official publication of the american … has everyone in finer, lighter, stabilized, rocker soled,...

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN VAULTING ASSOCIATION

11845 SKYLINE BLVD., LOS GATOS, CA 95033 www.americanvaulting.org APRIL 2005

The 2005 AVA Board of Directors(top to bottom, left to right) Nancy

Stevens-Brown, Yossi Martonovich,Priscilla Faulkner, Jan Garrod,

Jessica Ballenger, Kate Dalby, JanWeber, Carolyn Bland, Katie

Flannagan, Nancy MacIsaac, ToniAmoroso, Sydney Frankel, Connie

Geisler, Virginia Hawthorne, CarolBeutler, Emma Drinker, Rick

Hawthorne, Patty Littmann, RachelMarkels-Webber, Marge Oakes,

Sheri Benjamin, Noel Martonovich,Amy McCune, Wendy Ware, MerryCole, Kelley Holly, Teresa Keville,

Marianne Rose, Jennifer WilliamsNot present: Tom Haynie, Jennifer

Murphy, Elizabeth Searle, VickiSherraden.

AVAAnnualMeetingpage 4

Meet theVaultersAli Divitapage 14ToddGriffithspage 16Tisa Dobinpage 18

NationalsInfo.page 24

Awardswerepresentedby AwardPrincessesCarolBeutlerandJeannieBeattie.

Charlie Bittenbringpresented extensiverules revisions.Photo: Bill Brown

Photo: Carole Dwinell

Committee meetingswere well attended,and some included

games.

A surprise as Emma Drinker foundout she was Mentor of the Year.


Photo: Bill Brown

Photo: Bill Brown

Old friends Sydney Frankel and Virginia Hawthornehad a chance to visit.

Photo: Bill Brown


The revised AVA Constitution/Bylaws, Standing Rules, and Rules forVaulting will be posted on the AVA website (www.americanvaulting.org) and

will be mailed to the membership in April.

2 April 2005Vaulting World

A Vaulting Connection6389 Burton SE,Grand Rapids, MI 49546Phone: 616/954-7028Email: [email protected]: Karin Schmidt

Circle of Friends2780 Goodwin Ave.,Redwood City, CA 94061Phone: 650/366-7527Email: [email protected]: Carol BeutlerThis is an alumni club

From the Ground UpTherapeuticHorsemanship148 Stafford Ave., Syracuse, NY 13206Phone: 315/382-3664Email: [email protected]: ftguhorses.orgCoach: Andrea Colella

High Point Vaulters525 Bohnen Road,Santa Cruz, CA 95065Phone: 831/425-5387Email: [email protected]: Holly Rothweiler

Old Dominion VaultersP.O. Box 185, Pilot, VA 24138Phone: 540/651-3053Email: [email protected]: Sanford Price-O’Brien

Puckerbrush Vaulting Team97 Miles Road, Newbergh, ME 04444Phone: 207/234-2147Website: puckerbrushfarm.comCoach: Sandy Welsh

Out Back Vaulters520 CR 254, Georgetown, TX 78628Phone: 254/793-3669Email:[email protected]: Amy Mattson

Root Farm6000 Rock Road, Verona, NY 13478Phone: 315/363-6124Email: [email protected]: Linda Matthews

Welcome to New AVA Clubs:

Welcome Back to:Foxgrove1420 Olive Springs Road,Soquel, CA 95073Phone: 831/475-5238Email: [email protected]

Happy Hearts Vaulting Club21951 Lemans Drove,Tehachapi, CA 93561Phone 661/822-6280Email: [email protected]: Suzy Grissom

Spirit Vaulting Club5653 Magda Court, Palmdale, CA 93552Phone: 661/533-4782Email: [email protected]: Blue Sill

Call for Nominations: Election 2005Jen Williams

The AVA General Secretary has an-nounced that nominations are now open forthe Board of Directors, Officers and Re-gional Supervisors of the AVA. Thoseelected will take office at the November 5-6, 2005 Board meeting and will serve a two-year term. Nominations to the board of di-rectors may be offered to any current AVAsustaining member except board memberswith another year to serve. Any current AVAsustaining member may be nominated foran officer position.

The following board members whoseterms are valid until November 2006 shouldnot be nominated for the board but may benominated for officer positions: JessicaBallenger, Carolyn Bland, Merry Cole,Emma Drinker, Sydney Frankel, ConnieGeisler, Rick Hawthorne, Nancy MacIsaac,Rachel Markels-Webber, Marianne Rose.

The following board members’ termsexpire in November 2005 and they may benominated for board, officer and/or regionalsupervisor positions: Toni Amoroso, CarolBeutler, Kate Dalby, Priscilla G. Faulkner,Katie Flannagan, Virginia Hawthorne, TomHaynie, Yossi Martonovich, MarjorieOakes, Vicki Sherraden.

The following officer positions expirein November 2005 and are open for nomi-nation: Executive Vice-President - KelleyHolly; Treasurer - Jan Garrod; VP Compe-titions - Patty Littmann; VP Education -Noel Martonovich.

The following regional supervisor po-sitions expire in November 2003 and areopen for nomination: Region I - ConnieGeisler; Region II - Teresa Keville; RegionIII - Wendy Ware; Region IV - NoelMartonovich; Region IX - Jan Weber; Re-gion X - Jennifer Murphy.

The 2005 Nominating Committee is:Bill Brown (Chair), [email protected],831/476-5901 (eve) 831/459-2204 (day);Marianne Rose, [email protected], 408/867-1789; Carolyn Bland,[email protected], 818/497-2947; BobWeber, [email protected], 978/448-4193;Anna Schulte, [email protected], 505/289-2890.

The Nominating Committee must re-ceive all nominations by April 30, 2005.

All nominations must be made with thefull knowledge and consent of the nomi-nee.

2005 ElectionScheduleApril 30 - Nominations close.Nominations must be receivedon or prior to this date.May 21 - Deadline for receipt bynominations chair of question-

Executive BoardConference ScheduleNancy Stevens-Brown

The Executive Board holdsa regular conference call on thefirst Thursday of each month at6 pm Pacific time. If anyone is

naires from nominees.July 6 - Ballots will be mailed by the na-tional office to sustaining members.August 3 - Ballots must be received by thenational office.August 11-14 - Ballots to be counted bythe Ballot Committee at Nationals.

Phone Conferences

interested in auditing the upcoming call,please contact me (ncnature@ pacbell.net)and I will gladly provide the ID number.Occasionally, for scheduling, the time maybe changed to one hour earlier but if youpreviously requested the dial-in number youwill be notified prior to the call.

Vaulting World 3 April 2005

Table of Contents

If you have any changes or corrections to your mailing address forVaulting World, are having problems receiving your issues, or wishadditional copies please contact the AVA National Office at 8205Santa Monica Blvd., #1-288, West Hollywood, CA 90046-5912or phone 323/654-0800, fax 323/654-4306 or emailamericanvaulting@ aol.com. The mailing lists are generated bythe National Office where extra copies of Vaulting World are kept.Vaulting World is published by the American Vaulting Associa-tion. Mail all submissions for publication to: Vaulting World, 11845Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95033 or email [email protected] Deadlines are: April 30 for publication June 1; June 30 forpublication August 1; August 31 for publication October 1; Octo-ber 31 for publication December 1; December 31 for publicationFebruary 1, 2006; March 10, 2005 for publication April 1.Vaulting World classified ads are $5 each for three or four lines.Display ad rates are $12 per column inch, $100 for one thirdpage, $115 for one half page and $200 for full page. Submit in-formation/check payable to “AVA” and mail to Vaulting World,11845 Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95033.No part of this publication may be reproduced either in whole orpart without written permission. Bulk rate postage paid atCupertino, CA.To subscribe: Affiliate AVA Memberships are $30 (+$15 for firstclass postage) domestic, $55 foreign, payable annually in U.S.funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Copyright by American Vaulting As-sociation 2005.

Printed by Roberts Press 408/255-3937 • Editor/Production:Marianne Rose 408/867-1789, [email protected]

Copy Editing: Sheri Benjamin 408/872-1560,Carole Dwinell 925/372-3374 • Kate Dalby 703/754-0118,

Katharina Woodman 408/530-9101

Call for Nominations ............................................. 2Times Change Nancy Stevens-Brown ....................32005 AVA Annual Meeting

The Big Plus - Coaches Meeting, Development Meeting, Board of Directors Meeting, Grants Seminar Carole Dwinell .................4Awards/Membership Recognition ................. 6Kisses for Jacky Nancy Stevens-Brown .........7Mentor of the Year Sheri Benjamin, Carol Beutler, Kerith Lemon, Devon Maitozo ......8Committee Reports ...................................... 10AVA Awards Two New Grants Nancy Stevens-Brown ................................12

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting 3/5/05 ... 13Minutes of Sustaining Members Mtg 3/6/05 ....... 13Ali Divita Sheri Benjamin ...................................14Todd Griffith Sheri Benjamin.............................. 16Tisa Dobin Sheri Benjamin ..................................18Seeing the Light - USEF Meeting

Nancy Stevens-Brown ..................................20An Incredible Learning Experience - USEF Clinic

Mary McCormick ........................................21USEF Grants ........................................................ 22Website Update Jan Weber ..................................23Eric Jewett Marianne Rose ..................................232005 Nationals Information

Preliminary Schedule .................................. 24Membership/Entries/General Information .. 25Class Descriptions/Prize List ....................... 28Horse Bowl at Nationals Noel Martonovich30Sponsors Needed for Nationals ................... 31

Stepping Up Nancy Stevens-Brown .....................32Something for Everyone Rick Hawthorne ...........32Ask The Expert Jerry Lynch ................................33An Affaire to Remember Rick Hawthorne ..........33Northwind Says Goodbye Wendy Ware ...............34Medal Test Results (12/27/2004 - 3/12/2005) ..... 34Results: Tambourine Barrel Fest 2/12/05 ............ 35AVA Directory ..................................................... 35Calendar of Vaulting Events ................................ 36

Times ChangeNancy Stevens-Brown

I hate clichés, but times do change! In the ‘70s and ‘80s my club, Tim-berline, had an unprecedented run of competitive success and accolades,culminating with the Bronze Medal at the 1990 World Equestrian Games inStockholm. During that period, I began running as a way to relieve the stressof coaching. I didn’t anticipate that I would likewise become competitive inmy road races. Bummer! I should have known, because those 10k runs, halfand full marathons were called races. True to that description I entered themready to compete. Soon I was running down some great split times for myage group, 6:15 to 6:30 mph, and the prizes for my efforts started to pile up.But the more competitive I became, the less fun running was for me. FinallyI hung-up my Nikes and searched for other means to relax.

This fall I returned to running with my dog, Nette-lou. Jogging withNette is entirely different from those early runs. I enjoy it on many levels;none having anything to do with racing. Soon I entered a 5K Charity MuttStrut with my four-legged partner. Nette and I jogged the scenic course at aless than blazing tempo, laughing at all the other pets and panting ownerstrying to negotiate the birds, squirrels, puddles and doggy distractions alongthe way. Since the aid stations included doggy drinking bowls, they turnedinto social events for all of the owners and their pets. Though I would neverhave paused in a race before, Nette made me paws, and like it!

After that race came more 5k, 10k runs and two recent half marathons.The race scene has changed plenty since I stopped. People are running faster!And no wonder, runners wear electronic microchips on their shoes that ac-curately register split and finish times. Digital cameras take multiple pic-tures along the course, and videographers create 15-minute DVDs of yourrace with highlights of you and the winners crossing the finish line. Tech-nology has everyone in finer, lighter, stabilized, rocker soled, gripping, arch-supporting shoes; moisture wicking multicolored micromesh clothes, breath-able outerwear, cardio meter watches, MP3 players, and blister-proof socks.Yet despite all of the positive advances, my times had changed. I am slower…really, really slower, but the runs are fun, really, really fun!

Vaulting has evolved as well. At the recent USEF Convention in Louis-ville, Kentucky, President David O’Connor spoke to us about the importantrole that vaulting must play in outreach to many levels of equine activity. Heasked us to help the USEF and equestrians as a whole by contributing thenumerous assets that vaulting boasts to help horse sport nationwide to con-tinue to thrive. Times have changed, because it really wasn’t that long agothat the AVA stood in the wings and practically begged for recognition. To-day our diversity and unique gifts guarantee that vaulting will grow and gainthe respect. We still may not be growing as fast as we might wish, but nowwe are truly running with the big dogs – and boy, is it fun! Vault On!

Photo: Bill Brown


2005 AVA Annual Meeting

The Big PlusCarole Dwinell

Success should bemeasured by the sum ofall the parts. This year’sannual meeting stayed onthe plus side throughout.

AVA Annual MeetingMarch 3-6, 2005

Peppermill Hotel • Reno, Nevada

Coaches ConferThe coaches meeting was led by

Connie Geisler. One of the first issues thatreared its head was horse scores for greenhorses and lower level vaulters at competi-tions. It was brought to the attention of thegroup that the horse score could be ad-dressed by show management at the school-ing levels and unrecognized competitions.Younger children often do not understandhow their placing can be lowered by thehorse score but that was countered with thefact that it happened to almost everyone.Clarification of the horse score was dis-cussed.

The California Gold Class offered inRegion II was discussed. It is a class withno score sheet, only a comment sheet, there-fore no horse score. Judges are asked tocomment using discretion, paying carefulattention to making comments that fit thelevel of the vaulter and the horse. The classwas created as an opportunity for maturevaulters to receive comments on new rou-tines, beginning vaulters to try somethingdifferent, challenged vaulters, vaulters whodon’t want to compete but enjoy perform-ing and of course the green horse to gainsome competition miles.

Classes for green horses with all kindsof latitude are offered at many competi-tions. The horse may be led for a goldfreestyle or an experienced horse could sup-port a new vaulter, all to relieve the stressof competition. We will probably see moreof these offerings at future competitions.

Coaches’ pay was another issue ad-dressed. Those older vaulters coachingyounger or less experienced vaulters in ex-change for horse time seems to be a norm,and a well-documented procedure. Someclubs are not prepared for the experiencedvaulter who wants to be paid by the club orthe individual vaulters. This brought upmatters of insurance, use of alternate horsesand more. Needless to say, the issue couldnot be resolved or even eased as the hour-long meeting ended.

Getting OUT ThereIn focusing on the next 90 days and

the next year, AVA Vice President of De-velopment, Sheri Benjamin6 has given her-self and her committee a huge job. Hermeetings began with discussions of the useof smaller and larger trade show boothswhich evolved into a plan for smaller, moreaccessible booths for each region. The ap-proximate $200 cost of shipping the bigAVA booth is unrealistic for a neighborhooddemonstration but the need for a profes-sional presentation is still there.

Kim Beisecker volunteered to set up anational database of demonstration eventsto give the AVA a way of tracking demosall across the country, no matter how largeor small. These upcoming demos could beadded to the public AVA website to expandthe available base of events for interestedparties.

Teresa Keville suggested that the AVApublicity budget could be used to help clubswhich have established relationships fordemonstrations with specific events – es-pecially major events to bring the AVAbooth in. Ideas and methods for putting onsuccessful and professional demonstrationswill be added to the AVA website.

The new AVA website is a work inprogress. The key to the success of the pub-lic access part is to have the site appear atthe top any search list by including a mul-tiplicity of key words saturating the con-tent. This deep content method will assurethat any time a search contains key wordssuch as vault, dance, horse, gymnastics, orcombination thereof, the AVA site will con-tain the most of those references. The mem-bers-only section will feature forums andinteractive resources at many levels.

The website is seen as a tool to pro-vide a varied and full representation of thesport of vaulting to the public, the eques-trian community and entry level partici-pants. The members-only part will be a toolfor the dissemination of information for allparticipants – from vaulter-to-vaulter con-

A new membership level to entice begin-ners was established. New rules and a newinteractive website were introduced. Waysto introduce vaulting, give demos, apply forgrants and train coaches, horses, and judgesadded up to an enormous score for a jobwell done by the organizers led by AmyMcCune and Teresa Keville.

During the four days of meetings andevents, alumni friends Frieda Radich,Colette Garrison, and Patti Reschar workedto revitalize the Circle of Friends and ex-pand the alumni outreach program. DevonMaitozo demonstrated that improvisationaltheater is alive and well and very funny.

Nancy Stevens-Brown again wowedall who watched her beautiful 10-minuteCD reaffirmation of the very source of allriding disciplines. The artistic and movingpresentation left no doubt that vaulting, thecore of the equine/human relationship, willmove the AVA proudly into the future.

Devon Maitozo gripped the audiencewith his impromptu praise of Emma GarrodDrinker and her well-deserved Mentor ofthe Year Award that followed an onstage“10” performance by three top level goldwomen. The two major AVA grant winnerswere announced: Yossi Martonivich willdevelop a program for improvements inhorse training for vaulting and Root Farmwith the help of Rick Hawthorne will de-velop new clubs and new therapeutic vault-ing programs.

The grants seminar brought to lightmany new ideas for AVA members to usefor fundraising. The board plans to expandthe exhibits/displays available to help clubspromote our sport. The dynamic NancyMacIsaac is reaching out to other youth or-ganizations to increase their interactionwith vaulting. Awards again were the re-sult of the imaginative Jeannie Beattie andher creative glass vases.

That’s just a touch of all the happen-ings in Reno. Read on.

Board members got right to work as the meetings started.Photo: Carole Dwinell

tact, interactivemember resourcesand a success ori-ented avenue ofseeking and provid-ing solutions to is-sues, concerns andproblems as theyarise.


2005 AVA Annual MeetingBoard of Directors Meeting

First on the order of business was thefact that while Alaska and Hawaii have ac-tually been real states for a very long time,they are not currently part of the USA tothe American Vaulting Association. “Whatan oversight!” representatives from thethree west coast regions cried. Region IIIwas the obvious choice for Alaska, every-one agreed – a slam dunk, but in determin-ing the fate of Hawaii, an outright civil warerupted. With arguments in favor of all threePacific coast regions, flags were waving,bids soared (everyone wanting to includethe Aloha state for reasons relating to site-specific benefits, not to mention increasedregional membership) it was finally decidedthat Southern California (Region I) shouldwin. Region IV clubs were seen, heads to-gether, trying to figure out how they couldmake a claim but New Mexico, Colorado,et al, could not come up with a viable argu-ment. Expect to see a lot of composite clubs,families, teams come out of this additionto the region.

The next item of business was a deci-sion for the 2007 Annual Meeting and FallBoard Meeting locations. Region IX willhost the fall meeting and Region II the an-nual meeting (shouldn’t we go to Hawaii?).Along with locations, the content of theAnnual Meeting was discussed. As the 2005Annual Meeting was organized as a “busi-ness” meeting, there was considerable dis-cussion about the lack of vaulting educa-tion. Opportunities for coaching workshopsmet with considerable approval and therewas a consensus that the 2006 Annual Meet-ing would have an educational component.

At the request of Kelley Holly, a fi-nancial review of the AVA is in the works.

Small groups broke away to brainstorm.Photo: Carole Dwinell

As always, the technical side of the meetingwas handled with earnest determination.


Winning GrantsThere’s no denying that vaulting clubs

operate under the umbrella of the partici-pants’ generosity. Coaches, team managers,parents – all devote an extraordinaryamount of time, car trips, horses, horse care,a place to board and a place to vault. Theydo so willingly, but sometimes there’s agoal, a dream, a wish list that requires alittle extra help. That help could come fromany number of people, groups, trusts, cor-porations with funds that are specificallytargeted to make those wishes happen.

So what’s the secret? It isn’t so muchof a secret as paying close attention to de-tails. At the AVA Annual Meeting, a two-session Grantsmanship Workshop wasopened by Sheri Benjamin. She got theideas rolling with a power point presenta-tion that had the attendees working theirbrains around the concept of strategic plan-ning.

Benjamin and Katie Flannagan de-scribed the myriad steps it takes to accom-plish a successful grant application start-ing with the home field... or is that arena?Using the example of the AVA grant re-quirements published in the December2004 issue of Vaulting World, Benjaminnoted a number of submissions that werelacking much of the required informationor format or paid no attention at all to thestated requirements. This is not the route

Since the last one was a few years back, itwas recommended to schedule a reviewevery five years starting with this year.

Rule changes, always a favorite sub-ject, were presented by Suzanne Detol, JanWeber and Charlie Bittenbring.

The final action by the board was toapprove the transfer of some special fundsto be used as seed money for producing anhour-long coaches’ training compulsoriesvideo.

to success.The proposal for any grant must con-

tain the following elements: a needs assess-ment, a project plan, a resources and fi-nancial budget, identification of the projectteam, a timeline and an evaluation plan.The result of completing all of those re-quirements greatly increases the chancesof success.

Participants in the workshop eachshared why they were attending and theprojects that were dear to their hearts. Theprojects included a covered arena, a re-gional conference on vaulting, a programfor at-risk kids and the ability for an outly-ing club to attend distant competitions. Theaim of the seminar was to walk out with areal plan for applying for grants for realprojects.

The talks brought out the need for clar-ity for a successful grant application. De-fining what was wanted, asking oneself theright questions to see if a specific grant wasappropriate and throwing caution to thewinds by looking at the really big picture.A series of reflective questions as to eachclub’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunitiesand threats answered how to make thosedescriptions work for each club instead ofbeing in the way.

Three questions help refine again whata club should focus its attention on. 1.Where are we now? 2. Where do we wantto be tomorrow (imagine where your clubshould be in the future – two years, thenfive years)? 3. How do we get there?

The club representatives were givenlarge sheets of paper where each of the pro-cess steps were laid out. Using skills in-troduced by Flannagan, the teams exploredwho might be considered for an approachin funding, the path to asking for the cor-rect amount, and the process of preparinga document with the exact information re-quested in the requirements for funding bya particular source. Flannagan admonishedthe participants to make sure the budgetcoincided with the goals and objectives,so that when the project underwent ongo-ing assessment, progress could be charted.

Accompanying the graphics displayedon a large screen, there were many hand-outs (approximately one pound of paper!),examples of successful and not so success-ful applications and lists of fundingsources. (Continued)


Participants were advised to not onlylook at trusts and foundations, but at localbusinesses, service groups. Those who passout the bucks like to see that there are anumber of people or companies involved.Funders for the most part do not wish to bethe sole source of money and/or materialsnor do they wish to fund something that isongoing without the hope of self-sustain-ing progress. Applicants should seek mul-tiple funding sources.

Jan Weber provided an excellent in-depth approach to research online andthrough several grants specific resources.

