Thursday, July 31, 2008

Horse Vaulting (gymnastics on horseback)

Equestrian vaulting is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, and like these disciplines, it is an art and not a highly competitive sport. It is one of ten competitive equestrian events recognized by the International Federation of Equestrian Sport.Therapeutic or Interactive Vaulting is also used as form of treatment for children and adults who may have balance, attention, gross motor skill, or social deficits.
Some trace the origins of vaulting to Roman games, including acrobatic displays on cantering horses. Others see roots in the bull dancers of ancient Crete. In either case, people have been performing acrobatic and dance-like movements on the backs of moving horses for more than 2,000 years. The first known depiction of vaulting was from stone painting, dated at around 1500 BC, of Scandinavian riders standing on horses.
Vaulting was later used to help cavalry troops increase their abilities on the horse, and the troops would begin by working on a wooden horse before advancing to a live, moving mount. Modern vaulting was developed in post-war Germany as part of set of exercises for improving general riding. Cavalry officers introduced the sport at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp as "Artistic Riding," although the sport was not continued in the Games.
(info taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_vaulting)
This certainly fits in the "do one thing each day that scares you" category. I had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

1 comment:

Mel_Joulwan said...

Wow. Randal! Is there anything you can't do?! That was awesome. Thanks for sharing.