Vaulting club in Poway combines riding and gymnastics

The Poway Valley Vaulters, which operates out of the Rolling Hills Stables at 15529 Sycamore Canyon Road, formed about six months ago.

It has four regular vaulters, said head coach and club founder Bonnie Bruce, who said the sport is growing in popularity in the United States.

“It’s not that well-known in the United States, but it’s popular in Europe,” Bruce said. “It has been around since ancient times.”

Part gymnastics and part dance, the sport requires participants to perform a series of moves — from headstands to scissors — on a horse that is being led in circles by a rope, called a longe.

The horses do not have saddles or reins, but a strap, or surcingle, with two grips that the vaulters use to hold on while the horse is moving.

Vaulters can compete individually or in teams, sometimes with up to three vaulters building pyramids on the horses, which trot for lower-level competitors and canter for the more advanced performers.

In competition, vaulters perform in compulsory routines (which require specific stunts). Some develop freestyle routines, either on horseback or on barrels. Both are set to music.

According to Bruce, while vaulting has obvious benefits for people who have experience in gymnastics and dance, it’s also a sport that creates good horseback riders.

That’s because vaulters perform without reins, and can develop their “riding seats,” or riding positions as they attempt to center themselves on the moving horses, shifting their bodies to get into the different positions.

“I know many riders who credit their seat to vaulting,” Bruce said. “It’s great for developing core muscles and body coordination and helps people move with the horse and feel as if they are one with the horse.”

Though right now the club has only girls, the sport draws competitors of both genders and of many ages. In fact, the modern roots of the sport come from military training.

“It’s one of the few sports where men and women can compete together,” Bruce said.

Bruce, who has been a riding teacher for about 35 years and who has been a recreational vaulter, said she decided she wanted to start her own vaulting club at the start of the year.

According to the American Vaulting Association, Bruce’s is the only club in Poway, though there are also clubs in Ramona and Escondido.

The club recently had its first competition in Menifee. The club is planning to compete in Las Vegas on Nov. 6 and 7 at the Regional 1 Championship.

Closer to home, the club will have a float in the 46th Annual Poway Days Heritage Parade, taking place on Sept. 18.

The sport might get more visibility in the fall.

The World Equestrian Games are being held in October in Lexington, Ky., marking the first time that the competition — which has a 24-year history — is held outside of Europe.

Vaulting is one of eight sports included in the competition, held every four years by the Fédération Equestre Internationale.

For more information about the local group, visit its website at www.meetup.com/Poway-Valley-Vaulters.