One useful handout was a list of thereasons why grants are declined. These in-cluded applying to sources that are inap-propriate in social parameters, financialscope or geography and proposals not fol-lowing the prescribed format or poorly writ-ten. There will be questions of credibilitysuch as: is your organization recognized bypeers and the public or the board of the or-ganization giving grants; do you really needthe money for an urgent reason and will ithave an impact; can you supply evidencethat your program will become self-sustain-ing after the grant period is over?

While sometimes the grant languagewas a problem, the overall information dis-cussed, questions answered, and issues re-solved smoothed the road for future grantseekers. A final critique examined each pro-posal and directed participants toward apossible grant.

2005 AVA Annual Meeting(Grants Seminar continued) Membership Recognition

The following AVA sustainingmembers were honored:5 Year PinPouyan Afshar, UConn VaultingSaeed Ahghari, UNConn VaultingVicki Anderholt, FACEJessica Ballenger, Mt. EdenLara Borson, Virginia VaultersRosie Brown, Pegasus VaultersMartha Cantrill, Mare Willow FarmMeg Fletcher, Welsh Rabbit VaultersDan Gleason, Northwind VaultersValerie Goss, Canyon View VaultersDanelle Grove, Phoenix VaultingMegan Grove, Phoenix VaultingLeslie Hamar, Showtime VaultersLynda Laursen, Highland MeadowFelicia Minto, Canyon View VaultersJennifer Murphy, Pacific CoastChris Pratt, Welsh Rabbit VaultersVenece Reed, Oak Hills VaultersPamela Sheaf, Premier’s RidingShyloh Sturm, Oak HillsKaren Turner, Golden Gate10 Year PinCynthia Duppong, Redwing VaultersAdele Freedman, Mt. EdenEric Jewett, IndependentKerith Lemon, Blue Star VaultersAnna Schulte, IndependentShari Smith-Mead, Independent20 Year PinLinda Bibbler, WoodsideEva Bryer, IndependentSydney Frankel, Pacific CoastConnie Geisler, Diamond BarGretchen Golightly, IndependentGail Ostendorf, Independent30 Year PinBettylou Hutton, Independent

Gold Women1. Megan Benjamin, Mt Eden 8.6062. Mari Inouye, Independent . 8.5573. Samantha Smith, Pac Cst . 8.5014. Julie Keville, Tambourine .. 7.9115. Shannyn Poer, FACE ........ 7.8316. Ginny Kaufmann, FACE .... 7.7817. Mary McCormick,

Silver Star ......................... 7.7738. Tricia Thompson, FACE .... 7.5139. Florence Rubinger, Tamb .. 7.48310.Brittany Dutra, Mt Eden ... 7.45011.Alexis Garrod, Mt Eden .... 7.33612.Leslie Hamar, Showtime .. 7.28613.Nicole England-Czyzewski,

Golden Gate ..................... 7.19614.Olivia Swan, Mt. Eden ..... 7.17915. Bethany Haas, Pto Ranch7.003

Gold Men1. Devon Maitozo, FACE ...... 8.6962. Blake Dahlgren, FACE ...... 8.4813. Kenny Geisler, Diam Bar .. 8.0704. Steven Bertling, Pto Ranch7.276

5. Chris Littmann, FACE ....... 7.231

Founder AwardsThe following AVA Members were honoredas the founders of the AVA Circle ofFriends:Colette GarrisonJane GarrodBettylou HuttonFrieda RadichPatti RescharHope Scherf

Bronze Women1. Tisa Dobin, FACE ............. 6.6472. Cassidy Palmer,

Half Moon Bay .................. 6.6133. Katherine Wick, Woodside 6.2484. Sarah d’Auriol, Blue Star .. 6.1295. Stephanie Schade, Mt. Edn6.1116. Ann Lewis, Woodside ....... 6.0177. Sara Jennings,

Valley View ........................ 6.0018. Shyloh Sturm, Oak Hills .... 5.9139. Ashley Miller, Mt. Eden ..... 5.89210. Randi Herman, Diam Bar 5.84511. Haley Hogan, Mt. Eden ... 5.83712. Alyssa Long,

Pacific Coast ..................... 5.80513. Cate Thomas, Silver Star 5.59414. Tori Anderholt, FACE ....... 5.42615. Mickey Kent, Mt. Eden .... 5.38316. Lindsey Neuerburg,Tamb 5.02317 Stephanie O Neill,

Pacific Coast ..................... 5.00018. Katrina Herman, FACE ... 4.92119. Rebekkah von Schriltz,

Pacific Coast ..................... 4.90620. Amanda Beaton, Lompoc 4.75321. Kelsey Trainor, Vly View . 4.695

Bronze Men1. Tremayne Wilson, DiamBr 5.066

Carol Beutler congratulates Gold High PointChampion Megan Benjamin. Photo: Bill Brown

2004 AVA High Point Awards Copper Women1. Kimberly Palmer, Hf Mn By 6.0962. Alyssa Bonora, Woodside . 5.6803. Shawna Ezell, Tambourine 5.4804. Brittany O’ Leary, Pac Cst . 5.3335. Shelbie Stafford, Mng Star 5.3166. Eve Axness, FACE ............ 5.2577. Rachel Grasso, FACE ....... 5.1148. Julia Bell, Tambourine ....... 5.0499. Taylor Thompson, FACE ... 4.81610. Lystra Hobby, Tamb ........ 4.805

Copper Men1. Todd Ezell, Tambourine ..... 5.2692. Christopher Stevens,

Morning Star ..................... 4.634 Trot Women

1. Julia Plungy, Woodside ..... 5.7632. Christine Flock, Woodside 5.5753. Molly Gould, Woodside ..... 5.4213. Ashley Ondaro, Silverbay . 5.4214. Yvonne Greenen, Wdside . 5.4135. Courtney Latter, Hlf Mn By 5.3656. Michelle Steidle, SilverBy . 5.3357. Minda Newhouse, Wdside 5.3238. Zoe Pearl, Silverbay ......... 5.0809. Elizabeth West, Silverbay . 4.94010. Cate Steidle, Silverbay ... 4.884

Trot Men1. Riley Newman, Valley View4.957

Kristy Fleming(Oak HillsCoach) and herdaughterattended all themeetings.The youngest

AVA members enjoyed good food at the dinner andbrunch. Photo: Carole Dwinell

Fleming earned the “Best Baby” award forher outstanding (which means she wasamazingly quiet and happy) performance.

Silver Women1. Ali Divita, Woodside .......... 7.0542. Kaylyn Noah, Coast Line .. 7.0133. Elizabeth Osborn,

Woodside .......................... 6.9574. Hannah Boyd, Mt. Eden .... 6.7295. Brittany Fair, Pacific Coast 6.7226. Megan Lanfri, Mt. Eden .... 6.6717. Marissa Hamar, Showtime 6.6258. Haviland Hage, Pac Cst .... 6.5259. Jordan Hansen, Tamb ....... 6.46610. Elizabeth Horve, PacCst . 6.33911 Katie Haynie, Virginia ....... 6.26712. Kylynn James, Oak Hills . 6.20113. Kenna McKenzie, Mt.Edn 6.13114. Elizabeth Brigham, GrtFls 6.11615. Michele Stevens, Mt Edn 5.97116. Shannon Hoke, Tamb ..... 5.96617. Alyssa Woodman,

Mt. Eden ........................... 5.91118. Kristen Anderson, PtoRch5.628

Silver Men1. Todd Griffiths, Oak Hills .... 6.761



2005 AVA Annual MeetingKisses for JackyNancy Stevens-Brown

At the AVA Annual Meeting FEI-OJudge Sue Detol announced that Garrod’shorse Jacky had earned the title of AVAHorse of the Year! When previously asked,Jacky’s longeur, Emma Drinker supposedanother horse would win the honor basedon the tally of blue ribbons at 2004’s end.

Along with the handsome perpetualhorse head trophy, Emma was presentedwith a customized cooler, generously do-nated by Pegasus Vaulting Supply. Thislong-time vendor and resource to the vault-ing community has recognized the greatestof vaulting horses for their hard work andcontribution to the sport. PVS spokesper-son Rosie Brown reflected, “Those whohave trained a horse of this caliber deserveto have a long lasting memento of their ac-complishment. The Horse of the Year awardsets the standard for others to follow.”

Emma first met this Dutch Warmbloodfive years ago at DG Bar Ranch. As shearrived with three vaulters, they instantlywere attracted to one special fellow whoheld his head out the stall. When the girlsapproached the elegant bay, he began lick-ing their hands. When the trainer of DG Barcame out to show a prospective vaultinghorse to Emma, it was this same affection-ate gelding! Emma believes that horses thatlick people develop a special bond thathelps them become great partners. Jackyproved her point as he took to vaulting thatfirst day like a duck to water, showing theNancy Stevens-Brown presents Emma with

the Pegasus Vaulting Supply customizedcooler. Photo: Bill Brown

Jacky is the latest in a long line of ex-traordinary Mt. Eden horses such as Altoand Mr. Tubbs, who have carried countlessvaulters to friendships, challenge, and per-sonal triumphs. Needless to say the excel-lent horses that Emma has trained andshown directly influenced her renown as atop coach. So, it’s no coincidence that theyear Emma received so much personal ac-claim, one of Garrod’s finest horses wouldshare the spotlight with her.

right stuff by quietly carrying a series ofindividual, double, and triple moves! Emmarecalls, “He was fabulous!”

Jacky earned the Osierlea Award at the 2004Nationals.

Jacky carried the Mt. Eden A Team to theNational Championships in 2004.

Photo: Marina Nims

Photo: Melissa Hausman

O, for a horse with wings.William Shakespeare

Emma says this sensitive 12-year oldis also really fun to ride! Besides his vault-ing career she and Jack enjoy regular dres-sage lessons. Jacky especially loves the lei-surely trail rides he shares with Emma inthe hills behind Garrod’s historic home-stead. “When he does it right he is prettysmooth and comfortable to ride.” Emmalaughs, “He’s so cute.” She admits ‘Jack’‘Jacky Chan’ or ‘Jackson County’ can makeyou work to get that great ride!

He’s curious and mellow or unpredict-ably hot. Yet, despite his quirks all the vault-ers really like Jacky. Often tied up betweenvaulting rounds he will still lick Emma andthen fall asleep. Though Jacky challengesher, he has taught Emma and her team thatbeing consistent is perhaps more importantthan winning! Emma granted that as theyears have gone by she is placing ever morefocus on her vaulting horses. She believesthat “Jack is right up there with Alto, dif-ferent era, different part of the Hall OfFame.” So with Jacky Emma still strivesfor that one perfect moment in time whenit all comes together, horse and team in afluid freestyle. Jacky has made it happenbefore and, knowing his character, thiswhimsical, kissing, AVA 2004 Horse of theYear promises to provide more vaultingmoments that will make our spirits soar!

Jacky and Emma enter the Nationals 2004arena. Photo: Carole Dwinell


Emma Drinker - MentorCarol Beutler and Sheri Benjamin

The AVA Mentor of the Year is a veryspecial award that is given to a single indi-vidual who has made an extraordinary andsustained effort to nurture the vaulting com-munity. This year’s recipient was a sur-prised Emma Garrod Drinker.

Emma began vaulting at 11 years old.Her mom, Jane, a 35+ year veteran of theAVA, was one of the pioneers of vaultingin the USA who offered vaulting as an ac-tivity at Garrod Farms. By age 18 Emmawon the National Gold Freestyle Champi-onships. She quickly moved on to coach-ing as well by helping to build freestyle rou-tines for herself and the club teams. Aftercollege she began coaching in earnest andcontinues in that role to this day.

She led her vaulters to 34 Individualand Team National Championships – 14Gold Championships, seven Silver, fourBronze, five A Team Championships, twoB Team, and two C Team. In addition, shementored and coached both Kerith Lemonand Devon Maitozo to their multiple gold,silver and bronze medal finishes at manyWorld Vaulting Championships.

And Emma isn’t just mentor to thevaulters. Many a horse has been a recipientof her nurturing and training throughout theyears. Many of Emma’s horses have wonthe AVA Horse of the Year and Osierleaawards.

“Emma embodies the meaning ofthe word mentor,” said AVA PresidentNancy Stevens-Brown. “She is atrusted coach, longer, clinician, judge,chef d’Equipe, author, teacher andmentor to many in their various pur-suits in the vaulting community. Sheis not only a mentor to the human kind,she is a mentor to our most importantvaulting partner, the horse.”

Long-time colleague and friendSuzanne Detol agreed. “I first sawEmma in 1982 competing in GoldWomen Individuals and doing a sidestand, which was unheard of at thetime,” Sue said. “I was amazed.Throughout these years, I have workedon committees with Emma, been aboard member with her and watchedher coach, longe, judge, and she hascontinued to amaze me. I’ve seen herparticipate in all levels of our sport—constantly working to make it better.I believe Emma has a wise old soulinside her. She has the ability to al-ways find the common ground be-tween any two factions, and is alwaysavailable to help anyone in need withgood common sense advice. Throughthe years, I’ve watched Emma in hervarious capacities, and I’ve always feltvery privileged to call her friend.”


Emma and Anders Photo: Eric Jewett

Emma was a little suspicious whensome of her alumni vaulters showed up atthe dinner but she was not alerted. Jan, herbrother, is on the AVA board and her otherbrother came for dinner with his wife, butthey live close to Reno. Her fiancé Scottcame up to spend the rest of the weekendwith her. Her niece, Alexis Garrod was there“tagging along” with Megan Benjamin forthe Gold High Point Award. Ha Ha! We al-most had her fooled.

The music began with AaronCopland’s Fanfare for the Common Manas the clues were read. When a picture ofEmma with Tommy appeared on the screen,everyone rose with applause. JeannieBeattie, the Awards Committee Chair, pre-sented Emma with a beautiful vase that shehad etched with horses and her name.

Later people were asked to stand whohad been (or whose children had been)coached, judged, cliniced or medal testedby Emma. Then all who had been to Eu-rope with Emma or on the AVA board were

Emma accepts her gifts and honors.Photo: Bill Brown

Lemon, straight from New York City, aheartfelt thank you from 1998 Gold Men’sWorld Champion Devon Maitozo, and a“Top Ten” David Letterman-style list ofreasons why Emma should be named Men-tor of the Year, written and presented by2003 National Silver Women’s ChampionAlexis Garrod, 2004 National GoldWomen’s Champion Megan Benjamin, andMt. Eden Coach and 2000 Silver Women’sChampion, Jessica Ballenger.

asked to stand. Almost ev-eryone in the room wasstanding so Emma could seethe many lives she hastouched.

A short presentation ofpictures of Emma was fol-lowed by a wonderfulspeech by Sue Detol, a short“testimonial” video fromnine-time National GoldWomen’s Champion Keri Emma and her National Championship A TeamPhoto: Eric Jewett


2005 AVA Annual MeetingDevon and Kerith PraiseEmma DrinkerSheri Benjamin

Devon Maitozo and Kerith Lemonwere long-time students of the “EmmaWay” on their journey to multiple medalsin the World Vaulting Championships. Herethey talk about how Emma mentored themthroughout the years.Devon: Emma started coaching me in 1993when I finally decided to focus solely onindividual vaulting. She already had animpressive reputation as a coach of somegreat individuals as well as bringing a teamto Worlds in 1992, so I was excited to getinto serious training with an equally seri-ous coach. This was the tone that startedmy relationship with Emma.

We had an understanding that I wantedto be the best, and she expected nothing lessfor me. Things were casual enough to in-spire creativity and strict enough to makeclear that if I wasted time, it was my timebeing wasted, not hers. The six months Iinitially trained with her was just enoughtime to learn how to focus, breathe, andtrain efficiently before I was whisked offto Europe for a year.

After returning with some valuablevaulting experiences, but very little focus,Emma grounded me and continued to doso through my college years. A winningpattern was set. I trained with Emmathroughout the school year and competedand trained most of the summer in Europe.The experimentation and creative juicesflowed easily while training with Emma,and she was always there for me for sup-port even when I was a head case. She knewexactly how I would train most effectively(alone), and had a knack for squeezing agreat practice out of any horse. Excusesdidn’t impress her much, and besides that,she’s heard them all. This quality made mebelieve that the different sizes, speeds, andgaits of our horses’ were opportunities togrow and become versatile as opposed tofactors to gripe about. Now that’s one “glasshalf full” attitude!Kerith: Emma is also a great coach becauseshe knows that the vaulter is a much worseself-critic than she is. She always acted asmy eyes, paying attention to the small de-tails that I couldn’t feel. But at the end ofthe day she never harshly criticized becauseshe knew I already did that. One time, I

was training so hard, I couldn’t do anything,I was over-exhausted and she actually“grounded” me from training. That wasfunny!Devon: Yes, Emma is really great at nur-turing. Her consistent attention to my physi-cal needs as well as my many mental onesled me to my first Bronze Medal at theWorld Championships in Kaposvar, Hun-gary in 1996. My Gold Medal in 1998 wasalso a result of Emma’s tutelage and thesuccessful pattern that we had formed.Kerith: Emma has always been a verycalming influence on me. She taught me tosee the “big picture,” and be proud of bothmy accomplishments and my disappoint-ments. Being proud of my disappointmentswas probably the hardest thing I had tolearn. Emma would always tell me to takea moment and be sad, then try to look atthe situation and learn from it. It was aboutclimbing up the ladder one rung at a timeand not skipping steps; she told me that ifwe skipped a step then we would have tocome back later and do it again.

I remember in 1995 at the EuropeanChampionships it was truly the first timethat I had to deal with the pressure to per-form and higher expectations. That wasright after I won my first Silver Medal atthe World Equestrian Games and I expected(as did others) that I would be on the po-dium again. I took several risks that year, Ichose daring dramatic music that was notmy normal style and I took a new horse,who had never been at a big championship.I survived the competition, performed tomy best ability, had a few challenges andcame in fourth place. I was very disap-pointed.

Emma was famous for taking walks toreflect on the competition, and after ourwalk through the quaint village of SaumurI couldn’t hold back anymore; I started tocry and I couldn’t stop. At the same time, itwas pouring rain. We returned back to thecompetition area and our friends, the Ger-man national trainers, were sitting under agiant umbrella drinking beers. Emma tookme, sat down with them, ordered a beer,put me on her lap and just let me cry. It isone of my favorite memories because shewas there for me, calm and cool, havingher beer, but I knew she knew that’s what Ineeded to do at that moment, to be sad andthen learn from my mistakes and move on.

It is moments like that I can take with

me into my life — knowing that it’s OK tofeel sad I didn’t rise to my expectations,learn from it and then move on. It alsospurred many irritated moments where wewould look at each other, when we werebattling things out of our control and say“We’re sick of learning!”Devon: From 1998 on I have lived inSouthern California and haven’t been ableto train with Emma like I used to, but shehas still had a great influence on my con-tinued success. I have turned to Emma onnumerous occasions for guidance andgrounding, and this helped me obtain theBronze Medals that followed in 2000 and2002. In addition to helping me as an indi-vidual, Emma was there to turn to for helpwith my team in Europe before their per-formance in 2002 at the World Champion-ships. The fact that I know I can turn to herfor that extra boost or calm wisdom is partlywhat makes Emma more than a coach. Theother thing that makes her my mentor isthe fact that her influence continues to reso-nate through time and through distance,always helping to empower me to managelife’s little challenges.Kerith: A true mentor, Emma understandsthat life isn’t about compartments. Sheknows that you are the same person whoexperiences all aspects of your life. She al-ways told me to enjoy everything that I did,and that would affect my vaulting. If I shutoff the social aspects of my life and limitedmyself to just vaulting then you would seethat in my vaulting - being happy at vault-ing was about being happy everywhere. Icould trust Emma to help me keep my fo-cus and guide me; we had an understand-ing that I didn’t need to be told what to dobut sometimes I needed little remindersfrom her.

Every bit of my vaulting experiencehas translated into my post-vaulting life.When I moved to New York I often calledEmma to be reminded of my roots, will tosucceed and positive outlook, I was able tobring home medals. She encouraged me tokeep pushing on— that this was just a newarena for competition! She has such a beau-tiful heart and is always so willing to shareher love and support for you.

Devon and Kerith:Thanks Emma!We love you!


Committee ReportsCompetitions2005 Chairperson: Yossi Martonovich

Nationals will be held at the NationalWestern Complex in Denver, August 11th-14th. Horse warm-up and the Festival ofthe Future will begin on Wednesday, Au-gust 10th. Horses may arrive at the site be-ginning at 5pm on August 8th. If you needearlier accommodations contact DebraAdams at [email protected]. The “official”hotel is the Central Denver Best Western(800-964-4001). For a list of the numerouslocal sites that you can enjoy in your freetime, check out www.nationalwestern.com(Complex) or www.denver.com (VisitorsBureau). See page 24 of this issue for com-plete 2005 Nationals information. Nation-als 2006 will be held at The Grand locatedin the City of Industry, California. For moreinformation about this area, please visit:www.cityofindustry.com. For more infor-mation about the facility, please visitwww.industryexpocenter.com.WebsiteChairperson: Sheri Benjamin

The first version of the revamped gen-eral public access website was completedby end of 2004. Important content, includ-ing national championships listings, awardwinners such as Mentor of the Year andVolunteer of the Year, has been permanentlyposted in a central location. The work wasslow going due to the unexpected difficultyin finding content that was located eitherin someone’s head—twice removed— orin some dusty file in the back of someone’sgarage. There has not been enough helpfinding lost content.

The members-only website should becompleted on April 30, 2005, includingweb-based membership sign-up/renewaland the on-line payment option. Our robustvolunteer team is continuing to post newcontent, gather and report news, write fea-tures, get sponsorships and more.

The new website will be heavily mar-keted to current members and alumni. Theposted resources will give value to presentmembers, drive memberships, and steertraffic to the website. Following are jobsthat are still available: Website SponsorshipCoordinator, Website Writers. Details forthese volunteer opportunities and all oth-ers mentioned in Vaulting World will beposted on the website under “Volunteers.”

Collegiate CommitteeChairperson: Nancy MacIssac

This committee is seeking members tohelp grow the collegiate vaulting category.The team will research and publish a list ofcollegiate vaulting programs and developways to communicate with and supportthose groups through educational resourcesand competitions.Alumni CommitteeChairperson: Patti Reschar

A growing list of returning alumni or-ganized the 2004 Annual Meeting Gala’sAuction. Scores of hours of effort resultedin approximately $7,100 net for the AVA.

For 2005 the team will build alumnilists for expanding the AVA membership,volunteer pool, legacy photos and material,and may plan an alumni event for the 2005Nationals. Job openings for this commit-tee include: Legacy Club Researcher andRegional Alumni Coordinators.

coordinating demonstrations at the USETOpen House and Farm Tour Booth, the In-ternational Horse Show in New York anddeveloped new material.

