What is aerobatics?
For many children, vaulting is a kind of introduction to the world of horse riding. However, vaulting is more than that. It is a discipline in its own right and at the same time an extremely demanding sport that is also practiced in competition. What is vaulting? Discover this discipline in depth in this article.
What is aerobatics?
Vaulting is an equestrian discipline that combines gymnastic and acrobatic elements to be performed on the back of a horse. To do this, the horse is lunged at basic gaits by an experienced person. Vaulting can be practiced alone or in a duo.
Vaulting can even be practiced in a group. A vaulting team can consist of up to twelve people. However, only three people can be on the same horse at the same time.
What are the origins of aerobatics?
When we look closely at old paintings, we see that doing tricks on a horse is not a new thing and that it dates back a long time. Doing jumps on a horse, standing while the horse is galloping are some of the things that require sustained effort and a consequent concentration.
However, these are exercises that have developed and established themselves over time, from Ancient Rome to the Russian wars of the Cossack horsemen. For the first time, the start of this sport as a competition took place in 1920 during the Olympic Games.
However, it was to be a question of the participation only of the pioneers of this sport, who were then called "artistic riders". At that time, the participants were only military personnel.
Vaulting later developed into a popular sport that was increasingly appreciated. However, today, vaulters are almost always called upon to fight against the stereotype of vaulting representing in the collective consciousness, a sport for children that is only intended to facilitate the transition to the real practice of horse riding.
Due to the growing number of vaulting clubs and the organization of various competitions, vaulting is becoming increasingly well-known as a sporting discipline in its own right. To vault well with your horse or pony, it is useful to have the necessary tools for this purpose. La Sellerie Française provides very good accessories to successfully vault with your horse or pony.
Club competition aerobatics events
The vaulting tests in club competitions are tests which are established on the basis of basic saddling skills which allow the highlighting of the bond, the stability as well as the ease of each person on a pony or a horse accustomed to working on a lunge line.
These are events that allow vaulters and lungers to train by following a certain progression in a fun and creative spirit.
As for the aerobatic events of amateur and professional competitions, these are events determined by the level of difficulty. Based on the competitive aspect of the discipline, these events allow to highlight the expertise of the aerobatic athletes.