Kamyah Hugee on Butterscotch from Falconwood Vaulters
From Thursday, June 25 through Sunday, June 28, the Horse Center will welcome spectators and exhibitors of all levels for three different vaulting competitions: CVI Lexington VA 1* & 2*, the Equestrian Vaulting Region IX Championships and the vaulting portion of the Commonwealth Games.
Spectator admission is free for all three events, and the public is invited to attend throughout weekend. Competition at the CVI Lexington VA begins at 12 p.m. on Thursday and continues into the evening before resuming again Friday afternoon.
On Saturday, the Region IX Championships kick off at 9 a.m. in the East Complex and continue all day Saturday and until 3 p.m. on Sunday.
"Spectators will get to see all levels of vaulting from our youngest vaulters, which are our 'tiny tots,' all the way through our gold level vaulters," said Lisa Zielenske, the Region IX Supervisor and coach of the Falconwood Vaulters. "We have 96 competitors coming from everywhere from Georgia to Maryland and all the way up to Indiana. We'll have 11 different states represented and a total of 24 clubs competing."
The Commonwealth Games vaulting competition will get underway at 12 p.m. on Saturday, and additional Commonwealth Games equestrian events will also be running throughout the weekend.
Vaulting originally began centuries ago as a way to train soldiers to fight from any direction on horseback.This technique of training was continued through World War I, but following World War II, when horses were no longer used in battle, vaulting became a popular sport. Today, it is one of the seven Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) recognized disciplines. To learn more about vaulting and about the CVI Lexington VA Equestrian 1* & 2* click here.
For a schedule of all upcoming events at the Virginia Horse Center visit www.horsecenter.org/Events.