Plans for 2005 include demonstrationsat Equine Affaire in Ohio, the North Ameri-can Young Riders’ Competition, EquineAffaire in Lexington, and the developmentof more support materials. More volunteersare needed to help with special events.


Athlete’s CouncilChairperson: Jessica Ballenger

This committee will create a forum forathletes’ opinions and ensure that athleteconcerns and needs are addressed by theAVA. New members are needed.Publicity and MediaChairperson: Lynn Stevens

The committee is looking for a Fea-tures Publicist, News Release/Feature Writ-ers and Regional Publicity Coordinators.Friendship Team/DemonstrationsChairperson: Priscilla G. Faulkner

This committee will collect informa-tion (provided by clubs) on all vaultingdemonstrations and provide “how-to”checklists and publicity materials (bro-chures) and other support material to clubsperforming demonstrations and shows. Thecommittee also organizes professional dem-onstrations and educational sessions athighly visible trade shows and horse showsthroughout the United States where localteams are not available to expose the maxi-mum number of spectators to vaulting.

These activities will establish a posi-tive perception of equestrian vaulting in theequestrian community, educate the generalpublic about vaulting, increase brand rec-ognition for the AVA and empower upperlevel vaulters to act as ambassadors for theAVA and our sport.

In 2004 this committee assisted in

Trade Shows and ExhibitsChairperson: Jan Weber

Through the expansion of exhibits andsupport materials offered to committees andclubs, this committee introduces the eques-trian community to the benefits of vaultingas a “first touch” and safe equestrian sportand promotes the AVA.

In 2004, the AVA had a booth at theCertified Horsemanship Association An-nual Meeting, the USET Open House andFarm Tour, the Spirit of Vaulting, RegionalVaulting conference and distributed vault-ing brochures at the International HorseShow, Equine Affaire in Massachusetts, andthe American Youth Horse Council.

In 2005, the committee plans to havethe AVA booth at the American Youth HorseCouncil Annual Symposium, the EquineAffaire in California, Kentucky and Ohio.the North American Young Riders’ Com-petition and more. The Trade Show Com-mittee is currently seeking new membersfor the following positions: Regional Ex-hibits Managers, Regional Exhibits Assis-tant, Event Publicist.

Education CommitteeChairperson: Noel Martonovich

This committee works with other AVAcommittees and USEF to educate and in-spire coaches, longeurs, vaulters and vault-ing families. 2004 was highlighted by thesuccessful Spirit of Vaulting Conferenceheld in Gladstone, New Jersey. Also the im-portant CHA certification for vaultingcoaches was begun.

The committee’s 2005 goals includeproviding a grants writing clinic at the an-nual meeting (done), developing qualityeducational and promotional DVDs, sub-mitting an “Ask the Expert” column in eachissue of Vaulting World, expanding the“Through the Eyes of the Judge” clinics,building a horse mentoring program fornew clubs and promoting the Horseman-ship Program Level I. The Education Com-mittee is seeking new members with expe-rience in writing curriculum and in writinggrants.


2005 AVA Annual MeetingFEI Vaulting CommitteeAVA Representative: Emma DrinkerUSEF Board and USEF Active AthletesCommittee AVA Rep: Devon MaitozoUSEF Vaulting High Performance Com.Working Group Member: Jeff MooreUSEF Technical Committee AVARepresentative: Adrienne Stang

This committee integrates the effortsof the FEI disciplines within the USEF. Byoffering advanced training for high-levelvaulters, financial support to vaulters foreducation and competition, addressinglong-term planning for international highperformance and developing a ranking sys-tem for American vaulters, the committeeworks to make the USA internationally in-fluential in our sport.Therapeutic VaultingChairperson: Rick HawthorneNAHRA (North American HandicappedRiding Association) AVA Representative:Rachel Markels-Webber

This committee plans to publish a listof threrapeutic vaulting programs and de-velop ways to communicate with and sup-port those groups through educational re-sources and competitions.Awards CommitteeChairperson: Jeannie Beattie

In 2004 awards for the new Copperdivision were selected and purchased. Thecommittee plans to expand its membershipand outreach efforts by separating into twocommittees – one focused on competitionawards (Awards Committee) and the othermembership recognition (RecognitionCommittee). The Recognition Committeeis seeking new members (at least one perregion) to assist with the recruitment ofnominations for volunteer of the year, men-tor of the year, and the lifetime volunteeraward.Youth OrganizationsChairperson: Nancy MacIsaac

By developing relationships with otheryouth organizations, this committee willincrease knowledge, understanding and uti-lization of vaulting. The committee is seek-ing liaisons between the AVA and other or-ganizations.Meeting Schedule ProposalsChairperson: Amy McCune

AVA Board Meeting location propos-als: November 2005 – Region X (Chicago,IL/Minneapolis, MN); March 2006 – Re-gion IX (Tampa, FL/Durham, NC/Balti-more, MD); July 2006 – Region I (City ofIndustry, CA); November 2006 – Region

III: March 2007 – Region II; July/August2007 – Region IV (Denver, CO); Novem-ber 2007 - Region TBA. Volunteers areneeded from the indicated regions to assistin researching and proposing sites.

Region IX (2004 Membership: 252)Regional Supervisor: Jan Weber

In 2004 Region IX hosted the NationalChampionships, the East Coast Judges Fo-rum, Christoph Lensing clinics, the Spiritof Vaulting Conference, performed atRolex, Virginia Equine Extravaganza,USET Open House, and National HorseShow and presented vaulting at the Certi-fied Horsemanship Association AnnualMeeting.

In 2005 the region will continue host-ing the Region IX website (www.geocities.com/avaregionix) and forum ([email protected]) and plans to hold thefirst Region IX championships.Region X (2004 Membership: 51)Regional Supervisor: Jennifer MurphyTechnical CommitteeChairperson (2004): Adrienne StangChairperson (2005): Amy McCune

This committee is charged with keep-ing AVA rules updated and aligned withUSEF and FEI rules as is possible, address-ing any questions regarding rules submit-ted by the membership, and with trainingand licensing judges for the AVA and USEF.

In 2004 the Technical Committee cre-ated two new vaulter levels: Copper andIndividual Preliminary Trot (Guidelinesonly) and completed the judges trainingprograms including the complete and spe-cific requirements for the apprentice pro-gram, clarified requirements for promotionand restructured the committee into threegroups headed by the three FEI Officialjudges to better share the expertise on thecommittee. Four judge training sessionswere offered plus the east and west coastforums. Isabelle (Bibbler) Parker was ac-cepted into the apprentice program. ToniAmoroso was promoted to “R” status.

The goals for 2005 include the imple-mentation of a sub committee to managethe apprentice program, ensure the train-ing of judges and annually update trainingcurriculum. The committee plans to rede-sign the criteria and materials used to enterthe judge’s program, to the progression be-tween judge levels, and the active statuspolicy. An officials sub committee will re-view the job descriptions of competition of-ficials and provide updates and training ma-terials/opportunities for these positions.This sub committee will create clerk andtimer training programs (with possible cer-tification) in time for 2005 National Cham-pionships. Another sub committee will en-sure that the AVA Rule Book is updated,

(Continued)

Regional ReportsRegion I (2004 Membership: 131)Regional Supervisor: Connie Geisler

Six of the seven active clubs from theRegion sent vaulters to the 2004 Nationalsin Virginia. Valley View Vaulters held clin-ics at the Equine Affaire in Pomona thatwere very well received. The clubs in theregion helped to staff an AVA booth at theEquine Affaire.Region II (2004 Membership: 318)Regional Supervisor: Teresa Keville

Region II hosted the 2004 AVA AnnualMeeting in Santa Cruz; held six competi-tions; held an educational clinic in conjunc-tion with the Region II high point awardsdinner meeting, hosted a USEF High Per-formance Clinic and hosted the 2005 An-nual Meeting in Reno. 2005 plans includethree competitions, possibly two CVIs anda regional championships.Region III (2004 Membership: 97)Regional Supervisor: Wendy Ware

The region added a new club, heldthree AVA recognized fests, hosted vault-ing camps, clinics and demonstrations.Northwind Vaulters donated a new clubstarter kit to the region (barrels, surcingle,side reins, mats and books.) The club alsodonated $1000 to promote a large 2005 re-gional vaulting conference.

Region IV (2004 Membership: 105)Regional Supervisor: Noel Martonovich

Members of Region IV participated inthe New Mexico Horse Expo, providingworkshops on vaulting for disabled andable-bodied vaulters, training the vaultinghorse, using vaulting skills in riding pro-grams and performing in the Evening of En-tertainment. Members also demonstrated atthe Sante Fe Horse Park, the RenaissanceFaire, the Dressage Association, theCorrales Parade, the Denver Stock Showand a second Renaissance Faire.

Clubs in the region hosted cliniciansMatthias Lang, Erik Martonovich, Rick andVi rginia Hawthorne, Nancy Stevens-Brown, Christoph Lensing, and UlrikeRieder. Members of the region providedclinics for new groups: Colorado State Uni-versity, Hoofs & Paws and TransitionsVaulters in Nebraska. In addition the regionheld two AVA recognized competitions, abarrel competition, a fun fest, and twovaulting camps.


effective and serves the needs of the AVAmembership. Another 2005 goal (which hasbeen largely accomplished by CharlieBittenbring at the Annual Meeting) is to re-vise the Standing Rules and Rules for Vault-ing to eliminate duplications and clarify lan-guage. New members are currently soughtfor the sub-committees.

2005 AVA Annual MeetingAVA Awards Two New GrantsNancy Stevens-Brown

For the first time the AVA offered upto $10,000 in grants for the growth ofAmerican vaulting. Many outstanding ideaswere presented for our review, making itdifficult to narrow the field to the mostworthy. After careful analysis, the Execu-tive Board and Grants Committee selectedtwo grant recipients for two very diverseand impressive pilot programs.

Carolyn Bland.Their mission is to promote the growth

of equestrian vaulting in the U.S. by pro-viding support for training and care of thevaulting horse. They will encourage inter-action with the equestrian community to de-velop horses that are safe, calm, supple andobedient.

In order to successfully reach thesegoals, they plan to:

1) Facilitate clinics and seminarsthroughout the country which center ontraining, longeing and handling the vault-ing horse

2) Provide the vaulting communitywith information regarding all aspects ofthe vaulting horse

3) Build a horse mentoring programfor new and beginning clubs

4) Interact and share information withthe horse community at large

5) Work with various breed organiza-tions to increase the knowledge of vault-ing as an activity appropriate to that spe-cific breed.

The newly-formed Vaulting HorseCommittee had a thorough project plan witha realistic timeline and budget that madethe merits of their grant request an obviouschoice.

The two finalists had deep expertiseand were dedicated to seeing their focus de-veloped to raise the bar for all levels ofAmerican vaulting while simultaneouslypromoting growth. Congratulations to thefinalists and to everyone who prepared aproject for our review. We were pleased tochoose from such qualified projects andlook forward to offering similar grants forfurther valuable plans next year.

(Technical Committee continued)

Treasurer’s ReportJan GarrodAVA Account Balances (as of 1/30/05)Checking - $51,316.00CD - $50,000.00Special Accounts: - $33,221.62Circle of Friends - $4,015.67International Committee - $744.04Friendship Team - $4,435.792003 Auction - $772.40Marcia Sullivan Fund - $1,301.00Technical Committee - $4,200.00Youth/Athlete Council - $1,175.92Graphic Display - $3,200.00Sponsor Packets - $3,376.00Promotions Grant - $10,000.00Total Cash for Operations - $68,094.38Total Cash on Hand - $101,316.00

Nominating CommitteeChairperson: Marjorie OakesBallot CommitteeChairperson: Logan Dalby

This year, 119 votes qualified and werecounted at Nationals.Grants CommitteeChairperson: Jan Garrod

The Grants Committee provides re-gions and clubs with financial assistancefor clinics, competitions, judge’s travel andother activities that will grow and developvaulting. Annual application deadlines areMarch 31st and September 10th. Grant ap-plications are available on the AVA web site.

The Grants Committee awarded a to-tal of $2950 in 2004 to assist with threecompetitions, three clinics and two start-up club clinics. One application was turneddown and one awarded grant was returned.Congratulations to Region III for having afinancially successful event. Since the in-ception of this committee in 1995, $23,900have been awarded. This includes a spe-cial allotment of $2400 to the regions forbarrels. The committee is concerned thatthe membership is not taking advantage ofthe grants program and using it to its full-est potential. By promoting the grants pro-gram, the committee hopes there will be anincrease in the number of submissions andsuccessful grant applications..

The AVA Executive Board. Top to bottom:Nancy Stevens-Brown, Kelley Holly, JenniferWilliams, Amy McCune, Jan Garrod, SheriBenjamin, Patty Littmann. Not present: NoelMartonovich. Photo: Carole Dwinell

Our second beneficiary was the newlyformed AVA Vaulting Horse Committee thatmerited a $3,000 grant for their compre-hensive plan to promote quality vaultinghorse training clinics throughout the UnitedStates.

This Education sub-committee, headedby Yossi Martonovich, included expertssuch as veterinarian Francie Dougherty,international horse trainer Anja O’Tooleand dressage and vaulting trainer/ longeur

The Root Farm FoundationThe Root Farm Foundation and their

expert staff in Verona, New York wereawarded a $3,400 grant for their plan aimedat bringing vaulting to special needs stu-dents. Though vaulting is new to the RootFarm curriculum, they are well establishedas a therapeutic riding academy with exist-ing facility, clientele and contact with thetherapeutic and medical world. Root Farm’sstrategy is to promote vaulting in the North-east by pursuing collaboration with themedical community, equine assistedtherapy organizations (such as NARHA andthe American Hippotherapy Association)and vaulting clubs throughout America.Matching funds are available to educate themedical community with a basic under-standing of beneficial developmental se-quences and how that applies to vaulting.

The Root Farm’s staff will coordinateresearch projects with NARHA, AHA andthe AVA in order to advance therapeuticvaulting as the foundation of most equineassisted therapy.

Some of the planned ways they willreach their objectives will be to:

1) Establish a tradition of regular east-west therapeutic vaulting conferences.

2) Promote the welfare of at-risk youthin their region.

3) Encourage tolerance and apprecia-tion for the special needs population.

4) Promote all aspects of the sport ofvaulting.The Vaulting Horse


Photo:Bill Brown

Annual MeetingSustaining Members MeetingCashing In on All the WorkCarole Dwinell

The first issue of concern on the agendawas a question of semantics. To dance ornot to dance...on a horse. One might notwant to dance on a horse, especially if onewere a male athlete somewhere around theage of nine or 10. The older athletes don’thave a problem with the word dance beingin the Purpose of the Constitution of theAVA. In the name of attracting youngermales, the wording was changed from“dance and gymnastics” to “gymnastics anddance.”

In the Regions report, Kelley Hollyannounced that a record-setting 156 vault-ers attended Tambourine’s February barrelfest. At the other end of the spectrum, theplanning for CVI*,** Saratoga is goingwell. Horse owners were reminded to bediligent with their paperwork. All coachesand vaulters were encouraged to review theFEI rule changes. Vaulters from Australia,South Africa, Germany, France and Canadahave expressed interest so far. This will bean exciting event, so put it on your calen-dar even if you are not planning to com-pete. New vaulters will be able to get a lookat international level competitors.

Region II plans an educational clinicand awards banquet. Region III has plansfor a vaulting conference to increase thevisibility of vaulting in that region and sup-port the growth of both membership andnew clubs. Region I is deep into Nationals2006, with a grand new facility. Region Icoach/vaulter Devon Maitozo will be per-forming at the FEI World Cup in Las Ve-gas and hopes to attract other world cham-pions to help promote the visibility and au-dience friendly aspect of the sport.

Rick Hawthorne and YossiMartonovich detailed the projects that gar-nered two large grants from the AVA to helpfacilitate the success of these most excel-lent plans.

The energy seemed to be contagiousas the meeting closed. Since so much hadbeen accomplished, it was decided thatthere was no need to hold another Execu-tive Board meeting. With a great deal ofsatisfaction, suitcases or the casino becamethe last order of business for the Reno event.

American Vaulting AssociationBoard of Directors Meeting

March 5, 2005 - Reno, NevadaJen WilliamsBoard Members present: Toni Amoroso, Jessica

Ballenger, Carol Beutler, Carolyn Bland,Merry Cole, Kate Dalby, Emma Drinker,Priscilla G. Faulkner, Katie Flannagan,Sydney Frankel, Connie Geisler (also Re-gion I Supervisor), Rick Hawthorne, VirginiaHawthorne, Nancy MacIsaac, RachelMarkels-Webber, Yossi Martonovich,Marjorie Oakes and Marianne Rose. Execu-tive Board members attending: NancyStevens-Brown (President), Kelley Holly(Executive VP), Jan Garrod (Treasurer),Jennifer Williams (General Secretary), SheriBenjamin (VP Development), Amy McCune(VP Membership), Patty Littmann (VP Com-petitions) and Noel Martonovich (VP Edu-cation and Region IV Supervisor). RegionalSupervisors (not previously named) present:Teresa Keville (Region II), Wendy Ware (Re-gion III), Jan Weber (Region IX).

Approved: Alaska shall be assigned to RegionIII. Hawaii shall be assigned to Region I.

Approved: Annual Meeting 2007 to be held inRegion II. Board of Directors Fall Meeting2007 to be held in Region IX.

Approved: AVA shall budget $3000 for a finan-cial review in FY2006.

Approved: Rule changes as presented.*

Approved: Bylaws changes as presented.*

Approved: 2005 Grievance Committee:Suzanne Detol, Patti Reschar, CharlieBittenbring, Marge Oakes, Joy Coburn

Approved: Revision of the Constitution and By-laws and Standing Rules to improve theirinternal consistency and appropriateness forcurrent AVA needs.*

Approved: Special Fund 2003 Auction moniesto be moved into the Membership Awardsbudget.

Approved: Budget as presented. The Associa-tion has roughly $106,000 in the bank, ofwhich roughly $33,000 is allocated in spe-cial accounts. Memberships to date are ap-proaching budgeted figures.

Approved: Ten Board members shall be electedin 2005.

Approved: Nominating Committee 2005: BillBrown (Region II), Marianne Rose (RegionII, Board Member), Carolyn Bland (RegionI, Board Member), Bob Weber (Region IX),A Sustaining Member to be determined fromRegion IV or Region III.

Approved: Executive Board is authorized toconduct teleconferences as necessary toconduct the business of the association inan effective and efficient manner.

Approved: $4015 from the Circle of Friendsspecial fund and $3376 from the Develop-ment Sponsorship Packet special fund to beused as seed money for the developmentof an hour-long coaches’ trainingcompulsories video, and if funds warrant, a

freestyle video. Proceeds from video salesshall return to these Special Funds, firstto the Circle of Friends, until the originalsum is restored, and then to the SponsorPackets special fund until the original sumis restored. Any funds beyond these allo-cations are to go into the general fund.

Thanks toorganizers

TeresaKeville and

AmyMcCune

for a greatmeeting.

* The complete rule changes will be postedonline and the new AVA Rule Book will bepublished and mailed in April.

American Vaulting AssociationSustaining Members MeetingMarch 6, 2005 - Reno, Nevada

Jen WilliamsApproved: Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meet-

ing of Sustaining Members.

Approved: Nominating Committee: Bill Brown(Region II), Marianne Rose (Region II,Board Member), Carolyn Bland (RegionI, Board Member), Bob Weber (Region IX),Sustaining Member to be determined fromRegion IV or Region III.

Approved: Bill Brown as 2005 NominatingCommittee Chair.

Approved: Grievance Committee: SuzanneDetol (Chair), Patti Reschar, CharlieBittenbring, Marge Oakes, Joy Coburn.

Approved: Constitution and Bylaws andStanding Rules changes as presented.

Approved: Change the AVA Constitution andBylaws and rulebook definitions of vault-ing to read “gymnastics and dance”…

Approved: A membership category for “rec-reational youth vaulter,” fee $22/year, mayonly register for this membership categoryonline. These members are not eligible tocompete. No upgrade to regular member-ship will be available. Recreational mem-bers will need to pay the full fee to join asa regular member. Benefits to be deter-mined.

Approved: Grants Committee: Jan Garrod(Chair, Region II), Merry Cole (Region IV),Rick Hawthorne (Region I), Suzanne Detol(Region III), Jane Garrod (Region II),Stephanie Siemens (Region IX), KarenRach (Region X).


Sheri BenjaminWhen 16-year-old Ali Divita isn’t win-

ning consecutive national vaulting cham-pionships (Bronze in 2003 and Silver in2004), she’s hanging with her friends andfamily, studying like crazy (in betweencheerleading, gymnastics team and vault-ing), or performing strange and daringstunts (everything from racing down steephills on skateboards to “playing dead” withher teammates—much to the horror of pass-ing bicyclists). She is a busy, busy youngwoman who knows how to be serious…andhave fun. Watch out for Ali Divita!VW: How did you get into vaulting?AD: I was taking riding lessons over thesummer at the same place where theWoodside vaulters practice; I had been do-ing gymnastics for about a year and itseemed like the perfect combo between thetwo sports!

laugh by doing the crazy things that seven-year-old sisters do. She also vaults and isan excellent little gymnast. My brother,Jack, plays just about every sport imagin-able and is fluent in Spanish. My olderbrother, Eddie, is a senior at Saint Francisand is the smartest person I know. My momand dad are the greatest. They are very sup-portive of me and my brothers and sisters.We’re lucky for having our parents’ loveand thankful that we haven’t driven themto insanity yet!

VW: What’s the silliest thing youand your vaulting friends have everdone?AD: My vaulting friends and I are alwaysgoing crazy and having fun. After drivingin a crowded van for hours last summer,we covered the windows of our rental carwith a collage of the brochures from theplaces we had toured! Also, on our runsbefore practice, when bikers would pass,we all used to suddenly fall to the groundat the same time to see their reaction!VW: What do your non-vaultingfriends think of our sport?AD: Most of them think that I’m insanefor actually doing what I do on top of amoving horse; everyone is always amazedwhen they see pictures of the sport for thefirst time. Some people that I know stillthink that I’m actually pole vaulting overhorses or just doing gymnastics on a pom-mel horse!

