as soon as inside 4 minutes, with a most of three individuals on the horse on the similar time.
Left to proper, Gracie Griffiths, Emma Wilson and Mikell Stoddard apply their routine on horse Cabo San Lucas at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden.
Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
However one key member of the group gained’t be capable of journey with the women — their horse. Kimber Phillips, a mom of group member and alternate Paityn Phillips, famous that transporting a single horse can quantity to $20,000 or extra.
The group might want to journey to Germany on July 13, the place they are going to practice with a leased horse a couple of weeks earlier than the competitors. There, the group will learn to greatest vault on the transferring animal.
“He seems like a very good horse, and so I really feel assured about how we’re going to be doing on him,” Paityn Phillips stated. “I’m not nervous about that in any respect.”
Oak Hills Vaulting has had its junior and senior equestrian vaulting groups compete internationally since 2019, except 2020 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, in keeping with KyLynn James Cooper, head coach and proprietor of Oak Hills Vaulting.
Oak Hills Vaulting was began by James Cooper's grandmother in 1967, in keeping with James Cooper. Since then, the membership has offered dozens of women with alternatives to not simply compete in nationwide and worldwide competitions, however to provide them a robust help system as they chase their passions.
The women thank their horse Cabo San Lucas after practising their routine at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on Friday, July 7, 2023. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden.
Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
“Oak Hills is simply actually my dream group. I do not suppose that if I vaulted wherever else, I do not suppose I'd have caught with it. I like vaulting, I do, however the individuals simply make it so a lot better,” stated Amber Terry, a base on the junior squad.
Phillips additionally famous that when her daughter broke her ankle, everybody on the group continued to help and take care of her.
“It’s a tricky sport and bodily it is exhausting and you realize, they take care of teammates getting injured and falling off the horse and stuff like that, however they nonetheless present up and so they nonetheless do every thing collectively,” Phillips stated. “My favourite half about it's that their success is everybody's success.”
And it is not simply the rapport that the women construct with one another, Terry famous, however the group's expertise stands out among the many remainder of the squads within the U.S. — a kind of expertise that pushed them to the worldwide stage.
The Utah-based squad certified for the world championship by successful a number of Concours de Dressage Worldwide competitions, popping out as the highest group in competitions in California, Colorado and Utah. Ultimately, the squad bested the vaulting groups that additionally deliberate to go to the world championship, such because the California Pacific Coast vaulting membership and the Colorado Mile Excessive vaulting group.
“I feel we're actually good at conserving our composure. We're a very good freestyle group,” Terry stated.
Competitions are divided into two classes: compulsories and freestyle.
As a “spine of the game,” James Cooper famous that compulsories require vaulters to do the identical set of strikes on the horse in the identical order, with every individual judged in the identical manner.
With freestyle, the opponents put on costumes, customise their very own strikes and discover artistic methods to time their routine to music.
This 12 months, the group plans on making a homicide thriller theme for his or her freestyle, James Cooper stated, with many carrying costumes from the film and recreation Clue.
“They're attempting to inform a narrative for 4 minutes of this type of homicide thriller, ‘whodunnit’ form of a really feel,” James Cooper stated. “That is like their objective — is to take their viewers, their judges and spectators by means of that story.”
The Oak Hills Vaulting group warms up at apply at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden.
Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
Regardless of the thrill and artistic shops that come from vaulting, there are a couple of challenges and sacrifices that the athletes and their households make, one in every of which includes sacrificing highschool golf equipment and committing a whole bunch of hours to the game.
“They sacrifice loads of issues to have the ability to compete at that stage ... like, my daughter gave up promenade and he or she gave up a lot of the dances of her junior 12 months,” stated Meredith Stoddard, a mom whose daughter competed on the senior group final 12 months, and whose different daughter will compete within the junior squad this 12 months.
It’s not simply the time that the households sacrifice, the financial dedication can generally pose challenges.
Whereas the competitors itself is paid for, the women nonetheless must pay out-of-pocket for the journey, together with their total keep in Germany the week earlier than.
To lift funds for the journey, the group has accomplished a number of fundraisers, together with promoting butter braids bread and Staff USA cups and bracelets, in keeping with Muir. The group is also elevating cash by means of a GoFundMe* web page to assist afford their bills.
Stoddard famous that regardless of the bills and time commitments that come from elevating such completed athletes, there's a nice sense of satisfaction in watching her daughters carry out.
“It’s actually rewarding to look at them work so exhausting to achieve a objective after which obtain it,” Stoddard stated. “It is simply rewarding, as a father or mother, to see them decide to one thing and comply with by means of, and the issues that they realized alongside the way in which about being a part of a group and placing the group first versus themselves.”
Vaulting has additionally constructed her daughters into higher, extra service-minded individuals, Stoddard added.
“Considered one of my coaches all the time says like, ‘It’s nice, the vaulting we do is nice,’ nevertheless it's additionally — they love the folks that come from vaulting,” Muir stated. “Constructing the people from vaulting is the perfect half.”
Jacey Muir, left, and Amber Terry apply their routine on horse Cabo San Lucas at Oak Hills Vaulting in Salem on July 7. The group will signify the USA on the FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Younger Vaulters, going down in Sweden.
Megan Nielsen, Deseret Information
*KSL.com doesn't guarantee that the cash deposited to the account will probably be utilized for the good thing about the individuals named as beneficiaries. In case you are contemplating a deposit to the account, it is best to seek the advice of your personal advisers and in any other case proceed at your personal threat.