VW: Tell us about your horses.AD: Our club’s horses are Lorino, Moon-light, Spencer, Ben, and Holly. Lorino hasthe cutest face and eyes that make him looklike he’s always confused. He’s kind of likethe dorky guy that just wants to be friendswith everyone. Moonlight likes to act fancy,and shows off with lead changes – some-times in the middle of freestyle! Spencer(Pepper Jack) is a hard worker and is per-fect for our beginning vaulters because hiscanter is so smooth. Holly is our only girlhorse, but she likes to fit in with the boysby rolling in the mud and always beingdirty. Holly’s show name is Miss Holly-wood, which fits her appearance becauseshe has a pretty face and long glamorouseyelashes. Our little palomino, Ben, caneasily be described as a golden retriever ina horse suit.VW: Any other pets in your house?AD: My black lab, Lilly, just had elevenblack puppies! We kept one and named himLefty, because he was “leftover.” We alsohave four cats, one of which thinks he’s adog—sometimes he even follows the dogson their walks! My little sister, Tessa, hassome goldfish; their names change with hermood but last I checked, even thoughthere’s only three, they had all eight namesof Santa’s reindeer!VW: Tell us about your hometown.AD: I live in Redwood City up in the hills.There are a lot of kids in my neighborhoodand we used to spend our summers racingdown the steep roads on our skateboardsbecause we could get going really fast! Ilive right across the street from a park,which is fun because there are alwayspeople around walking their dogs or justhanging out.VW: What’s your ultimate vaultinggoal?AD: I have a lot of goals for my vaultingcareer. I guess you could say my ultimategoal is to win, or even just qualify for, theWorld Vaulting Championships – but whowouldn’t want to? Mainly right now I’mjust trying to do everything I can to be thebest vaulter that I can be, while still havingfun and loving the sport.VW: What’s your favorite vaultinghighlight to date?AD: I went to Germany for a month withmy team. The whole trip was full of awe-some memories that my friends and I still

Ali Divita: 2004 USEF/AVA National Silver Women’s Champion

VW: What do you like best aboutvaulting?AD: I love competitions. I like everythingfrom traveling and staying with my teamand meeting new vaulters to getting readyand the excitement of actually competing.It feels good to finally perform everythingthat I’ve been practicing during the off-sea-son. I also really like the feeling of learn-ing, or being able to do, a move for the firsttime.VW: Tell us about your family.AD: There are six people in my family. Mylittle sister, Tessa, is always making me

Ali performs a shoulder stand. Photo: Eric Jewett

Ali vaults with her sister, Tessa.Photo: courtesy Divita Family


laugh about today. We got to vault almostevery day, and even though I didn’t com-pete, I learned so much and gained muchmore experience and a new love for thesport. It was also really exciting to meetpeople from another country who spoke adifferent language and had way differentlifestyles but still were just as into vaultingas I was.

Facts-at-GlanceName: Alicen “Ali” DivitaHome Town: Redwood CityMost Recent Title: 2004 Silver Women’s National ChampionBorn: April 30, 1989Started Vaulting: 2001Club: WoodsideMajor awards: 2004 National Silver Women’s Champion and National Silver High Point, 2003 National Bronze Women’s Champion amd National Bronze High Point.

Ali Divita: 2004 USEF/AVA National Silver Women’s Champion

VW: What are some of yourfavorite vaulting moves?AD: I like making up new moves that areunexpected and cool looking. It’s fun tothink of moves that have never been donebefore and do them on the horse. I also likedoing jumps because if you get the rightstride it feels like you’re flying.VW: Do you ever get discouraged?AD: Yes, and when I do I try to think aboutall the good things I can do instead of whatI can’t do. My teammates and coaches areusually pretty good at making me feel bet-ter, too.VW: What bugs you most?AD: It bugs me a lot when people makeexcuses for themselves. I hate it when I hearpeople say things like, “Well, I would havebeaten you if I hadn’t fallen off on mystand.”VW: Tell us about your school.AD: I go to Saint Francis High School inMountain View. Sometimes the classes arereally hard and I feel overwhelmed with allthe homework on top of my busy schedule.However, the school is just as big on sportsas they are on academics. I love cheeringat soccer and football games and compet-ing for our CCS ranked gymnastics team.VW: What’s your favorite vaultingevent?AD: I like freestyle because I get to be cre-ative and perform to the music. I like indi-

viduals just as much as team, and so farI’ve been lucky to compete in both.VW: What do you worry aboutmost when you’re in the arena inthe middle of competing?AD: When I’m competing, I try to thinkabout fighting hard for each move and notgiving up. I like to go slow and take thetime to do everything the best I can. When-ever I get nervous, I tell myself that I don’thave enough time to be nervous because Ionly get one minute to compete!VW: What’s your favorite movie?AD: My favorite movies are Napoleon Dy-namite, Anchorman, and Mean Girls. Myfriends and I can pretty much quote themall from front to back.VW: To win a championship, youhave to be a really good vaulter.What are you really, really bad at?AD: I’m really bad at singing, which stinksbecause I love singing. I’m also really badat basketball, but I’ve never aspired to bein the WNBA or anything so it hasn’t re-ally affected me.VW: What’s your conditioning andvaulting schedule each week?AD: Very full. I have gymnastics for fourhours every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,and Friday. Then I have vaulting on Thurs-days, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Surcingles • PadsBridles • WhipsVaulting Shoes

For all yourequipment needs!

2643 Old San Jose Rd.,2643 Old San Jose Rd.,2643 Old San Jose Rd.,2643 Old San Jose Rd.,2643 Old San Jose Rd.,Soquel CA 95073Soquel CA 95073Soquel CA 95073Soquel CA 95073Soquel CA 95073

Phone/fax:Phone/fax:Phone/fax:Phone/fax:Phone/fax: (831) 464-7502 (831) 464-7502 (831) 464-7502 (831) 464-7502 (831) 464-7502

www.pvsupply.comwww.pvsupply.comwww.pvsupply.comwww.pvsupply.comwww.pvsupply.com

PegasusPegasusPegasusPegasusPegasusVaulting SupplyVaulting SupplyVaulting SupplyVaulting SupplyVaulting Supply

Now acceptingNow acceptingNow acceptingNow acceptingNow acceptingPaypalPaypalPaypalPaypalPaypal

Ali shows off her broken arm (not vaulting!)Photo: courtesy Divita Family

At Nationals Ali demonstrated herchampionship form in the scissors.

Photo: courtesy Divita Family

school because they’re really gooey andchocolaty.VW: And your biggest vice?AD: I can waste hours online and get noth-ing done all day.VW: What’s your worst habit?AD: Pressing the snooze button on myalarm clock till I have like 10 minutes toget ready for school!VW: Any words of wisdom for up-and-coming national vaultingchampions out there?AD: Never give up, and take advantage andlearn from the bad things that happen toyou; eight weeks before I won my first Na-tionals I broke my arm! I still went to prac-tices and did conditioning so I was able tostay strong. It would have been easy to justgive up for the summer.

VW: What do you do in your freetime?AD: I love listening to music, going todances, football games, the movies, goingout to dinner, shopping, concerts, and justhaving fun with my friends. I also just gotmy learners permit so I like to go out driv-ing all over.VW: What’s your favorite food?AD: It depends on my mood but prettymuch anything is good. I really like thechocolate chip cookies they have at my


Todd Griffiths: 2004 USEF/AVA National Silver Men’s ChampionSheri Benjamin

Twenty-five year old Silver Men’s Na-tional Champion Todd Griffiths is a new-lywed and veterinary school student whogrew up on a cattle ranch in Montana. Wecaught up with him in between dissectingcows and vaulting.VW: How did you get into vaulting?TG: I had a friend who was a vaulter inone of my college classes. When she foundout that I had competed in gymnastics androde horses she insisted that I come and trythis vaulting thing. I had seen a picture onceand was intrigued so I went. It was just aperfect combination of two of my favoriteactivities and I was hooked after one prac-tice.VW: What do you like best aboutvaulting?TG: The spandex! Actually, to be very hon-est, I almost quit vaulting when I found outwhat you had to wear to compete. Whenmy teammates brought out our team uni-form I thought that they were joking. Inseriousness though, I love performing infront of a crowd that has never seen vault-ing before and just hear the gasps of amaze-ment. I also like the camaraderie among thevaulters and coaches, no matter what teamyou are on.

VW: Tell us about your home town.TG: I actually grew up on a cattle ranch inNorthern Montana so I really didn’t have a“home town” until my senior year of highschool. My family moved to Simms, Mon-tana and there isn’t much to say about it.The town has the high school, the post of-fice, the gas station, a restaurant/bar, a vol-unteer fire department and some houses.My graduating class had 34 people andsome of my friends and I even rode ourhorses to school one day.VW: Tell us about your family.TG: I just got married so my family justchanged. My wife, Hanna, is from River-side, Calif. We met at college in Utah andgot married Dec. 18. My “extended fam-ily” includes my parents, four sisters, threebrothers, three nieces and a nephew.VW: What do your non-vaultingfriends think of our sport?TG: My former roommates like to explainvaulting as dancing on the back of a horsein spandex. Most people respond somethinglike, “You do what on a horse?” But oncethey actually find out more about the sportthey think that it is really cool….and in-sane.VW: Tell us about your horses.TG: My own horses are in Montana be-cause they are all too small to vault on. Myfamily raises cutting and reining horses. Ihave three mares and my family has around35 horses. As far as vaulting horses, whileI am in Washington I vault on a 15.2 hh 20-year-old QH gelding. He is awesome be-

cause he will let you do anything on him.He is not awesome because he is really,really lazy and small. But right now I makedo with what I have. When I am with myteam in Utah I like to vault on Sir Ronic(Roany). He is a 17 + hand grey thorough-bred that we started training last year. Hehas a sweet disposition and a good canter.Because our team is so young and we areconstantly working on training horses Ihave competed on many different and awe-some horses. Last year at nationals I bor-rowed Diamond Bar’s Goliath and Babs.Previous to that I have been lucky enoughto vault on Falcon and Paradox of DG Baras well as Moonlight from Woodside.

Todd performs his freestyle at the 2004Region I Championships.

Photo: Hannalee Griffiths

Photo: Jolene Sevey


Todd recently married Hannalee Sevey.

VW: Any other pets in your house?TG: I have a border collie named Hollie.VW: What’s your ultimate vaultinggoal?TG: Compete at the World EquestrianGames.VW: What’s your favorite vaultinghighlight to date?TG: Going through two rounds at Nation-als with four consistent performances.VW: What are some of yourfavorite vaulting moves?TG: I like dismounts (back flips, aerialsetc), handstands, shoulder stands, etc. –pretty much anything that looks impressiveand doesn’t require a lot of flexibility.VW: Do you ever get discouraged?TG: Not really. Discouragement doesn’t

At home Todd rides his Quarter Horse, Gem.


Todd Griffiths: 2004 USEF/AVA National Silver Men’s Championreally have any benefits. If you don’t dowell at something and get upset about it,just sit down, have a good laugh at your-self for taking things too seriously, then getup and try it again.VW: What bugs you most?TG: Obnoxiously conceited people.VW: Tell us about your school?TG: I am a veterinary student at Washing-ton State University. I’m hoping to becomean equine orthopedic surgeon.VW: What’s your favorite schoolsubject?TG: Right now my favorite subject is largeanimal anatomy because we are dissectinghorses and cows.


Photo: Hannalee GriffithsVeterinary student Todd studies oxen.

that we are going to try them on the horse.Usually she can tell that we are just tryingto get a rise out of her because she is al-ways very concerned about the horse’s andthe vaulters’ safety.VW: What do you worry aboutmost when you’re in the arena inthe middle of competing?TG: I used to worry a lot about the bellringing and not knowing what it meant andgetting disqualified. Now I just try to makesure that I don’t fall off.VW: What’s your favorite book?TG: Harry Potter #4.VW: TV show or movie?TG: I don’t really watch TV. As for mov-ies it depends on what mood I’m in. I likeBourne Identity, the Lord of the Rings 2 andPirates of the Caribbean.VW: To win a nationalchampionship, you have to be areally good vaulter. What are youreally, really bad at?TG: Golf. I once shot a 19 on a par 5. Itwas the first time I ever golfed but I haven’timproved much since then.VW: What’s your conditioning andvaulting schedule each week?TG: I vault three days a week, lift weightstwo days, and usually play volleyball, bas-ketball, soccer, rollerblade or some othercross-training activity a couple of days aweek.VW: What do you do in your freetime?TG: Spelunking, canyoneering, hiking,rock climbing, camping, playing guitar, orreading.

Facts-at-GlanceName: Todd GriffithsHome Town: Simms, MontanaMost Recent Title: National Men’s Silver ChampionBorn: Nov. 26, 1979Nicknames: Tent Peg, Toddy BucketStarted Vaulting: May 2002Club: Oak Hills VaultersOther Members of Your Family: Wife HannaVaulting Titles/Awards:2004 National Champion Silver Men2004 Region 1 Champion Silver Men2003 2nd place Silver Men’s Division2003 Region 1 Champion Silver Men2002 2nd place Bronze Men’s Division

Todd repels down a cliff in Zion NationalPark.

June Vaulting World WillFeature Quarter Horses

Please submit any poem, drawing,photo or article about your QuarterHorse(s) by April 30 to Vaulting World,11845 Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos, CA95033 or email to [email protected] you.Marianne Rose, Editor, Vaulting World

VW: What would you do if youweren’t vaulting?TG: Study for my classes like I should!VW: What’s your favorite food?TG: Lasagna!VW: What’s your worst habit?TG: Chewing my fingernails when I getnervous.VW: Who, or what, inspires you?TG: People who accomplish the impos-sible. It doesn’t matter if it is a nationalchampion doing a free standing Taylor or atiny tot vaulter mounting by themselveswhile the horse makes three circles. Thepeople who keep working until they accom-plish their goals inspire me.VW: Any words of wisdom for up-and-coming national vaultingchampions out there?

If you aren’t good at something keepworking at it till you are good at it. Thatway, what was your worst thing will nowbe your best thing and you won’t have tohate it anymore. Don’t take yourself tooseriously… and always have a fun-lovingattitude.

VW: What’s your favorite vaultingevent?TG: Compulsories to the right...no, wait,that is my least favorite. I love teamfreestyle.VW: Tell us about your club.TG: I am a member of the Oak HillsVaultiers. We are the only big competitiveclub in Utah. We started competing in 2002and kept growing ever since.VW: Tell us about your coach.TG: Kristy Fleming was a member of theFriendship Team that went to the Olympicsin Atlanta and has her Silver Medal. Shedidn’t compete last year because she wasbusy being pregnant. I think she will berejoining us this year in the competitioncircle. She does a great job because she al-ways has good, original ideas and tells mewhen something looks cool – or dumb forthat matter.VW: And your longeur.TG: Venece Reed has longed for most ofmy three years of vaulting, and she is thevery coolest lady in the whole world. Wehave a lot of fun making up ridiculoustriples on the barrel and letting her think


VW: How did you get into vaulting?TD: I began taking dressage at a ranch inMoorpark. I was having trouble sitting cor-rectly in the saddle at the canter and some-how I always managed to fall off. Mytrainer was working some of the vaultinghorses while the F.A.C.E. vaulting team wasaway at the World Championships in Spain.I had no idea what vaulting was, but shedecided to teach me a little bit of vaultingon Shakespeare, hoping that it would cor-rect my seat. I was hooked. Once the teamgot back from Spain I started taking les-sons. Now I do not ride dressage anymore.VW: What do you like best aboutvaulting?TD: I love the grace and bond between thevaulter and the horse. I loved horses and Iloved to dance so I found the perfect com-bination.

VW: What’s the silliest thing youand your vaulting friends have everdone?TD: My friends and I had a blast at Na-tionals in Denver 2003. In our free time wewould go over to the elevators and ride upand down while doing handstands andneedles against the walls.VW: What do your non-vaultingfriends think about our sport?TD: Some of my other friends think I amcrazy but my closer friends have heardenough about it that it seems normal tothem.VW: Tell us about your club.TD: F.A.C.E., Free Artists Creative Eques-trians, is the club I vault with. We are insouthern California. We currently haveabout a dozen vaulters ranging from Cop-per to Gold.

school credits and I am passing all of myhonors classes.VW: What’s you favorite subject?TD: History, I love facts.VW: What subject do you dislikemost?TD: I hate American Government. I haveno interest in politics.VW: Tell us about your horses.TD: Most of our horses are Warmbloodsand most of them are bays. Except forShakespeare—he’s a gray/white Irish draft.We can’t live without our best freestylehorse, Mozart.VW: And your longeur?TD: Carolyn Bland is a great longeur; shecares deeply for the horses and I respecther. Occasionally Carolyn will coach whenDevon is out of town.

Tisa Dobin: 2004 Bronze Women’s National Champion

At four years old I was riding ponies. Thetrainer told me to do “airplane.” Little did Iknow then, that I was practicing my seat.

At a demonstration at the Hummingbird NestRanch in California Tisa flies high aboveMozart based by Devon Maitozo on the backand Marie Hansen on the neck.

VW: What’s the best part of avaulting competition for you?TD: I like to travel and spend time with allmy friends. I think the best part is seeingall my hard work pay off.VW: Tell us about the friendshipsyou’ve built through vaulting.TD: The friendships I have made throughvaulting are my strongest friendships. Wehave been through a lot together.

Facts-at-a-GlanceName: Tisa DobinBorn: April 28, 1990Nickname: MonkeyHome Town: Simi Valley, Calif.Started Vaulting: October 2002Club: F.A.C.E. VaultersMost Recent Titles: 2004 BronzeNational Champion, 2004 NationalBronze High Point and 2004 Region IBronze Champion

VW: Any pets in your house?TD: Two dogs, one Nova Scotia Duck Toll-ing Retriever named Yanna that we im-ported from Belgium, and one Papillionnamed Jazzy. Then we have the critters, wehave Slinky the snake, and Hairy the taran-tula. We found Slinky, a California kingsnake, when he was cruising around ourneighborhood. We were going to feed himand then let him go after a few days but webecame really attached to him, so one daymy dad brought home an terrarium for him.It is the same story with the tarantula—mydad found it in a warehouse and brought ithome as a pet.VW: What’s your favorite vaultinghighlight?TD: Winning nationals was incredible,even though there was confusion with thescores.VW: What’s your ultimate vaultinggoal?TD: My ultimate goal would be just to com-pete at the world championships, but rightnow I would really like to be on an A-team.VW: What are some of yourfavorite vaulting moves?

Photo: Vicki Anderholt

Photo: courtesy Dobin Family

VW: And your coach?TD: My coach, Devon Maitozo, was theworld champion of 1998. As a coach De-von is amazing. He is dedicated, patient,and he pushes to get the best out of me. Heis definitely persistent and most of the timehe knows my limit.

VW: Tell us about your home town.TD: I grew up my whole life in a southernCalifornia town called Simi Valley. I livefive minutes away from the ranch we vaultat and I love the warm weather.VW: Tell us about your school.TD: I home school and I think it is veryconvenient because I can have early prac-tices while everybody else is in school. Mywhole family home schools and I love theflexible hours. After many years of homeschooling I have made many good friendswho are also homeschoolers. Some maythink that I am missing out on certain things,but I am really not. I am ahead in my high


TD: I am really flexible and I love doingneedles, cartwheels and presses.VW: Do you ever get discouraged?TD: All the time. It is a really bad habit ofmine and I am never satisfied with how Ido. Sometimes that is a bad thing but itpushes me to try harder. I puked once.VW: What bugs you most?TD: When I slip or fall attempting a move

and I think it is a good experience but I’mlimited on how much I can do because Iam a bit too big.VW: What do you worry aboutmost when you’re in the arena inthe middle of competing?TD: I worry about not being able to calmmyself down or forgetting my routine. Ihope I don’t freak out, even though I do. I

This is my friend Tori and I. We loveShakespeare.

Eve Axness, Tori Anderholt and Rachelle Dobin and I goof off after aRegion I competition.

Tisa Dobin: 2004 Bronze Women’s National Champion

even though I have done it before.VW: What is your favorite vaultingevent?TD: I can’t say... I love expressing myselfin my freestyle but I also love the grace andinteraction with the horse duringcompulsories.VW: What do you want to be whenyou grow up?TD: I would like to be a chiropractor or aphysical therapist. After experiencing asport like vaulting, I find that my interestshave moved in a direction that would helpme to stay physically motivated. I wouldlike to study sports medicine and special-ize in sports related injuries. I think I a bitmore interested in being a physical thera-pist. I have injured my ankle before and Ibasically did my own physical therapy bydoing exercises on the ground and in thepool.VW: Tell us about your family.TD: I have a twin sister, Rachelle, who’s asinger/performer and a little brother namedRyan. My mom is Julie, and my dad is Brad.VW: Any new vaulting movesyou’re working on for this year?TD: I am working on a few things like ajump, a taylor stand in the handle, and justover-all performance.VW: Seems that you do a lot offlying on team. Tell us what youfeel like when you’re up there.TD: I get really nervous before I go up, butI really trust Devon and once I am up hold-ing the move, I relax. I love the feeling,

can’t help it.

to Magic Mountain (roller coaster amuse-ment park). I like to cook pasta with myGrandma and I also bake her famous ba-nana bread that nobody can resist. This ismy third season of snowboarding and I amalways improving. I can make it down ablack diamond run easily.VW: What would you do if youweren’t vaulting?TD: I would probably be horse jumping.VW: What’s you favorite food?TD: The shrimp pasta my Grandma makesduring the holidays, when my mom doesn’thave time to cook.VW: What’s your biggest vice?TD: Creating characters and stories withfriends over the Internet. It is called roleplay. I will create a character and my friendwill create one. Then we have them inter-act. Each character has its own personality.I spend way too much time doing it.VW: What’s your worst habit?TD: I interrupt people when they are speak-ing and correct them. I love facts and I knowa lot of them so when someone says some-thing false I feel I have to fix it.VW: Who or what inspires you?TD: World champion A-teams. One of mybiggest dreams is to be a part of one.VW: Any words of wisdom for up-and-coming national vaultingchampions out there?TD: Everybody – don’t freak-out like I dobecause you don’t want to be an emotionalwreck.

sic, and I love the second book because youknow the characters but the story hasn’tended yet.VW: TV show or movie?TD: I love the TV show CSI: Crime SceneInvestigation.VW: To win Nationals, you have tobe a really good vaulter. What areyou really bad at?TD: I cannot handle the stress and nervesbefore competing and then the adrenalinedowns afterward.VW: What’s your conditioning andvaulting schedule each week?TD: I vault three to four times a week. I goto the gym 2-3 times a week. Go to gym-nastics once a week and jump on the tram-poline in my back yard. I attempt front handsprings, front flips, back flips, and I amcurrently working on back hand springs onthe trampoline.VW: What do you do with your freetime?TD: I always have to keep busy so I willcook, ride my bike to the park, go swim-ming, snowboarding, go on hikes, and go

Photo: courtesy Dobins Family



VW: What’syour favoritebook?TD: The Lord ofthe Rings— myfavorite is TheTwo Towers. Ilove The Lord ofthe Rings be-cause it’s a clas-

THROUGH THE EYE OF THE JUDGE CLINIC WITH SUZANNE DETOL (FEI O)Blue Star Farm, Suffolk, Virginia - April 29-30, May 1, 2005

Friday: dinner with the Judge and discussion, general impression in the competition arena.Saturday: compulsories and technical test, videos, theory, compulsories on the horse,explaination and comment on scores, strategy to boost up the scores, technical test on the barrel.Sunday: freestyle, videos, degrees of difficulties, strengths and weaknesses of the free style,long term training strategies to improve the general performance and scores.Deadline: April first - Fees: vaulters: $150, auditors:$25, Friday dinner: $20.Reply to/send registration to: Noel Martonovich, 5016 Crawford Gulch, Golden, CO. 80403,Fax 303/215-0773, Ph. 303/277-0356, E-mail [email protected].


Nancy Stevens-BrownSeveral of your AVA representatives

attended the Annual USEF Meeting in Ken-tucky in January, 2005. The meetings forall disciplines were positive and productive,but of course I was interested in seeing howAmerican vaulting is shaping up for thecoming year in respect to my new view forour future.

Ever since I met Sheri Benjamin in2001 she’s been prodding all of us to cre-ate a vision for the AVA. I’ve listened andthought a lot about vaulting, but I admit Ithought about what I already knew. Thatchanged drastically at our recent Boardmeeting when Sheri and Amy McCune ledtheir two brainstorming sessions. Out of theblue I saw the light!

Artists will tell you that most folks lookat things and see the things but artists lookat things and see the light. It is the spacesand light around and on the thing that cre-ate the real beauty. After our New Mexicomeeting I began work on a handbook forvaulting for riders and I searched for theother bright spots in our future while evalu-ating the dark shadows where we may haveallowed ourselves linger.

With this new perspective I attendedthe USEF meeting in Kentucky filled withamazing confidence in the value of vault-ing and our AVA future as a respected partof the equestrian world. I knew without adoubt that we had a lot to offer and thatvaulting was going to be the link betweenmany disciplines.

Armed with this fresh inspiration I satin on the USEF High Performance Com-mittee meeting and felt their positive en-ergy and purpose. While the HP Commit-tee discussed plans for our elite athletes Iknew that we would have a far greater reachand role beyond the medal count. Just thenUSEF President and Olympic ChampionDavid O’Connor joined us to say hi and toshare his vision and hope for vaulting.David commented that vaulting is the singlemost logical equestrian link to the Ameri-can public. He articulated his confidencethat we have the tools and skill to reach thebiggest new audience for horse sport andto give people – even in the inner city – ataste of the magic and majesty of horses.O’Connor believes that through our AVAefforts all of the equestrian world will ben-efit by the positive experience of vaultingand that everyone including the USEF willbe a winner.

So for all of you who have kept thelight shining on vaulting, we are now onthe cusp of the greatest opportunities in ourhistory. I promise with your help Ameri-can vaulting will be bigger than DavidO’Connor envisions and as far-reaching aswe know it deserves to be!

Seeing The Light

Lisa Maxwell accepted a Recognition Awardfor Coastline from USEF Director ofVaulting Activities Sara Ike.

USEF President David O’Connor presentsMari Inouye with Vaulter of the Year award.

Photo: Jan Weber

Emma Drinker, Craig Coburn and KerithLemon enjoyed the festivities.

Photo: Nancy Stevens-Brown

Devon Maitozo accepted an award forhimself and FACE’s Picton, Sheri Benjaminaccepted for her daughter Megan and herhorse, Faronia.

Adrienne Stang was honored by the USEF.Photo: Nancy Stevens-Brown

Photo: Nancy Stevens-Brown Photo: Jan Weber


Mary McCormickThe USEF Training Camp in Febru-

ary spanned a three day weekend and in-cluded intense training both on and off thehorse. We had the privilege of working withseveral different clinicians with a widerange of background experience. Therewere twelve vaulters and several coachesand auditors who took part in the camp. Itwas an incredible learning experience forall who attended!

We started the camp at the Riekes Cen-ter in Menlo Park. The vaulters were sepa-rated into groups of four and sent to sta-tions to work with each of three cliniciansfor two hours. Kai Vorberg, the currentMen’s World Champion from Germany,served as one of our clinicians. He workedwith vaulters on the barrel and focused oncompulsory technique and technicalfreestyle development. Since the technicaltest is new and still a bit confusing to most,it was helpful to have Kai there to explainsome of the elements and for what thejudges are looking.

Alixa Sutton, an aerial contortionistfrom the San Francisco Circus Center, wasalso one of our clinicians. She worked withus on flexibility training and taught us a lotof neat exercises and stretches. We also hada session of strength training work with Dr.Lawrence Calderon. Lawrence has years ofexperience working with top level vaultersand knows what it takes to be at your physi-cal best. We focused on core stabilizing/strengthening. Lawrence also tested us inseveral exercises to keep track of ourprogress until the next clinic in April. Aftera quick dinner we were off to bed to getready for an early start the next morning.

Sunday and Monday, we vaulted atFlying Cloud Farm in Petaluma, Califor-nia. Both days began with a 30-minutevaulter led warm up. Shannyn Poer led thewarm up on Sunday morning and sharedher knowledge of Pilates with the group. Iled the warm up on Monday and focusedon dance progression and stretching.

We were split into four groups deter-mined by the horse each vaulter was using.Each vaulter had a private/semi-private les-son with Kai on his/her horse. We were ableto decide what we wanted to work on andhad the opportunity to learn a lot. I workedon my technical freestyle and felt reallyconfident with it by the end of the camp.Kai also helped me with flight exercises,my mount and my flag. I was impressed by

An Incredible Learning Experiencemy improvement in such a short amount oftime!

We worked with Devon Maitozo on thebarrel for an hour each day as well. Devon’screativity and musical interpretation bringa lot to this sport, and it is great to have thechance to work with him. He was able tohelp me connect pieces of my freestyle byusing the music and working on continu-ous movement from one exercise to thenext.

Both days were packed with things todo. On Sunday, we worked with ChrisWeiland, a choreographer from the SanFrancisco Circus Center, and we had avideo review of ourselves with AdrienneStang. On Monday, we worked withSamantha Smith on the barrel and learneda lot of new exercises using simple equip-ment like therapy bands (giant rubberbands) and medicine balls. This was a greatopportunity to learn how one of our topvaulters stays fit and practices correct com-pulsory technique. We also reviewed avideo tape from the previous day’s lessonwith Kai and Isabelle Parker. This was re-ally helpful and gave me the chance to seesome of the things that I was subcon-sciously doing incorrectly. Isabelle had alot of helpful suggestions and ideas.

By the end of Monday, I was totallyexhausted, but excited by how much I hadaccomplished in three short days. I am sograteful that I had the chance to take partin this camp; it was definitely one of thebest! Many thanks to the USEF and to thosewho spent countless hours planning andputting everything together!

FYI

Photos: courtesy USEF

The AVA membership of-Team vs Club

ten uses the terms “Team” and “Club”interchangeably. This can lead to lotsof confusion. In the old days, we usedthe term “team” almost exclusively.The club was the team. But now wereally do need to be more explicit.When referring to the entire group un-der the banner of your club name,please use the term “club.” A team isonly and specifically the members ofan A team or a B team or a C team ora Trot team or a 2-phase team, or someother group that is entering a teamevent in competition. Thank you.

Marianne Rose


Sara IkeThe United States Equestrian Federa-

tion (USEF) Vaulting High PerformanceCommittee is pleased to offer a limited num-ber of grants to athletes, chefs d’equipe, FEIjudges and committee members, and USEFcompetition management for the 2005 com-petition year.

The deadlines for 2005 are APRIL 15and JULY 15. No late applications will beaccepted however the 2005 grants will beretroactive for events that took place fromJanuary 1, 2005 to April 15, 2005.

2005 USEF grant applications can bedownloaded from our website:www.usef.org. Click on High Performance/Vaulting. Applications should be emailed [email protected], faxed to 908-234-9417,or mailed to Sara Ike, USEF, POB 83,Gladstone, NJ 07934.

Grant applications will be reviewed bythe Vaulting High Performance Committee(VHPC) within two weeks following theapplication deadline. Applicants will benotified of the status of their applicationwithin three weeks following the applica-tion deadline.

To receive funding, USEF grant recipi-ents must submit bills or other proof of ex-penditure within 30 days of the event. If theevent took place between January 1 andMarch 15, 2005, please submit receipts withyour application. Reimbursements will notbe distributed until written verification ofexpenses (or competition profit and loss

USEF Grantsstatement) has been received by Sara Ike,Director of Vaulting High Performance.Grant details are outlined below. For allgrants the maximum reimbursement is50% of actual expenses, and recipientsmust submit expenses within 30 days ofthe event.Foreign Competition Grants - Availableto teams or individuals or chefs d’equipeto participate in a foreign CVI or Champi-onship. All reasonable expenses directly re-lated to participation in foreign competi-tions are eligible, e.g. airfare, hotel, coach-ing fees, horse lease fees, horse transpor-tation, stabling, longeur’s fees, etc. In theevent this grant is oversubscribed, avaulter’s rank and a team’s scores in theprevious twelve months will be considered.Preference will be given to teams with fouror more of the same members as opposedto teams with a few returning members.The maximum grant is $1,000 per indi-vidual or $2,000 per team.National Competition Grants - Availableto teams or individuals to participate in aUSEF recognized competition or a CVIwithin the United States. All reasonableexpenses directly related to participationin national competitions are eligible, e.g.airfare, hotel, coaching fees, horse leasefees, horse transportation, stabling,longeur’s fees, etc. In the event this grantis oversubscribed, a vaulter’s rank and ateam’s scores in the previous twelvemonths will be considered. Preference will

go to teams with four or more of the samemembers as opposed to teams with a fewreturning members. The maximum grant is$500 per individual/$1,000 per team.F.E.I. Judges’ Forum, Course, or Semi-nar Grants - Available to F.E.I. judges, andmembers of the F.E.I. Vaulting Committee.USEF recognized judges are eligible toapply for this grant if the event/course isopen to National judges. Preference, how-ever, will be given to FEI judges. The maxi-mum grant is $500 per individual.USEF Competition Management Grants- Available to any USEF recognized vault-ing competition. The maximum grant is$500 per competition. Preference will begiven to first time USEF competition andany USEF competition with a profit lessthan $200. Competition management mustsubmit a profit and loss statement within30 days of the event. If you have any ques-tions, please don’t hesitate to contact SaraIke, 908/234-0848 x37, sara.ike@ usef.org.

The American Horse Defense Fund(AHDF), the nation’s premier horses-only protection, education and advocacynonprofit applauds the introduction ofbill, Legislation (H.R. 297) which wouldreverse the Burns Amendment to theWild Free-Roaming Horse and BurroAct. The Burns Amendment, passed inthe true “11th hour” of the last Congressin 2004, without a hearing, a vote or eventhe knowledge of 99% of Congress andAmerica, opened the door to the slaugh-ter of thousands of wild horses.

“Thousands of mortified Americanshave been contacting us, their elected of-ficials, the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), members of a national wildhorse protection coalition, and the Presi-dent to decry and prevent the huge in-justice the Burns Amendment created.

No one supports sending our wild horsesand burros to slaughter plants where theywould be turned into dinner for wealthyforeigners,” said AHDF president, TrinaBellak, Esq.

“This bill should be very easy to co-sponsor and pass as wild horses are a partof America and their management onpublic lands has to be handled better witha priority on protecting and preservingtheir genetic diversity, health and free-dom.”

AHDF urges everyone to write theirU.S. Representative urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 297. The bill restores theprohibition on the commercial sale andslaughter of wild horses and burros. Formore information, go to www.ahdf.organd www.wildhorse preservation.com oremail AHDForg@ aol.com.

Bill To Save Wild Horses Introduced

CVI*,** SaratogaJuly 1-3, 2005 - Saratoga, CASponsored by theCooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards

An entry package will be mailed outto all clubs (and posted online) as soon aspossible. Preliminary information is avail-able at www.cvisaratoga.org. This is thehighest level of vaulting competition heldin the USA. Be a part of it. Ride the edge!CVI*, ** Saratoga is a benefit for VIA Re-habilitation Services of Santa Clara County.

If you would like to host visitors, sharehorses, work the event, or become a spon-sor or advertiser, please contact MarianneRose at 408/867-1789 or [email protected].

Kid’s PageDue to lack of space, the Kid’s Page

was dropped from this issue of VaultingWorld. If you are interested in seeing it re-turn, please email [email protected]. If there is enough interest,the Kid’s Page will be back.

The June issue of Vaulting World willfeature the Quarter Horse. If youhave any stories, pictures, poems orart about a Quarter Horse in yourvaulting program, please email [email protected].


Eric Jewett - AVAWebsite PioneerMarianne Rose

In 1995 AVA member Eric Jewett, anengineer, suggested that the AVA create aweb home page to complement the equinediscussion forums on AOL, CompuServeand Prodigy and be accessible to a greaternumber of people. Eric said, “It is impor-tant that we create an official site, one thatthe AVA National office will be able to re-spond to through snail mail (that’s the USPostal Service). I’ve gone ahead and pre-pared files which would make such a siteoperate and am running them on my homecomputer to test them, verify their internallinks and examine their overall appearance.I contacted several commercial web sitesproviding equestrian products and servicesto see if they would be interested in host-ing our site....I’ve emailed a questionnaireto all the clubs listed in the 1994-95 AVADirectory to see how they might want to belisted...The cost to the AVA? Short answer- Nothing...I am now circulating the draftpages to various knowledgeable people forreview and (hopefully) approval, input,suggestions.”

Eric attended the AVA Annual Meet-ing in 1996 with a 3-ring binder of print-outs from the website. VP of Promotions/Publicity, Colette Garrison announced,

“...The AVA cantered into the informa-tion highway in February with the AVA webpage. Currently featuring an introductionto vaulting, a calendar of events, club ad-dresses, history, and descriptions of com-petitions, results and more, we will soonbe posting the 1996-1997 Rule Book at thissite. Thanks go to our web master, EricJewett....”

In 1996 Eric introduced the site to themembership in an article in Vaulting World.“What’s out there? First, there’s the AVAhome page hosted by the HorseNet: http://ww.horsenet.com/ava/index.html. Operat-ing since the middle of February, this siteintroduces the AVA and the sport of vault-ing to the casual visitor. It also contains“links” to other AVA pages...” Eric thenexplained what a browser was and how touse one!

Vaulters enjoyed the vaulting forum(also hosted by HorseNet) which Eric setup. It was the most widely used vaultingforum to date. We were all sad whenHorseNet was sold and the forum became

Updated AVA WebsiteIncludes More Photos, Videoand ResourcesJan Weber

The American Vaulting Associationhas launched a significantly improved andupdated website. Visitors to thewww.americanvaulting.org site can expectto find the addition of many new resourcesand educational tools, including video.Whether you are interested in finding aclub, starting a program or learning aboutvaulting, the expanded website providesmultiple sources of information.

The American Vaulting Associationfirst entered the information highway in1995 long before many had heard of theworldwide web. The website was the vi-sion of Eric Jewett, parent of a vaulter.Jewett was a frequent contributor to theVaulting World newsletter and accepted thechallenge to assist the AVA. He volunteeredcountless hours to maximize the use ofmodern technology to get the word out andeducate others about our unique equestriansport. Eric’s original fingerprints are all

Website Update

over the revamped website.Updated with a new “lookand feel,” much of the origi-nal content has been revisedand remains on this site.

more cumbersome to use, eventually fad-ing away from disuse.

In 1998 Eric attended the annual meet-ing, set up his (not so portable) computerand accessed the AVA web site for thosewho wished to learn more about how thewebsite was created and maintained and,in some cases, how to run their own com-puters. Eric patiently went through the ba-sics for those who needed it and discussedtechnicalities with others.

Throughout our past decade, Eric hasmaintained the site with as much data aspossible. Pages have become outdatedmostly because he did not receive updatesfrom the AVA.

As a designer, he has earned us acouple of awards and the respect of thevaulting community for his clean, clear pre-sentation. His patience and care has pro-vided us with an invaluable tool to promoteour sport and service our members.

Eric has agreed to be the photo editorfor our new website. He continues to worktoward ensuring that the site will loadquickly and be accessible to all computers/monitors/isps, that security and privacyconcerns are met and that the photos re-flect the highest quality.

In addition, the AVA will launch itspassword protected members-only site onApril 30. This portion of the site will in-

clude even more “how-to” information,photos and legacy vaulting videos.

Today, the AVA includes more than1,400 members in the United States, inmore than 100 AVA vaulting clubs and af-filiates in states from Hawaii to Massachu-setts. Vaulting is considered by many to be

the ideal “first touch” equestriansport. Vaulting programs may berecreational, therapeutic or com-petitive.


August 11-14, 2005 8 am -5 pm DailyNational Western Complex, Denver, Colorado

Judges: Adrienne Stang (FEI O), Suzanne Detol (FEI O)Craig Coburn (AVA R), Lynne Owen (AVA R), Toni Amoroso (AVA R)

USEF Steward: Barbara ArkinCompetition Manager:Yossi Martonovich

Competition Secretary: Carol BeutlerVeterinarian on Call: TBA • On Call Mobile Vet: 303-279-4893

Farrier on Call: Nicole Rau Phone TBA

2005 USEF/AVA National Vaulting Championships

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULEMay 9 Email response to posting dead-

line - all non respondents will receivemailed entries

June 30AVA Memberships must be re-ceived by the National Office - EventMembership not accepted

July 1 Postmarked submission of entriesand payment (online entries mustmail payment)

July 9 Order of Go Draw (computerdraw at Weber home)

July 15 Deadline for reservation at Cen-tral Denver Best Western (for grouprates)

July 16 Deadline for program adsJuly 17 Deadline for Supplemental Mate-

rials Express Check-inJuly 21 Withdrawals/changes incur pen-

alty after this dateAug. 8 After 4 pm horses may enter Na-

tional Western ComplexAug. 9 Coaches check-in 3 - 5 pmAug. 10 Horse warm-up 10 am - 5 pm

Coaches check-in 9 am - 3 pmVet Check 1 - 6 pm

Following class list is not in order of go:

You are encouraged to enter Nationals online atwww.americanvaultion.org after May 1, 2005

A processing fee of $15 will be assessed to all clubs that do not enter online!

Aug 10 Festival of the Future• Individual Canter Barrel Compulsories• Individual Canter Barrel Freestyle• Canter Barrel Doubles• Individual Novice Trot Barrel Comp.• Individual Novice Trot Barrel Freestyle• Ind. Advanced Walk Barrel Comp.• Ind. Advanced Walk Barrel Freestyle• Individual Novice Walk Barrel Comp.• Ind. Novice Mod. Walk Barrel Comp.• Tiny Tots Barrel Compulsories• Tiny Tots Barrel Freestyle• Ind. Novice Mod. Walk Comp. on horseAug 11 Begin National ChampionshipsThrough the Eyes of the Judges Clinic• Vet Check 7:30 - 8:30 am recheck only• Trot Novice Barrel Doubles• C-Team Compulsories• Preliminary 2-Phase Team Comp.• 2-Phase Trot Team Barrel Freestyle• Preliminary Barrel Freestyle• Bronze Compulsories RI• Trot Team Compulsories• Gold Compulsories Round I• Silver Compulsories Round I• Trot Compulsories• Preliminary Trot Compulsories

Aug 12Through the Eyes of the Judges Clinic• A-Team Compulsories• B-Team Compulsories• 2-Phase Trot Team Barrel Freestyle• Preliminary Barrel Freestyle• Gold Freestyle Round I• Silver Freestyle RI• Open Pas de Deux Freestyle I• Gold Technical Test Round II• Silver Compulsories Round II• 2-Phase Open Team Compulsories• Preliminary Trot Freestyle• 7-9 pm AVA Board of Directors Meeting

at Best WesternAug 13Through the Eyes of the Judges ClinicTherapeutic Riding Demonstration at noon• A-Team Freestyle• Bronze Freestyle Round I• Copper Compulsories• Trot Compulsories• 2-Phase Trot Team Compulsories• Open Pas de Deux Freestyle II• Preliminary Pas de Deux• Gold Freestyle Round II• Silver Freestyle Round II• 2-Phase Open Team Barrel Freestyle• Prelim. 2-Phase Team Barrel Freestyle• Open Barrel Freestyle• Trot Barrel FreestyleAnnual Dinner/Celebration of VaultingAug 14Through the Eyes of the Judges Clinic• B-Team Freestyle• C-Team Freestyle• Bronze Compulsories Round II• Trot Freestyle• Copper Freestyle• Trot Team Freestyle• Open Pairs• Preliminary Pairs• Trot PairsAug 15 Horses must leave by noon

Deadline: No post entries will be accepted. You areencouraged to enter online through your club’s officialentry manager. A processing fee of $15 will be assessedto all clubs that do not enter online! Entries must bepostmarked or submitted online by (or hand deliveredno later than 1 pm) on July 1, 2005 to AVA Competi-tion Entries c/o Jan Weber 193 Duck Pond Drive,Groton, MA 01450. Mailed or delivered entries re-quiring a return signature will not be accepted unlessreceived prior to June 27, 2005. Sign the release onyour delivery forms. All payments, forms and releaseforms must be completely filled out and included withentry, only one check per club ($20 fee for each extracheck).

Volunteer ManagersAVA Nationals Chairs: Yossi/Noel Martonovich

President of the Ground Jury/Head Judge: Adrienne StangAVA Treasurer: Jan Garrod• AVA VP Competitions: Patty Littmann

Awards Mgr: TBA • Announcer: Nancy Stevens-BrownBarn Manager:Allison Whyste/Renu Poduval • Day Managers: TBAEducation Stations: Rita Hoster • Facility Manager: Mike CzyzewskiFestival of the Future: Rick Hawthorne • Hospitality: Susan FrankelOffice Manager: Marge Oakes • Music/Sound Manager: Paul CaskeyProgram: Carole Dwinell/Star Hughes • Publicity Mgr: Sandy NanceStall Manager: Brinah Hindman • Vendors Manager: Dana Madden

USEF Competition Secretary: Carol BeutlerVolunteer Coordinator: Amy McCune


2005 USEF/AVA National Vaulting ChampionshipsMEMBERSHIP1. All vaulters, coaches, longeurs and clubsmust be registered members of the AVA ingood standing by June 30, 2005, in orderto compete in the USEF/AVA NationalChampionships and Festival of the Future.The AVA Event Membership is NOTAVAILABLE for Nationals. Vaulter, coachand longeur membership form and feesmust be received by the AVA National Of-fice: Craig Coburn, AVA National OfficeManager, 8205 Santa Monica Blvd. #1-288,West Hollywood, CA 90046 before June 30,2005.2. Vaulters, longeurs, trainers, coaches, aswell as owners of horses, competing in theUSEF Championship classes, must bemembers of the USEF. Vaulters must beeither Junior or Senior Members. Longeurs,trainers, coaches and owners may be Af-filiate Members or pay the $20 (Junior) or$25 (Senior) Non-Member Fee. All vault-ers and longeurs participating in USEFclasses must include copies of their currentUSEF cards with entries or show their cur-rent USEF cards to Competition Manage-ment at check-in. There will be a $1 pen-alty for each membership that must be re-searched by the Competition Management.Any USEF member unable to show theirmembership card must fill out a member-ship affidavit and pay a $5 fee. EVERYCLASS OFFERED HEREIN WHICH ISCOVERED BY THE RULES ANDSPECIFICATIONS OF THE CURRENTUS EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION RULEBOOK WILL BE CONDUCTED ANDJUDGED IN ACCORDANCE THERE-WITH.3. A vaulter who transfers AVA Club mem-bership after the close of entries may notvault in any team event for their new club.ENTRIES

cover the amount of the check plus $25.There will be an additional charge of $20per check over one. Refunds will be paidby Sept. 30, 2005.2. A completed and signed Medical Con-sent to Treatment Form and a completedand signed Participant’s Release of Liabil-ity Form for each adult and minor vaulter,longeur, and coach must be included withentries. These forms are available online athttp://home.att.net/~avafest —>calendar —>Nationals. Please write “NONE” or “n/a”instead of leaving a blank space.3. Competitors are responsible for their ownerrors and those of their agents in the prepa-ration of entry forms. The following infor-mation must be accurately specified onthe entry forms: sex, AVA class rating (seeAVA Rule Book, Article 202), citizenship,highest medal earned and USEF membernumber. Alternates (as shown on forms),longeur, and horses MUST be designated.If more than one horse or longeur is listedfor a class, the first one listed will be en-tered.4. Forms must be filled out in dark blue orblack ink; do not use pencil or colored pens.If you need assistance, call Jan Weber [email protected]. For USEF classes: vaulters (their parentsif vaulters are minors), longeurs, trainers,coaches, horse owners or their agentsMUST sign forms. (Trainer may sign forall). “Either/or” and “TBA” will not be ac-cepted. Stamped signatures or “ditto marks”will not be accepted. Do not use a separateform for each participant. Send photocopiesof USEF cards with entries.

6. After July 21, 2005, each change of horse,coach, longeur, or to order of go within theteam or group ‘go.” will be subject to theapproval of management. Any entries list-ing more team vaulters than applicable,more than one horse or longeur for a classMUST declare by this date. If no declara-tion is made, the first listed will be regis-tered and any changes will incur changefees. Each and every change after this dateis subject to a $25 change fee, unless a cer-tificate of disability is received from a doc-tor or veterinarian. The only changes afterJuly 21, which will not incur a fee withouta medical note, are reordering the team godue to a difference in height and selectionof actual competitors for teams. Refundswill be paid by Sept. 30, 2005.7. Cancellations or withdrawals after July27, 2005, when accompanied by a certifi-cate of disability by a qualified doctor orveterinarian, will result in a refund of allregistration and class fees except for $10of the registration fee for each vaulter andlongeur and/or $10 of the stall fee per horse.These requests must be sent to the AVANational Office by September 10, 2005.8. Horse travel grant requests must be sub-mitted to the Fest Office by noon, August11, 2005. These rebates are for each horsetraveling over 500 miles one-way. The grantis for the miles over 500 to the Competi-tion location and is $0.10 per mile.9. Coaches must approve, verify and signfor all entries at coach’s check-in.GENERAL INFORMATIONRules and Regulations

(Continued)

UNAFFILIATEDMEMBERSAny vaulters or interested parties whoare not affiliated with an AVA recog-nized club needing entry forms shouldcontact: American Vaulting Associa-tion, Craig Coburn, National OfficeManager, 8205 Santa Monica Blvd.#1-288, West Hollywood, CA 90046,phone 323/654-0800 (8 am - noonPST), fax: 323/654-4306, email:americanvaulting@ aol.com.You may download the entry forms andinformation at http://home.att.net/~avafest -->2005 Calendar -->Nation-als.

1. Entries MUST be postmarked no laterthan July 1, 2005 or hand delivered by July1, 2005 no later than 1 pm, to Jan Weber.Post entries, fax entries or telephone entrieswill NOT be accepted. A single check ormoney order for all monies due must ac-company the completed entry forms. Noentries will be accepted without payment.There will be an additional charge of $25for any check that fails to clear and that clubwill be ineligible to compete until a moneyorder or certified check is submitted to

The USEF/AVA 2005 National Champion-ship Competition will be conducted accord-ing to the current rules of the United StatesEquestrian Federation and the AmericanVaulting Association. In case of conflict,USEF rules will prevail. Please note rulechanges adopted March 5, 2005 at the AVAAnnual Meeting will apply. Medals are nolonger required for classes at Nationals.FacilitiesHorse Warm-Up: There will be horse warm-up areas available for exercise under saddle.Management recommends that a helmet beworn while exercising your horse undersaddle. Anyone under the age of 18 ridingMUST wear a helmet. Anyone leading orcaring for a horse should wear appropriate


Stabling1. The stall area is completely indoors. Thestalls all have a panel, which can be re-moved to create a double stall. Cost to havepanel removed and replaced is $10 and willbe done only by the staff of the NationalWestern Complex. The cost of each stallfor the event is $85. A double stall is $180.The stalls will be available from Monday,August 8 AFTER 4 pm through Monday,August 15 noon). The first night’s bedding(two bales shavings per horse) will be pro-vided. Straw bedding is not allowed. Clubsare not required to strip stalls before clubvacates premises.2. Absolutely no smoking in the barn areaor arenas. Any decorative material must beflameproofed and a certificate must beavailable for inspection.3. There are racks, but you should bringyour own hoses.All arrivals not within the specified timeswill incur additional charges from the West-ern National and Competition Manage-ment. Horses may arrive anytime after 4pm on Monday, August 8th. Early arrivalswill be charged a fine.4. All stalls and aisles must be kept clean.The stalls will be inspected by 10 am. Ma-nure must be deposited in designated ar-eas. Clubs not passing inspection will havetheir names posted in the barn, and will notbe allowed to attend the award ceremonies.WARNING: MEDICAL WASTE (needles,syringes) MUST NOT BE DISCARDEDIN STALLS, MANURE PITS, GARBAGECANS or on the GROUNDS. Needles, sy-ringes and other medical supplies must beplaced in the appropriate containers locatedin each barn. Fines imposed have been ashigh as $2500 for abuse of this rule.5. All aisles and roadways around barnsmust be kept open to fire regulations. Own-ers will be asked to move vehicles or risktowing and/or fines. No vehicles are al-lowed in the barns at any time.6. Motorcycles, four-wheelers, non-pow-ered scooters, skateboards and inline skatesare not permitted on the property.7. Minors under 16 years of age must wearprotective headgear when operating bi-cycles. Bicycles may not be ridden in the

2005 USEF/AVA National Vaulting Championships(Rules and Regulations Continued) barns, Coliseum, or any part of the upper

facility. Failure to comply will result in theimpounding of the bicycle until the closeof the show.8. All pets must be kept on a maximum 6’leash at all times and are the owner’s re-sponsibility. This is a county ordinance.Failure to comply will result in notifyingAnimal Control. NO PETS are allowed inthe Coliseum or in any office at any time.9. Gas, electric or propane tanks and hotplates are prohibited in stall areas.10. All electrical extension cords must betwelve (12) gauge, three (3) wire and prongnegative ground type.11. Flyers may be posted on designatedbulletin boards only.12. Nails may not be driven into the stallsor masonry sections of the barns.13. No smoking in any buildings, restroomsor stable area.

Horse Warm-up Arenas andVaulter Practice1. Vaulting practice on the horse will beavailable beginning Wednesday, August 10from 8 am – 8 pm in the blue arena. Thered arena will be available for warm-upfrom 8 am – 11:30 am and from 5 pm - 8pm. Warm-up will be available in the eve-nings after competition is over as ringgrooming allows. Please sign up for prac-tice time emailing Jan Weber [email protected] or fax 978/448-4196 nolater than August 6, 2005. Practice timeswill be assigned. Anyone who did notschedule practice time prior to August 6may sign up for times at Coache’s check-in at the Nationals Show Office. Prioritywill be given to composite teams and vault-ers on borrowed horses. Time allowed willbe 15 minutes per arena. There will be nopractice for vaulting on horses unless thereis an EMT on site.

Competition ArenasThe blue arena will have three circles (onecompetition, two warm-up) of more than80’ in diameter with shavings/sand footing.The red arena will have a minimum of twocircles (one competition, one warm-up)larger than 80’ in diameter with shavings/sand footing. The white arena (barrel) willhave the same footing as the horse compe-tition arenas. Ceiling height of covered are-nas exceeds 16.6 feet.1. No person other than officials, attendantson duty, judges of the class, alternates andcompetitors may enter the competitionarena or surrounding area without the per-mission of the management.2. Longeurs and vaulters entering compe-tition areas must be neatly and suitably at-tired.3. All individual and pas de deux vaultersmust wear their AVA numbers upon entry.

Horses InspectionHorses must participate in a horse inspec-tion and vet check BEFORE COMPET-ING. Horse check will be held on August10 from 1 - 6 pm. Re-check will be avail-able from 7:30 - 8:30 am on August 11.Horses need only pass once.Horses must be bridled and displaying theirAVA number for the check. Handlers mustbe in longeing attire. Any horse not pass-ing the check prior to competing will beprohibited from competition. The vet checkwill be per modified FEI guidelines to be

provided in the preliminary order of go. TheOsierlea Award will be presented to the bestturned-out horse at the inspection.

Horses All horses must enter the competitive arenawearing their AVA number. Any horse notwearing the proper number will not be al-lowed to enter the arena.Horses may not be moved from their as-signed stall to another stall without permis-sion of Management.Stallions are not allowed. All horses musthave a USEF Horse Identification numbers.If you are not a member of USEF you maydownload the form at:www.usef.org/documents/competitions/2005/HorseID.pdf.

hard soled footwear, preferably boots. Nohorse may be schooled over obstacles.

GOLD MEDAL EXAMS

2. Vaulter practice will NOT be allowedduring the competition except in the “ondeck” warm-up ring prior to entering thecompetition ring during competition hours.In exceptional cases, practice time may be

If you would like toschedule an exam,

please contact Jan Weber.

Gold Medal Exams will beavailable at

National Championships 2005.



ParkingAll vehicles must be kept in designatedparking areas.

at the horse show office and on August 9and August 10 from 9 am - 3 pm.Office1. The show office will be staffed from 3 -5 pm on Tuesday, August 9 and on Wednes-day, August 10, 9 am - 3 pm and duringcompetition hours in the Horse Show Of-fice on the lower level of the Events Cen-ter near the red arena. A list of staff mem-bers and their positions will be posted.Please direct your questions to the appro-priate person per posted listing.2. The Scoring Office is off limits to ALLbut assigned workers, management andjudges.

Awards CeremoniesAll vaulters must be dressed neatly in uni-form leotards or uniformly dressed inmatching sweats/shorts with matching jack-ets/t-shirts. Vaulting shoes or tennis shoesthat are all the same color will be worn.Oversized T-shirts, hats and sunglasses arenot acceptable. Hair is to be neatly tied backfor all award ceremonies. The gatekeeperwill not admit participants not in compli-ance with these guidelines into the arenafor awards.

(Continued)

Pre-Nationals Stabling

granted at the discretion of Management.3. Horse warm-up and schooling may bedone in designated areas. Using any ringsfor vaulter practice, without permission ofCompetition Management, will result indisqualification. Management recommendsthat you wear a hard hat when exercisingyour horse under saddle. Approved helmetsare required for riders under 18.

Practice Barrel Area andBarrel Use1. The Practice Barrel Area is the only lo-cation where barrel practice may occur.There will be absolutely NO BARRELPRACTICE outside this Area. There willbe absolutely NO BARREL PRACTICEwithout the supervision of designated staff.2. Practice allowed only during designatedhours when AVA designated staff is on site.Only registered competitors may use thebarrels.3. No straps, trampolines, or spotters al-lowed during barrel competitions.4. All barrels brought to the facility mustbe set up and used only in the Practice Bar-rel Area. Please indicate on Form 6 if youplan to bring a barrel.

Pregistration$75 registration fee for each vaulter,longeur, and alternate. Vaulters entered inFestival of the Future only are exempt.

Coache’s Check-InCoaches of all participating clubs are re-quired to check in at the National Champi-onships. Check-in will be available 3- 5 pm

Vaulter NumbersIndividual and pas de deux/pairs competi-tors must wear an armband with their AVAassigned number. Vaulter, longeur, andhorse numbers are posted on the Competi-tions website at http://home.att.net/~avafestuntil the AVA members only area is avail-able. Individual numbers must be at least1-1/2 inches high in high contrast colorsand are to be worn on the upper right arm.

Music1. It is recommended that one person fromeach vaulting club be responsible for thatclub’s music.2. Music must be delivered to theannouncer’s stands 30 minutes before thestart of the morning or afternoon sessionas appropriate.3. Music will be accepted in the followingformats: CD-R, CD-RWs and commercialCDs will not be accepted. CD-Rs shouldbe labled and tested on standard musicequipment before competition.4. Music must be delivered in a case, clearly

marked with the name of the club and or-ganized in the correct order of go.5. Each tape must be clearly labeled on theside to be played with the vaulting club,the vaulter’s full name, and the event class.6. Cassettes must be wound to the desiredstarting place. Staff will not rewind or cuetapes.7. If no music is provided, none will beplayed.8. Music is to be retrieved at the end of theday. Staff is not responsible for music leftbehind at the close of competition.

Parent Volunteer CoordinatorEach club must designate a Parent Volun-teer Coordinator to act as a liaison to theVolunteer Coordinator. EVERY CLUBMUST PROVIDE FOUR HOURS OF VOL-UNTEER TIME PER VAULTER; this canbe by vaulter, parent or friend, as in the past.Parents are the preferred workers. Clubswill receive their assignments approxi-mately July 27th. We will work with eachdesignated club representative in assigningblocks of time and areas of responsibility.The club will then be responsible for as-signing individuals to cover their commit-ments. A schedule will be posted and theclub will be responsible for making surethat its commitment is met.

2005 Competition T-ShirtsT-shirts will be available with this year’sunique competition logo. Cost will be $18if pre-ordered. The cost will be an addi-tional $4 at the event.

Order of Go1. Show Management will draw the Orderof Go at 193 Duck Pond Drive, Groton,Massachusetts by random computer assign-ment for all USEF events on Saturday July

Stabling is available before August 9 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, just 20minutes from the National Western Complex at the base of the Rocky Mountains.Outdoor pens available, but you must have a reservation. Stalls are $15 per night.Fairground staff does not provide care or feed. The fairgrounds staff does notprovide shavings. Stalls need to be stripped when you leave. Outdoor and indoorarenas available for your use. Contact Debra Adams 303/271-6600 for reserva-tions.RV camping is available at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds with an RV/Picnicarea and restrooms with a shower building. There are a total to RV 40 sites withelectrical and water hookup. Contact Debra Adams 303/271-6600 for reservations.More information is available at www.co.jefferson.co.us/ext/dpt/comm_res/fgds.


9, 2005 at noon. Horse, vaulter and/orlongeur conflicts will be taken into consid-eration after the draw and may result in achange of the draw.2. Gate times will be adhered to, with theexception of medical emergencies. Com-petitors are responsible for being at the ap-propriate gate at least 10 minutes before theassigned time. Keep an eye on the compe-tition as classes may be running early. Anycompetitor not ready to enter the competi-tion arena at the assigned time or whencalled may be eliminated from the class.Blue Arena times take priority.Management Decisions1. Management reserves the right to cor-rect any error or make necessary changesin the schedule, program or prize list.2. The management accepts no responsi-bility for the decision of the judges.Disqualification/Elimination1. Any act of discourtesy or disobedienceto the judges, steward or officials by acoach, longeur, vaulter, parent, or club af-filiate shall disqualify those individualsfrom further competition and the individualand/or club shall forfeit their entire entryand related fees.2. Inhumane treatment of a horse on thegrounds is forbidden and will result in dis-qualification of the offender(s) from com-petition.3. Judges have the right to dismiss fromcompetition any horse which is unsound orendangers the safety of competition partici-pants.4. Failure to be on time to classes will re-sult in disqualification, except in case of aconflict in schedule.5. Please review current USEF/AVA Rules.ProtestsProtests may be filed with the CompetitionChairperson or the AVA VP Competitions.Protests must be filed in accordance with

Order of Go Continued)

2005 USEF/AVA National Vaulting Championshipscurrent USEF/AVA Rules as applicable. ForUSEF classes a fee of $200 must be sub-mitted with each protest if made by a Fed-eration member or parent of a junior mem-ber, and $300 if made by a non-member.Forms will be made available in the Com-petition Office. For AVA classes, protestsshall be filed according to current AVARules and submitted with a fee of $50.CLASS DESCRIPTION -

AVA CLASSES - Classes run per AVArules. Note: All USEF rules pertaining tohorses govern ALL horses participating onany day of competition which includes aUSEF class. ALL horses must be registeredwith the USEF, regardless of whether theyare participating in a USEF class or not.The policy to issue Horse Identificationnumbers without charge has been extended.The Horse Identification numbers will beissued without charge by USEF until De-cember 1, 2005. After that date you mayincur a fee. If you are a USEF member youcan obtain the free Horse IdentificationNumber online in the Authorized Usersarea. If you are not a member of USEF thenyou may download the form at:www.usef.org/documents/competitions/2005/HorseID.pdf.

USEF/AVA National Individual SilverVaulting ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current members ofthe AVA and USEF except Gold Medalists.If a Bronze vaulter places in the top 10 inthe Silver class with a minimum score of7.25, he/she will be permanently reclassi-fied at that level.Class 32A, B, C, D - Silver CompulsoriesRound I, Freestyle Rd I, Compulsories RdII, Freestyle Rd IIAwards: (Men and Women separate): Sil-ver 1-10 for Round I, 1-5 for Rd II, and 1-3 for Overall. Medals to Champion Manand Woman.

AVA National B, C, and Trot Team Vault-ing ChampionshipsEligibility: Teams may enter B, C or Trotdivision as per the classifications in thecurrent AVA Rule Book.Class 02A, B - B Team Compulsories,FreestyleClass 03A, B - C Team Compulsories,FreestyleClass 06A, B - Trot Team Compulsories,FreestyleAwards: Each Division: 1-5 forCompulsories and Freestyle 1-3 for Over-all. Medals to Champion Team.

AVA National Individual Bronze Cham-pionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers except Gold and Silver Medalists.Class 33A, B, C - Individual BronzeCompulsories Round I, Bronze FreestyleRI, Compulsories Rd II

PLEASE, PLEASE use one name and only one name for your horses in competi-tions and wherever that name appears. If you change that name, please advise theFYI

AVA. If you have a USEF registered horse you MUST advise the USEF of any changes.Horses with two names (for instance: Armani also known as Edgar, Vinnie also known asVinagaroon, Miss Holly Wood also known as Holly or whatever) cause LOTS of problemsfor competition management as we try to sort out who is on what horse. Several times I havescheduled one horse in two places at the same time because he was listed as two differentnames. Please decide on a name and then use that name exactly that way (whether it be a longone like Purple Sky Thunder or a short one like Sky) when referring to that horse in ALL yourpaperwork. The AVA, USEF and all competition managers will thank you. Marianne Rose

PRIZE LISTUSEF/AVA CLASSES - Classes are runper USEF rules. Note: All USEF rules per-taining to horses govern ALL horses par-ticipating on any day of competition thatincludes a USEF class.USEF/AVA National A Team VaultingChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current members ofthe AVA and USEF.Class 01A - A Team CompulsoriesClass 01B - A Team FreestyleAwards: 1-5 for Rd I and Rd II, I-3 forOverall. Medals to Champions.USEF/AVA National Open Pas de DeuxVaulting ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current members ofthe AVA & USEF (male/female pairs only).Class 21A, B - Open Pas de Deux FS I, FS IIAwards: 1-5 for FS I and FS II, I-3 for Over-all. Medals to Champions.USEF/AVA National Individual GoldVaulting ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current members ofthe AVA and USEF. If a Bronze or Silvervaulter places in the top 10 in the Gold classwith a minimum score of 8.25, he/she willbe permanently reclassified at that level.Class 31A, B, C, D - Gold CompulsoriesRd I Freestyle Rd I, Technical Test Rd II,Freestyle Rd IIAwards: (Men and Women separate): Gold1-10 for Rd I, 1-5 for Rd II, and 1 -3 forOverall. Medals to Champion Man andWoman.


2005 USEF/AVA National Vaulting ChampionshipsAwards: (Men and Women separate): 1-15for Compulsories Rd I and 1-15 forFreestyle, l-5 for Compulsories Rd II, andl-3 for Overall. Medals to Champion Manand Woman.AVA National Individual Copper Cham-pionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers except Gold, Silver and Bronze Med-alists.Class 34A, B - Individual Copper Com-pulsories Round I, Copper Freestyle RIAwards: (Men and Women separate): 1-15for Compulsories Rd I and 1-15 forFreestyle, and l-3 for Overall. Medals toChampion Man and Woman.AVA National Team 2-Phase Champion-shipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers as per the classifications in the cur-rent AVA Rule Book.Class 11A, B - Open 2-Phase TeamCompulsories, Barrel FreestyleAwards: Each Division: 1-5 for Com-pulsories and Freestyle; l-3 for Overall.Medals to Champion Team.AVA National Preliminary Pas de DeuxVaulting ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers except Gold Medalists. (male/femalepairs only)Class 22A - Preliminary Pas de Deux 1Freestyle only.Awards: 1-5 with Medals to Champions.

Overall. Medals to Champion Man andWoman.Tr ot Team 2-Phase ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers who hold no higher than a Trot Medal.Class 16A, B - Trot 2-Phase TeamCompulsories, FreestyleAwards: 1-5 for Compulsories andFreestyle, l-3 for Overall. Medals to Cham-pion Team.Open Pairs ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers (no gender requirement).Class 21C - Open Pairs FreestyleAwards: 1-5.Preliminary Pairs ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers except Gold Medalists (no gender re-quirement).Class 22C - Preliminary Pairs FreestyleAwards: 1-5.Tr ot Pairs ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers holding no higher than a Trot Medal(no gender requirement - 2 minutes).Class 26C - Trot Pairs FreestyleAwards: 1-10.Individual Open Barrel ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers.Class 41B - Individual Open FreestyleAwards (Men and Women separate): 1-3.Individual Preliminary Barrel Champi-onshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA Mem-bers except Gold and Silver Medalists.Format: Per current AVA Rule Book Guide-linesClass 42B - Individual Preliminary BarrelFreestyleAwards (Men and Women separate): 1-10.Individual Trot Barrel ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers holding no higher than a Trot Medal.Class 46B - Individual Trot Barrel FreestyleAwards (Men and Women separate): 1-15.

limited to vaulters who do not compete inany other recognized events of a higherlevel during this competition.The word “NOVICE” indicates “needs helponto the horse and/or barrel” for handi-capped, special needs young and very newvaulters. The “Specially Titled” classessuch as “Novice Modified Walk” – firstthree compulsories only, no freestyle,“Novice Walk,” “Novice Advanced Walk”and “Novice Trot” – all compulsories, anda barrel freestyle are designed to help vault-ers graduate into more advanced AVAclasses.Individual Canter Barrel ClassEligibility: See Festival of the Future Eli-gibility.Format: Per current AVA Rule Book Guide-lines for Trot Barrel except eligibilityClass 44A - Canter Barrel CompulsoriesClass 44B - Canter Barrel FreestyleAwards 1-15. No Overall.Canter Barrel Doubles ClassEligibility: See Festival of the Future Eli-gibility.Format: Per current AVA Rule Book Guide-lines except 2 minutesClass 64 - Canter Barrel Doubles - Awards1-15.Individual Novice Trot Barrel ClassEligibility: See Festival of the Future Eli-gibility.Format: Per current AVA Rule Book Guide-lines for Trot Barrel except eligibility.Vaulter must have an assisted mount ontothe barrel with no deductions. Vaulters mayhave spotters present during compulsoriesand freestyle, but will receive a deductionfor any exercise in which the vaulter re-ceives assistance from the spotter, with theexception of the mount, which is scored onform only. Compulsories are performed asin the Individual Trot events. Freestyle is aone-minute (maximum) routine.Class 47A - Novice Trot BarrelCompulsoriesClass 47B - Novice Trot Barrel FreestyleAwards: All participants.Individual Advanced Walk BarrelEligibility: See Festival of the Future Eli-gibility.Format: Vaulter must have assisted mountonto barrel with no deductions. Vaultersmay have spotters present duringcompulsories and freestyle, but will receivea “0” for any exercise in which the vaulter

(Continued)

PRE- NATIONALSFESTIVAL OF THE FUTURERun per AVA Rules and Guidelines withexceptions noted. Note: The Vaulter Reg-istration Fee ($75) is not required of vault-ers who compete ONLY in Festival of theFuture Classes. ELIGIBILITY: Open to allcurrent AVA Members who hold NO medal.Participants in Novice, Canter and TinyTots events of the Festival of the Future is

FESTIVAL CLASSES - Classes run percurrent AVA rules and Guidelines (with eli-gibility and time differences as per notedfor each class).Individual Trot ChampionshipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers who hold no higher than a Trot Medal.Class 36A, B - Individual Trot Comp,FreestyleAwards: (Men and Women separate): 1-l5for Compulsories and Freestyle, 1-5 forOverall. Medals to Champion Man andWoman.Individual Preliminary Trot Champion-shipsEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers who do not hold a Trot or highermedal.Class 37A, B - Individual Trot Comp,FreestyleAwards: (Men and Women separate): 1-l5for Compulsories and Freestyle, 1-5 for


receives assistance from the spotter, withthe exception of the mount, which is scoredon form only. Freestyle is a one-minute(maximum) routine of static and dynamicexercises. Should be Level II and III exer-cises only.Class 48A – Novice Advanced WalkCompulsoriesClass 48B – Novice Advanced WalkFreestyleAwards: All Participants.

(Festival of the Future Continued)


The hotel is at 200 West 48th Ave.Denver, Colorado 80216, phone 303/296-4000 For reservations phone 800/528-1234 and mention the AVA for spe-cial rate: $65/room including comple-mentary breakfast at 6:30 - 9:30 am.

All rooms offer in-room coffee ser-vice, 25" remote control television, ironsand ironing boards and hair dryers. Thehotel is located at I-25 and I-70, just fiveminutes from downtown Denver andless than five minutes from the NationalWestern Complex. The Palm Grill res-taurant is on site. The hotel features anexercise room and an outdoor pool.

Horse Bowl atNationalsRita Hoster, United States PonyClub vaulting Liaison, will head upa horse bowl for Nationals.Noel Martonovich

The AVA Education Committee thinksit is very important for our riders to learnas much as they can about all aspects ofthe horse. So they have asked Rita Hoster,United States Pony Club liaison, to headthe horse bowl committee.

As my friend Sue Ockels says, “Theonly way to be a well rounded rider/vaulteris to be an educated horseman.” You knowwhat? She was right. The longer I’m aroundyoung people and horses, the more I’m con-vinced that she hit the nail squarely on thehead. It’s not enough to ride or vault on a

horse, you need to know as much as youcan about the horse’s health, method ofmovement, safety, management, structure,and so much more in order to provide thebest environment for the animal that youcan. I’ve worked on regional and nationaleducation competitions for Pony Club forten years and I wanted to give somethingof what I’ve learned there to vaulting.

In Denver this year at the AVA NationalChampionships we’re going to introducesomething new. There will be a one-daycompetition filled with questions to besolved by teams of vaulters. The team thatwins will earn a horsemanship award to bepresented at the awards ceremony.

We are still in the planning stages rightnow, but several stations will be set up withquestions that will range from very basicquestions for the youngest, most inexperi-enced vaulter to more difficult questions forolder and more experienced vaulters.

Some of the information covered willbe in the AVA Horsemanship Program.Make sure to order your copy from MargeOakes ([email protected]) and start study-ing. Subjects covered may include equineanatomy; face and leg markings; breeds;vaulting equipment; nutrition; health issuesincluding parasites, immunizations, andcommon diseases; gaits, movement, andbalance; longeing technique; safety; blem-ishes and unsoundness; confirmation; andstable management.

All of you coaches out there, start add-ing some equine information to your vault-ing lessons. We can raise the bar and teachour vaulters to be well-rounded, educatedhorsemen as well as world-class vaulters.

For those of you looking for morethan a room, the Best Western also has27 Executive King rooms with a com-fortable recliner and large desk area withcomputer data ports. Phone for prices.

RV camping is available at the Na-tional Western Complex. Contact YossiMartonovich for reservations. RV elec-trical hook up is $15 per night. No wa-ter hook-up is available.

Directions to National WesternComplex: The National Western Com-plex is located just east of I-25 on I-70and is easily accessible by taking theBrighton Blvd. or Coliseum exits.

Individual Tiny Tots Barrel ClassEligibility: Open to all current AVA mem-bers who hold NO medal and are 6 yearsold or under. See Eligibility rules for theFestival of the Future.Format: Per current AVA Rule Book Guide-lines for Trot Barrel except eligibility.Class 51A - Tiny Tots Barrel CompulsoriesClass 51B - Tiny Tots Barrel FreestyleAwards: All Participants.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONIf you have any questions about the newrules, online registration for 2005 Nation-als or have any other questions, please con-tact Jan Weber at [email protected], 978/448-4193.

HOUSING - Official Hotel is Best Western Central

Individual Novice WalkEligibility: See Eligibility for Festival of theFutureFormat: Vaulter must have an assistedmount onto the barrel. Vaulters may nothold any medals. Vaulters may have spot-ters present during compulsories and bar-rel freestyle, and will receive no deductionfor exercise in which the vaulter receivesspotting contact or assistance from the spot-ter. These exercises will be scored on formonly. Events consist of one round ofcompulsories on barrel.Class 49A - Individual Novice WalkCompulsoriesAwards: All Participants.Individual Novice Modified WalkEligibility: See Eligibility for Festival of theFutureFormat: Vaulter must have an assistedmount onto the barrel. Vaulters may nothold any medals. Vaulters must have spot-ters present during compulsories and willnot receive a deduction for assistance.Event consists of the Basic Seat, Flag andMill Compulsories only. These exercisesare to be scored on form only.Class 50A - Individual Novice ModifiedWalkAwards: All Participants.

Individual Special Modified Novice WalkEligibility: See Eligibility for Festival of theFutureFormat: Vaulter must have an assistedmount. Vaulters may not hold any medals.Vaulters must have spotters present duringcompulsories and will not receive a deduc-tion for assistance. Event consists of anythree Compulsories. These exercises are tobe scored on form only.Class 51A - Individual Special ModifiedWalkAwards: All Participants.


Sponsors Needed for NationalsYou can solicit sponsors for Nationals by requesting a sponsorletter and forms from Renu Poduval at rpoduval@ SafeHouse-Denver.org, or you may wish to put together your own letter. Tothe right is a suggestion for the letter. Categories offered are:

$5,000 Gold Sponsor• Company banner at event • Company display at entryway• AVA website link • Announcements throughout the event• Pre and post-publicity on the website and in Vaulting World• Full page advertisement in event program• Quarter page advertisement in Vaulting World

$2,500 Silver Sponsor• Company display at entryway • Link from AVA website• Pre and post-publicity on the website and in Vaulting World• AVA website link • Announcements throughout the event• Half page advertisement in event program• 1/8 page advertisement in Vaulting World

$1,000 Bronze Sponsor• Link from AVA website• Pre and post-publicity on the website and in Vaulting World• Announcements throughout the event• 1/8 page advertisement in event program• 2” advertisement in Vaulting World

$500 Copper Sponsor• Link from AVA website• Pre and post-publicity on the website and in Vaulting World

Sponsorship and photo-ready logo and ad design must be receivedby June 1, 2005 for inclusion on printed materials. Sponsorshipsreceived after the deadline may be promoted online.Donations of greater amounts are welcome. In-kind donations ofshavings, grain, hay, horse and vaulter equipment, and other itemsare welcome and appreciated.When you sign up a sponsor, please be sure to include thecompany’s name, the contact person’s name, the address, phoneemal, fax and sponsorship level. Mail with payment to the AVA at8205 Santa Monica Blvd. #1-288, West Hollywood, CA 90046,ph: 323/654-0800, fx: 323/654-4306, [email protected].


2005 Nationals Class SponsorsA Team($600) ......................................................Garrod FarmsB Team ($275) ................................................ Circle of FriendsC Team($250) ................................................... Carole DwinellTrot Team($200) ....................................................... Region IVOpen 2-Phase Team ($100) .............................. Del/Doris DyerPreliminary 2-Phase Team ($100) .................. Faulkner FamilyTrot 2-Phase Team ($100) ..........................................AvailableOpen Pas de Deux$200) ....................................Bob/Jan WeberPreliminary Pas de Deux ($100) .................. Tom/Marge OakesOpen Pairs ($100) ..................... Suzanne Detol/Patty LittmannPreliminary Pairs ($100) ............................... Flannagan FamilyTrot Pairs ($100) ....................................... Matrix/Mare WillowGold Women ($400) ...................................................AvailableGold Men ($400) ........................................................AvailableSilver Women ($250) .................................. Bittenbring FamilySilver Men ($250) .......................................................AvailableBronze Women ($200) ................................... Benjamin Family

Bronze Men ($200) .....................................................AvailableCopper Women ($175)Kelley Holly/Teresa Keville/TambourineCopper Men ($175) .................................................Kate DalbyTrot Women ($150) ....................................................AvailableTrot Men ($150) .........................................................AvailablePreliminary Trot Women ($100) ....................... Sydney FrankelPreliminary Trot Men ($100) ......................................AvailableOpen Barrel Freestyle ($50) ............Dan Gleason/Wendy WarePreliminary Barrel Freestyle ($50) .............................AvailableTrot Barrel Freestyle ($50) .........................................AvailableFestival of the Future

Trot/Canter/Barrel Classes ($50) .........................AvailableTherapeutic Classes ($50) ...........New England ValkyriesTiny Tots Classes ($50) ...............................Carol Beutler

Judges ($150) ..............................................................AvailableHorse Awards ($100) .......................................Jeannie BeattieHospitality ($150) .......................................................AvailableMedics ($100) .............................................................Available

Dear ____________

On behalf of the American Vaulting Association, I wouldlike to invite your company to be involved in an excitingupcoming opportunity.

Every year, the American Vaulting Association (AVA) spon-sors the U.S. National Vaulting Championships. This is theopportunity for the greatest equestrian vaulters in the coun-try to compete for the coveted National Champion title intheir respective classes, and members of the community canwatch an exciting sport. This year, the National Champion-ships will be held in Denver, at the National Western EventsCenter, from August 10 through August 14, 2005.

Over 400 individuals compete from all over the country,and bring enthusiastic families and friends for support. Iwould like to extend this opportunity for you to supportthis year’s National Championships. Your support wouldbe recognized by over 1,000 people at the event, as well asin the AVA’s quarterly publication Vaulting World, mailedto over 1,000 members and supporters. I have included alist of sponsorship levels and benefits. Sponsorships are tax-deductible.

The AVA is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to pro-moting the sport of vaulting in the United States. The AVAcurrently has 1,000 members, and serves its membershipby representing the United States in the world vaulting com-munity, developing standards for competition and creatingtraining and educational materials for vaulters, judges,coaches and the general public.

Please support this major event and support the critical pro-grams of the AVA while increasing your exposure in thecommunity. Please feel free to call me at ________ withquestions or for more information. I look forward to speak-ing with you soon!

Sincerely,________________, AVA Volunteer

Contact Jan Weber ([email protected]) if you wish to sponsor a class or other part of Nationals.


Nancy Stevens-BrownYou’ve all heard of those 12 step pro-

grams toward thinness, sobriety, piety etc.Aren’t you glad to hear that the AVA is onlypromoting a ten-step program toward vault-ing success! Well, I admit that after youselect which area in which you are mostinterested, there will still be many moresteps. Remember a journey of a thousandmiles begins with but a single step!

Our ten vaulting disciplines are tightlyinterconnected but their exact needs makeit essential that we separate them at firstand then focus equally on every area. Theyare: 1. Camps

2. Coaches3. Collegiate4. Competition5. For Riders6. Horsemanship7. Management8. Officials9. Recreational10. TherapeuticUnder each category there are infinite

sub-groups for your own interest or exper-tise. Just remember that no area of vaultingis more or less important for the contribu-tion to the growth of the AVA and the spreadof vaulting in America. Recently the AVABoard looked hard at our growth and setsome high marks for the future. To succeedit is unquestionably up to all ten of our spe-cialties to develop and promote their ownfundamentals. If every vaulting disciplinedoes this creatively the growth of Ameri-can vaulting should easily be ten-fold overthe next five years.

Ha! I like that number, and it startsagain with one. I urge you to look at the listand decide where you most want to investyour energy and talents. Then in a combinedventure with our Education, Technical, andPromotions VPs let’s see how far we cango to raise the level of knowledge, supportand information for all of these importantaspects of vaulting. We already have ourfoundation in place, so now it’s time to buildour dream house of vaulting.

Your contribution and input are essen-tial if we are to fulfill our potential to bethe number one most important equestrianactivity in America!

Vault On!

Rick HawthorneThank you Nancy! I am so thrilled to

see someone finally take notice of the im-portance of our sport and to what it can dofor so many different people with so manydifferent equestrian interests. It’s only fit-ting that it would be Nancy who has hadsuch a presence in the “sport” of vaulting,for so long. Not that I’m saying she’s old!I, of course, would never say that!

For so many years, and I do feel thatI’m getting old, I’ve been blessed to workwith vaulters ranging from those with spe-cial needs to those who have been talentedenough to compete at the world champion-ships. Though these vaulters filled Virginiaand myself with plenty of joy and happi-ness, we realized that this part of our pro-gram would not, in itself, keep Valley ViewVaulters in business.

Therefore long ago we designed ourprogram to help everyone – from thosewanting to learn to ride, to those wantingto learn – to be better riders. We trained adressage instructor who, after her first les-son, thanked us because, for the first timeafter riding her horse, she did not have aheadache! Over the past six or seven years,we have helped many dressage riders in-crease their scores by as much as 10%.

We’ve also trained stunt people whowanted to add equestrian riding to their re-sumes. One man came to us and said hewas just hired to do a western movie. Hewas going to be shot off a horse while itwas running. He then wanted to know ifwe could teach him to ride! We not onlytaught him to ride, he got very good atthrowing himself into a reverse shoulderroll off the horses croup and into severalrolls on the ground. You can’t believe howmuch this pleased his father, who was awestern stunt man.

We have learned so much through theyears from working with our handicappedvaulters. Helping to leg up or spot up is oneof the most important lessons we’velearned. Helping them up without gettinghurt is very important. We always coverthese lessons in our clinics.

We feel that it’s very important for allprograms to work safe and efficient. Thefollowing points are what we do in our pri-vate lessons, clinics and conferences. 1)learn to spot the mount as well as be spot-ted 2) learn to be balanced and ride as onewith the horse 3) learn to use the horse’smotions 4) learn to exit the horse in many

Stepping Up! Reply - Something for Everyone

Read Rick Hawthorne’s reply>

ways and at different gaits 5) get a greatintroduction to the sport of vaulting and thegreat benefits of vaulting exercises.

As excited as I am about this subject,I’m sure others have discovered the all en-compassing benefits of vaulting. I alwayssay that vaulting is much more than a sport.It’s a life-changing event!

Publications ListGrowing

Fit for Riding published by Half HaltPress is 163 pages filled with many ben-eficial exercises for the vaulter and rider.Written by Eckart Meyners, a Germanphysical education teacher at the Collegeof Luneburg, Fit for Riding offers vaultersand coaches of all levels help in develop-ing the superb conditioning that is neededfor safe and successful vaulting. Each ex-ercise is accompanied by easy to under-stand instructions with clear diagrams il-lustrating the movements. It includes chap-ters on training and conditioning, theory,basic conditioning, general training prin-ciples, training methods, warm up andmore. This book would be a super supple-ment to any vaulting library.

From the forward: “This book is de-signed to help vaulters and riders improvetheir fitness properly and systematically bytraining the groups of muscles needed intheir sports.”

Fit for Riding may be ordered by AVAmembers from the AVA for $17 (a two dol-lar savings over retail). Non AVA memberswill be charged $19. The publications or-der form is available online at:www.americanvaulting.org. Soon mem-bers will be able to order and pay online.

Want to Work inCanada?

Horses of the Sun is located near Ot-tawa, the capital of Canada. Sonja Koch andUwe Schneider, owners and head instruc-tors, are looking for two working studentswho would like to stay with them for acouple of months. They must be experi-enced riders and/or vaulters, as they willbe integrated into the daily routine and havethe chance to ride most horses, take part inriding and vaulting lessons, horse training,and of course, daily chores. They will havethe opportunity to ride and vault on an av-erage of two to three hours daily. Detailsare provided at www.horses-of-the-sun.ca.


Ask the ExpertWhat can I do to prepare myselfmentally for a competition so that Ican perform my best?Jessie Price, Vaulting Visions

coming practice or competition routine indetail. Play it in your head like a movie;feel the movement of the horse and the ex-tension of your leg; hear and respond toyour music. If it helps, listen to your mu-sic. Remind yourself of the small thingsyou can control. You can also visualize er-rors in your routine and then visualize howyou will successfully recover. Finally, seeyourself happily completing your routineknowing you have performed well.

Rick HawthorneWhen the people at Equine Affaire con-

tacted us last year, asking us to presentvaulting at their event in Pomona, Califor-nia 2005, we were quite excited. We’vebeen in the Rose Parade, the Los AngelesOlympics, the Pan American pre-trials andmany others. To us, this was an opportu-nity as important as any we’ve ever had.The question in our minds was “How dowe make this opportunity count most forvaulting?” Equine Affaire had allotted usone hour for our horse demonstration andtwo one-hour barrel demonstrations/clinics.We really wanted to show the audience themany aspects of vaulting. Though it was tobe mostly higher level, we felt strongly thatwe should show some other aspects ofvaulting. We wanted the audience to say“Wow! That’s cool and I would really liketo try it myself!”

We started hearing from people as soonas we arrived at the Equine Affaire. Thesepeople were there on previous days andheard that there was to be a vaulting dem-onstration on Saturday and had come backjust to watch. We have done many demon-strations where people watching the show

An Affaire to Remember known to us as “Mr. Who.”The rest of the demonstration was just

as amazing. We took a little time to showhow vaulting helps riders’ seats and confi-dence. We had a question and answer pe-riod, which couldn’t have gone better. Onelady asked why the vaulters were not wear-ing helmets. When I finished answering, Icould see heads, everywhere, shaking “yes”in agreement, including the lady who askedthe question! The end of our demo high-lighted our advanced vaulters performingtheir freestyles. The audience once againshowed their support through loud ovations.

What happened to us that weekend wasone of the most exciting moments we’veever had in vaulting! You know things wentwell when the first call you get after theevent is the lady who asked about the hel-mets. This time she was asking if she couldsign her three children up to vault! We arealso helping four different equestrian facili-ties incorporate vaulting into their pro-grams.

Finally, we would like to thank all thevaulters from Valley View Vaulters and ThePinto Ranch and the parents, friends andmembers of Region I clubs who helped withthe demonstrations and AVA booth to makethis, truly, “An Affaire To Remember!”

This mental training will bring you anew kind of confidence that will enhanceeverything you do in and out of sport. Con-fidence I define as the sacred space whereyou feel free to be all you can be and to doall you can do.

before us simply got up and left before weeven got into the arena. This time when theshow before us ended the stands kept fill-ing. By the time we were introduced, thestands were packed and people were stand-ing three and four deep. As the narrator inthe arena I had to keep remembering to turn360 degrees while talking so as to includeeveryone.

After the first round of warm ups andcompulsories at the canter, we had two trotvaulters demonstrate the compulsories onour 17+ hand Hanoverian, Waldmeister.First, a 12-year-old girl, Katie, who sufferedbrain damage after dying twice of heart at-tacks at a very young age, demonstrated thefirst four compulsories. Next, seven-year-old Victoria vaulted up all by herself anddid the last three compulsories. After a longround of applause, I suggested, toeveryone’s amazement that young Victoriaattempt to scale our 19+ hand Swedishwarmblood, again without any assistance.You can imagine the crowds’ responsewhile they watched what they thoughtwould be the impossible, become possible.We’ll never forget the roar when littleVictoria scaled to the top of Mt Everest,

Jerry Lynch received his Doctorate in Psychol-ogy from Penn State and has taught at PennState, Colorado, Stanford and Santa Clara Uni-versities. His work has focused on the applica-tion of classic eastern philosophies and prac-tices to the improvement of athletic performanceand coaching. The principles he has developedhave led to the publication of seven books andwork with many leading athletes and teams.Jerry Lynch is also a national class distance run-ner and cyclist and father of several athleticchildren. His first book, Thinking Body, Danc-ing Mind, is recommended by Kerith Lemon.Short articles and more information are avail-able at his website www.taosports.com

All questions submitted to the moderators, Ali-cia McNeil and Lois Price, will be passed on tosomeone with expertise in that area. Questionscan range from horse training, equine health andtherapeutic vaulting to judging criteria, musicchoices, legal issues, or starting a vaulting pro-gram. We would like a brief biography and pic-ture of both the questioner and the expert.Lois Price [email protected] McNeil [email protected]

Mental Training = Confidence

The key to successful mental prepara-tion is to train the mind with the same dis-cipline as the body. Just as you cannot be-gin weight training the day before a com-petition and expect to see results, neithercan you begin mental preparation as youwait to enter the ring. If you have trainedyour mind well, however, it will benefitfrom the same kind of preparation you giveyour body in the warm-up ring when youbriefly remind your muscles what they havepracticed so many times before. Before en-tering the ring, a few meditative breaths willquiet and focus the trained mind.

Reply by Jerry LynchLike physical training, mental training

begins long before competition. You needa mind trained to focus on the details of theperformance rather than the outcome. Afocus on the outcome, on winning or los-ing, robs the performance and results innervousness because you cannot control theoutcome. But you can control whether yourtoes are pointed and your head is up. Thegoal is to be in the moment and experiencethe joy of performing what you have prac-ticed so well.

Mental training begins with meditationto clear and calm the mind followed by vi-sualization of the routine. While there aremany approaches to meditation, a goodplace to start is with breath control. As youmaster this technique and practice it for 8-10 minutes each day, you will be able toempty your mind of distracting clutter; youwill feel peaceful and focused. When youhave reached this state, visualize your up-


Wendy Ware City, Redwing, Battlepoint, Leading Edge,Mt. Rainier and Canada’s Cheam vaulters.What a network we have!

Of course, our Northwind parents havehelped keep the team running all theseyears, doing whatever was asked of them.I am so glad that those who want to pursuethis sport have nearby teams to join.

Emily, Dan and I feel very grateful tohave been involved in this wonderful sportand to have met so many new friends. Ourbest to you all.

Dan and Emily watch a competition.Photo: Nancy Stevens-Brown

Corrections/ChangesAmy McCuneNew email: [email protected] HaynieNew email: [email protected] FamilyAddress is no longer a P.O. box, it should be:5016 Crawford Gulch, Golden, CO 80403Rosie BrownCorrect email is [email protected]’ll get it right eventually! EDSpirit Vaulting ClubNew e-mail [email protected] Vaulting ClubNew website: www.geocities.com/starlite_at

Corrections to the February 2005 issue ofVaulting World:Cover: Upper right hand photo is a picture ofEmily Gleason on Lady, not Charade.Page 8 leftcolumn: the picture is not of an In-Stride vaulter.Thank you Carol Nelson. Does anyone knowwho this is? EDPage 11: The top center picture is not a Shoot-ing Stars vaulter. Thank you Rick Van Vranken.Does anyone know who this is? EDIn the last paragraph of the Shooting Stars re-port it was Anna(lise) Van Vranken who vaultedto “a near perfect season”, not Anna Schulte.My deepest apologies to Annalise and Anna. EDPage 31, The Horsemanship Training article waswritten by Suzanne Detol, not Marge Oakes. Myapologies ladies. ED

December 27, 2004- El Dorado, CAKitchy Burdette (AVA r)

Nu BalanceDelany Altman ......Trot .................. 5.200Christi Carroll .......Bronze ............. 5.870Melissa Jewett ......Trot .................. 5.100Hannah Mattingly .Trot .................. 4.933Emma Moresi .......Trot .................. 5.583Holly Moresi .........Trot .................. 5.650Holly Moresi .........Bronze ............. 5.440Jami Presley ..........Bronze ............. 5.490Miranda Printz ......Trot .................. 5.400Sonja Reinold .......Bronze Com. ... 6.010

March 12, 2005 - Woodside, CAAdrienne Stang (FEI O)

Pacific CoastMinda Newhouse ..Novice (Canter)4.917Karly Newman......Novice (Canter)5.300Sarah Flax .............Trot .................. 5.533Kyra McCarty .......Bronze Com. ... 6.020Gabriella Bizzaro ..Bronze Com. ... 6.460Brittany O’Leary ..Bronze ............. 5.950

At 2005 AVA Annual Meeting, thechallenge was thrown down that in 2005,we surpass the all-time yearly record of 290successful medal tests that was achieved in1994. Our goal for 2005 is 300 tests. Wenow have 294 left to go!

Suzanne Detol, Medal Test Secretary

Northwind Says Goodbye

new horse and my daughter, EmilyGleason, is working as a professional actornow and no one was available to take overthe team.

As a pediatric nurse I am interestingin volunteering in that capacity. I havewanted to do some overseas work for a longtime and with no children at home it maynow be possible. The tsunami disaster re-ally tugged at me after our DecemberNorthwind parent meeting.

This decision is sad and a relief at thesame time. We’ll put Northwind away fora while and perhaps start up again whenDan and I retire to the Oregon coast.

We will still be available for localvaulting volunteer jobs at fests or clinics.Our club is still registered through the AVAfor this year and we will keep our new e-mail address at [email protected]. I also plan to finish out myyear as Regional Supervisor.

To all of you who have helped mealong the way, Thank you: Nancy for allyour inspiration at camps and clinics;Emma, Odette, Carolyn and Teresa for allyour horse and longeing tips; Jeff for yourhelp with Charade, the bucking bay; Yossifor the dressage lessons for Belgians; es-pecially thank you to all who offered horsesas we grew, - Patty, the Dyers, FACE; Sueand Alia for getting us started and answer-ing all our questions; Connie and Merry formaking me laugh and being such entertain-ing roommates; Marianne for patientlyhelping us learn the ropes at new fests;Sheri, Amy and other outspoken, organizedboard members for keeping the AVA mov-ing forward; all the judges for your time,training, sitting in the cold Northwest or hotNational competitions and giving us yourcomments and feedback; Craig, you areawesome! Thanks for everything!

It was great to be in such a supportiveregion. Tamea generously offered horses,camps, clinics and coaches’ trainings. Shegave me much needed lessons in horseman-ship and trailering. We had fun compositeand demonstration teams with Emerald

If you could open your home to a SouthAfrican vaulter 12-15 years old, please con-tact Colleen Frew at [email protected]. Some of the vaulters would liketo compete at CVI*,** Saratoga on July 1-3, 2005 and need a month or so of trainingbefore the event. Some would like to stayfor a school year.

They practice at a dressage/showjumping barn of approximately 55 poniesand horses located between Johannesburgand Pretoria in the heart of horse country.These are very enthusiastic vaulters. Ameri-can hosts would be invited to come to SouthAfrica in return.

Exchanges are one of the most endur-ing benefits of vaulting. Give your familythe experience of a lifetime by sharing yourhome with a vaulter from across the worldand give your vaulter the chance to be com-pletely immersed in another culture.

South AfricanExchangeOpportunity

Medal Tests

I have decided todisband Northwind.Our horse, Lady hasringbone and Charadeis 21 although she’sdoing very well. I waslooking at needing a


NATIONAL OFFICE: 8205 Santa Monica Blvd., #1-288, West Hollywood, CA 90046-5912 • Email: [email protected] Hours: M-F - 8am - noon PST • Phone : 323/654-0800, Fax: 323/654-4306 • www.americanvaulting.org

AMERICAN VAULTING ASSOCIATION DIRECTORY

AVA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERSAVA PRESIDENT – Nancy Stevens-Brown – 831/476-5901, [email protected]

EXECUTIVE VP – Kelley Holly – 707/665-9281, [email protected] DEVELOPMENT – Sheri Benjamin - 408/872-1560, [email protected]

VP MEMBERSHIP – Amy McCune – 508/830-0448, [email protected] COMPETITIONS – Patty Littmann - 818/889-9617, [email protected]

VP EDUCATION – Noel Martonovich- 303/277-0356, [email protected] – Jan F. Garrod – 408/741-1191- [email protected]

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY – Jen Williams - 301/317-7964, [email protected] CHAIRS AND SPECIAL PROGRAM DIRECTORS

ALUMNI: Patti Reschar 408/356-8660, fax 408/356-3435, [email protected] MEETING: Amy McCune 508/ 830-0448, [email protected]

AVA HIGH POINT: Toni Amoroso 805/493-2268, [email protected] • AWARDS: Jeannie Beattie 805/736-4420, [email protected] COUNCIL: Jessica Ballenger 831/ 688-4330, [email protected] • CHA: Noel Martonovich 303/277-0356, [email protected]: Connie Geisler 909/861-1564, [email protected] • COLLEGIATE: Nancy MacIsaac 505/ 867-3367, [email protected]. SECTY: Suzanne Detol 503/357-9651, [email protected] • CONSTIT./BYLAWS: Charlie Bittenbring 703/777-1743, [email protected]: Noel Martonovich 303/277-0356, [email protected] • FEI DISCIPLINE DIR.: Jan Weber - 978/448-4193, [email protected]

FRIENDSHIP TEAM: Priscilla G. Faulkner 770/786-7283, [email protected] • GRANTS: Jan Garrod 408/741-1191, [email protected]: Suzanne Detol 503/357-9651, [email protected] • HISTORIAN: Nancy Stevens-Brown 831/476-5901

HORSE: Yossi Martonovich 303/277-0356, [email protected] • LIAISON Chronicle of the Horse: Chris Appel-Bucierka 703/378-5987INSURANCE: Kelley Holly 707/665-9281,[email protected] • MEDAL TEST SECTY: Suzanne Detol 503/357-9651, [email protected]

NAHRA: Rachel Markels-Webber 978/952-6787, [email protected] CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005: Yossi Martonovich 303/277-0356, [email protected]

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THERAPEUTIC VAULTING: Rick & Virginia Hawthorne 818/834-8963, [email protected]: Jan Weber 978/448-4193, [email protected] • PUBLICITY: Lynn Stevens 925/229-5344, [email protected]

RECREATIONAL: Joann Crell, 207-288-9506 [email protected] • SAFETY: Kim Deaver 419/ 354-3997, [email protected]: Amy McCune – 508/830-0448, [email protected] • Vaulting World EDITOR: Marianne Rose - ph/fax 408/867-1789TECHNICAL ADV.: J. Ashton Moore 408/623-4446, [email protected] • TRADESHOWS/EXHIBITS: Jan Weber 978/448-4193, [email protected]

USEF VAULTING COMMITTEE: Adrienne Stang 408/867-0184, [email protected]/DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL DISCIPLINES & VAULTING: Joyce Hamblin 859/225-6939, [email protected]

USEF/DIRECTOR OF VAULTING ACTIVITIES/VAULTING HIGH PERFORMANCE: Sara Livingston Ike 908/234-0848, [email protected] NATIONAL DISCIPLINES DIRECTOR: Devon Maitozo 818/429-2115, [email protected]

USEF VAULTING HIGH PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR: J Ashton Moore 408/623-4446, [email protected] STATES EQUESTRIAN TEAM: Sally Lord Ike - 908/234-0848, [email protected]

VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION: Carol Beutler 650/366-7527, [email protected] ORGS: Nancy MacIsaac 505/ 867-3367, [email protected] • WEBSITE: Sheri Benjamin 408/872-1560, [email protected]

LIABILITY INSURANCE (AVA): Paige Johnson, Sypolt Insurance Services, Inc, Phone 800/995-4770 x203 or916/669-1362, fax 916/669-1363; 11344 Colma Road, Ste. 635, Gold River, CA 95670

Tambourine Barrel FestUnrecognized

Petaluma, CaliforniaFebruary 12, 2005

Judges: Kitchy Burdette(AVA r), Isabelle Parker(AVA Apprentice Judge)

Participating Clubs: Brookside,Canyon View, Elkhorn, Half MoonBay, Morning Star, Mt. Eden, NuBalance, Pacific Coast, Pegasus,

Phoenix, Silver Bay, Starlite,Tambourine, Woodside

Team EventsOpen Canter Team Comp.

1. Nu Balance ....................... 7.1292. Half Moon Bay/Tambourine/

Silver Bay/PacCst Comp. . 6.9673. Pacific Coast ..................... 6.940

Open Team Freestyle1. Half Moon Bay/Tambourine/SilverBay/Pacific Coast Composite 8.5002. Nu Balance ....................... 8.4673. Pacific Coast ..................... 7.867

C Team Compulsories1. Morning Star ..................... 5.3452. Tambourine ....................... 5.3073. Nu Balance West .............. 4.979

C Team Freestyle1. Morning Star ..................... 5.7672. Nu Balance ....................... 5.5003. Tambourine ....................... 5.400

Novice Canter Team Comp.1. Pacific Coast ..................... 5.2792. Nu Balance ....................... 4.919Nov. Canter Team Freestyle

1. Pacific Coast ..................... 6.4672. Nu Balance ....................... 5.333

Trot Team Compulsories1. Silver Bay .......................... 4.4982. Woodside .......................... 4.414

Trot Team Freestyle1. Silver Bay .......................... 6.267

Novice Trot Team Comp.1. Nu Balance ....................... 4.1762. Starlite ............................... 4.043Novice Trot Team Freestyle

1. Nu Balance ....................... 5.333Individual ClassesGold Compulsories

1. Leticia Solorzano, NuBal .. 6.7572. Lisa Maxwell, Elkhorn ....... 6.6863. Ashley Fenbury, NuBalance6.229

Gold Freestyle1. Leticia Solorzano, NuBal .. 7.9332. Ashley Fenbury, NuBalance6.767

Silver Compulsories (4)1. Sara Cleary, Elkhorn ......... 7.0432. Emily Reed, NuBalance .... 6.4863. Dusti Hausman, Pac Cst ... 6.200

Silver Freestyle1. Emily Reed, NuBalance .... 6.6672. Elizabeth Martinico, NuBal 6.8333. Dusti Hausman, Pac Cst ... 6.733

Bronze Compulsories (9)1. Christi Carrol, NuBalance . 6.6862. Hannah Andre, Mng Star .. 6.1003. Camille Kraintz, NuBal ...... 6.086

Bronze Freestyle (7)1. Christi Carrol, NuBalance . 7.8672. Alyssa Bonora, Woodside . 7.7673. Brittany O’Leary, Pac Cst .. 7.333

Copper Compulsories (38)1. Elizabeth Ioannou, Mt Eden6.2862. Molly McElrath, Mng Star .. 5.9863. Karly Newman, Pac Cst .... 5.971

Copper Freestyle (35)1. Karly Newman, Pac Cst .... 7.5002. Elizabeth Ioannou, Mt Eden7.4333. Kyra McCarty, Pac Cst ...... 7.333

Trot Compulsories (11)1. Zoe Pearl, Silver Bay ........ 4.7292. Christine Flock, Woodside 4.7293. Elizabeth West, Silver Bay 4.700

Trot Freestyle (11)1. Eva Cassel, Half Moon Bay5.6672. Christine Flock, Woodside 5.6003. Molly Gould, Woodside ..... 5.533

Novice Trot Comp. (49)1. Jan Crump, Pegasus ........ 4.7002. Ariana Barrett, Mt Eden .... 4.7003. Theda Knauth, Woodside . 4.671

Novice Trot Freestyle (50)1. Samantha Barnes, Cyn Vw5.8332. Marisa McDonald, Starlite . 5.7673. Theda Knauth, Woodside . 5.700

Tiny Tots Compulsories (22)1. Kate Morse, Mt Eden ........ 4.3002. Katharine Thomas, Wdsd . 4.1863. Amelia Sheffield, Tamb ..... 3.786

Tiny Tots Freestyle (16)1. Geneva Bedell, Mng Star .. 5.0002. Katharine Thomas, Wdsd . 5.0003. Tara Curtis, Elkhorn .......... 4.767

Doubles/TriplesPreliminary Triples

1. Hannah Andre/Molly McElrath/Lauren Elkin, Morning Star 5.560

2. Kylen Dix/Molly McElrath/JennyCarrico, Morning Star ........ 5.360

Trot Triples1. Ashley Ondaro/Zoe Pearl/

Elizabeth West, Silver Bay 5.700Open Doubles

1. Mary Mc Cormick/AlexandraThrasher, Pacific Coast ..... 7.800

2. Dust Hausman/Karly Newman,Pacific Coast ..................... 5.660

3. Lisa Maxwell/Jenny Cleary,Elkhorn .............................. 5.400

Preliminary Doubles1. Kylen Dix/Lauren Elkin,

Morning Star ..................... 5.940Novice Canter Doubles (12)

1. Eva Cassel/Kimberly Palmer,Half Moon Bay .................. 5.620

2. Brittany O’Leary/AlexandraThrasher, Pacific Coast ..... 5.580

3. Molly McElrath/Kylen Dix,Morning Star ..................... 5.460

Trot Doubles (4)1. Anke Knauth/Theda Knauth,

Woodside .......................... 5.8602. Katherine Gifford/Ellie Gifford,

Woodside .......................... 5.6403. Ashley Ondaro/Zoe Pearl,

Silver Bay .......................... 5.600Novice Trot Doubles (7)

1. Marisa McDonald/Derikka Bisi,Starlite ............................... 5.540

2. Samantha Burnes/LexieDonnelson, Canyon View .. 5.540

3. Cassie Dufond/Claire Sitzer,Tambourine ....................... 5.240

Tiny Tots Doubles1. Amelia Sheffield/Jenna Bell,

Tambourine ....................... 4.160

Vaulting World publishescomplete placings for allAVA Recognized classesbut only first through thirdplace for unrecognizedclasses.The number ofcompetitors over three inany unrecognized class isindicated after the classname. For complete resultsvisit http://home.att.net/~avafest.

Tambourine Barrel Fest

36 February 2005Vaulting World

CALENDAR OF VAULTING EVENTS

TIME VALUE MAILDO NOT DELAY

AMERICANVAULTING

ASSOCIATION8205 Santa Monica

Blvd. #1-288West Hollywood,CA 90046-5912

JUNE ISSUE - DEADLINE : APRIL 30, 2005 - QUARTER HORSES

FIRST CLASSU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 542CUPERTINO, CA

2005 Aug 12 AVA Board of Directors Meeting , Denver, CO. ContactJan Weber 978/44-4193, [email protected]

Sept 2-4 CVI**Malmo, Sweden. Contact Joyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Sept 17-18 Great Falls/Topaz Fall Fest, Herndon, VA. ContactCarolyn Klein 703/266-1596, [email protected]

Sept 25 Morning Star Fest, Oakland, CA. Contact CarolynConner 415/897-8486, [email protected]

Oct 12 West Coast Judges Clinic, TBA. Contact Amy McCune508/830-0448, [email protected]

Oct 30 Mt. Eden’s Halloween Fest , Saratoga, CA. ContactM.Rose 408/867-1789, [email protected]

Nov 26-27 CVI*Sao Paulo, Brazil. Contact Joyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Apr 16 Southern Sunshine Fest, Monroe, NC. Contact CarolLand 704/843-4306, [email protected]

Apr 16-17 FACE Off Spring Challenge, Moorpark, CA. ContactCarolyn Bland, 818/497-2947, [email protected]

Apr 29-30, May 1 Through Eyes of Judge Clinic, Suffolk, VA.Contact N.Martonovich 303/277-0356, [email protected]

May 13-15 CVI**Brno-Tetcice, Czech Republic. Contact JoyceHamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

May 14-15 Great Falls/Topaz Spring Fest, Herndon, VA.Contact Carolyn Klein 703/266-1596, [email protected]

May 14-15 Garrod’s Spring Classic and May Fest, Saratoga,CA. Contact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

May 21 DevonWood Zone Fest, Sherwood, OR. ContactSuzanne Detol 503/357-9651, [email protected]

May 27-29 CVI**Stadl-Paura, Slovakia. Contact Joyce Hamblin -859/225-6939, [email protected]

Jun 4-5 CVI**Sala, Austria. Contact Joyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Jun 5 Woodside Vaulters Spring Fest , Menlo Park, CA.Contact Julie Divita 650/216-6072 or [email protected]

Jun 11-12 Region I Championships, TBA. Contact Connie Geisler909/861-1564, [email protected]

Jun 11-12 Sky’s Summer Splash, Chilliwack, BC Canada.Contact Susan Baron, [email protected]

Jun 24-25 CVI**Ermelo, Netherlands. Contact Joyce Hamblin -859/225-6939, [email protected]

Jul 1-3 CVI* Saratoga, Saratoga, CA. Contact Marianne Rose408/867-1789, [email protected]

Jul 1-3 CVI**Bern, Switzerland. Contact Joyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Jul 8-10 CVI**Nitra, Slovakia. Contact Joyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Jul 15-17 Region IX Championships, Herndon, VA. ContactJan Weber 978/448-4193, [email protected]

Jul 20-23 (Weds-Saturday) Region II Championships , GrassValley, CA. Contact Marianne Rose 408/867-1789,[email protected]

Aug 4-7 European Championships, Brescia, Italy. ContactJoyce Hamblin - 859/225-6939, [email protected]

Aug 11-14 USEF/AVA National Championships , Denver, CO.Contact Patty Littmann 818/889-9617, [email protected]

The American Vaulting Association presentsan exciting interactive horsemanship program

for vaulters and coaches

For more information onUSA competitions, memberships, etc.

http://home.att.net/~avafest

July 27-30 USEF/AVA National Championships, City of Industry,CA. Contact Patty Littmann 818/889-9617,[email protected]

Aug 20-Sept 3 World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany.Visit: www.achen2006.de

Designed to stimulate, educate, enhance ourrelationship with our most important

teammate: THE HORSE

EARN A CERTIFICATE AND PATCH!For your opportunity to participate

in this motivational program,request an application and guidebook

from: Marge Oakes,732 Camino Del Bosque NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114,

Email: [email protected]

2006

official publication of the american … has everyone in finer, lighter, stabilized, rocker soled,...

Documents