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Colorado
Cherable Vaulters
225 County Road 516
Ignacio, CO 81137-9728
email: engelbj@compuserve.com
Complete Equestrian Vaulters
469 West County Road 66E
Fort Collins, CO 80524
(970) 213-0759
(973) 568-9090
Head coach: Nicole Rau
email: info@CompleteEq.com
www.CompleteEq.com
Douglas Mountain Vaulters
3915 Douglas Mountain Road
Golden, CO 80403
email: mikky@worldnet.att.net
Eque Starz
P.O. Box 1025
Franktown, CO 80116
email: equestar@rkymtnhi.com
Golden Gate Vaulters
5016 Crawford Gulch Road
Golden, CO 80403-8112
email: nmartonovi@aol.com
Mile-High Vaulters
2252 CR 21
Fort Lupton, CO 80621
email: chestnutvaulter@yahoo.com
Rolling Clover Vaulters
1004 S. Eaton Street
Lakewood, CO 80226
email:TKrntrnr@aol.com
Hoofs 'n Paws Vaulters
P.O. Box 740278
Arvada, CO 80006
720-581-3485
email: renu@hoofsnpaws.org
www.hoofsnpaws.org
The Urban Farm Vaulters
10200 Smith Road
Denver, CO 80239
303-307-9332
email:info@@theurbanfarm.org
www.theurbanfarm.org
New Mexico
Acorn Vaulters
53 Guest Court
Edgewood, NM 87015
email: acorn@swcp.com
Albuquerque Vaulters
117 Camino Alto
Corrales, NM 87048
email: Merryvault@go.com
www.albuquerquevaulters.com
Free Spirit Vaulters
32 Two Horse Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87508
505-983-5871
email: mgfreespiritfarm@aol.com
Highland Meadow Vaulters
HC77 Box 27
Laguna, NM 87026-9701
email: hmvaulters@bigplanet.com
Lazy River Pony
6524 Corrales Road
Corrales, NM 87048
505-610-3468
email: rukind@fastmailbox.net
www.lazyriverpony.com
Texas
Bee Creek Vaulters
3713 Bee Creek Rd.
Spicewood, TX 78669
email: twodogs@austin.rr.com
Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA)
5318 Old Bullard Road
Tyler, TX 75703
800-399-0138
www.cha-ahse.org
Wind Song Vaulters
P.O. Box 1574
Wimberly, TX 78676
email: tina@caudodesigns.com
Welsh Rabbits
3721 Country Vista Drive
Burleson, TX 76028
email: txvaulting@yahoo.com
Start A Vaulting Club
News from the Education Committee on:
How to Start a University Vaulting Program
By Adele Dawley (UConn Vaulting Team coach)
For most vaulters the reality has been that when they
go to college they need to either choose one close to a
vaulting team or stop vaulting. This does not have to be the
case. As long as there is an equine program at the college
you are planning to attend, why not start a vaulting program
there? Establishing a university vaulting program will
benefit you, the college, and the vaulting community in more
ways than can be mentioned in a single article.
In 1999, I established the UConn Vaulting Team at the
University of Connecticut and the program has proved to be a
terrific success and a lot of fun. The UConn Vaulting Team
is unique in many ways. It is one of the few college teams
in the country, it is open to both students and community
members so our age range is 7-52, it offers both recreational
and competitive vaulting, and most of its members had never
vaulted before, which means that students are beginning to
vault when they are 18-22 years old. Coaching college
students is a very different and exciting experience. To
begin with, for anyone to decide to start vaulting when they
are 18 years old or older, you know that they are going to be
very committed, especially if they want to vault
competitively. Also, college students can be great resources
for helping you do all of the “stuff” that goes along with
coaching: paperwork, fundraising, exercising horses, you name
it. This is a very important resource to have so that you
can coach, go to college, work, and still enjoy your college
experience! I know that I wouldn’t know what to do without
the dedication of several of my vaulters. Finally, coaching
college students is exciting and fun; ideas and techniques
can be presented in unique ways when you are coaching your
peers.
So, how do you start a university vaulting program? Although
each university and college will vary, try following these
simple guidelines.
Put together a basic orientation packet about
vaulting. Include AVA brochures, a brief video clip, helmet
information (Nancy Stevens-Brown and the Safety Committee are
great resources for this), an outline of your vaulting
experience (what makes you qualified to coach), and perhaps a
scrapbook of vaulting pictures and articles.
Find out who heads the equine department at the
colleges you are applying to or are enrolled in. Set up an
appointment to meet with that person to discuss establishing
a vaulting program at the University.
At your meeting, share your orientation packet with
the department head. 1) Emphasis how vaulting will benefit
their program (publicity, improving riding skills, adding
another equine discipline, etc). 2) Explain that vaulting is
a very safe sport and have information on helmets and safety
reports available. 3) Ask about whether you would be
training their horses for vaulting or be bringing vaulting
horses in. 4) Discuss possibilities for funding major
expenses such as equipment. 5) Determine how you will be
employed (through the horse barn, student activities, the
university/college in general, etc). 6) Discuss when arena
time would be available for vaulting practices, clinics, and
demonstrations. 7) Determine how students will be involved
in the vaulting program. Will they pay for vaulting similar
to riding lessons? Will they receive college credit? 8)
Discuss whether you will open the program to all students or
equine students only, include community members, have try-
outs, and have a maximum number of participants. 9) Decide
whether vaulting will be a two semester program or year
round. 10) Ask if the department head knows of anyone who
may be interested in lunging if this is not something that
you want to do. (It may be challenging to lunge if you still
want to vault). 11) Find out when the equine student
orientation meeting is and ask to give a presentation to
raise awareness about the new vaulting program. 12) Answer
any questions the department head may have about vaulting in
an enthusiastic way. Remember, you are selling the sport to
the university through this person.
If you are going to be using a university horse begin
training right away. You can always start the new students
on the barrel, but you will want to select a horse and begin
training it as soon as possible. If you are bringing in a
horse, figure out if you will board the horse on or off
campus, discuss insurance issues (will the university buy or
lease the horse or will it be under private ownership?), and
decide whether the horse will be used in the lesson program
or if the vaulting team will be responsible for exercising it.
Advertise! Put fliers up at the barn and around the
college. Give a presentation at the equine students’
orientation meeting. Find out if there is a student
activities fair and if so, set up a booth to interest
students in the program. Put an article in the campus
newspaper. Once you have a horse and team ready, continue to
advertise by doing demonstrations at campus events.
Contact the Student Government or Student Activities
about the possibility of registering the vaulting team as a
University Club. Not only will this boost your status but
there are often grants available through these organizations
as well. Find out about grants through student organizations
and the equine program. These may help in funding equipment,
clinics, and competitions.
Prepare for your first practice. Start with the
basics and always remember to include safety. Make practice
fun! College students are very busy so activities must be
appealing for them to continue.
As soon as you have a committed team, delegate
positions: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary,
and whatever other positions may be necessary (advertising,
fundraising, equipment manager, etc.). If you are a
University Club then these positions will most likely be
required and will have to be submitted to the proper
organization. Once you have people to fill these roles,
share the workload, after all it is a team sport!
Register with the American Vaulting Association.
This will benefit you, the college, and the AVA. Who knows,
if enough university teams are established we may even be
able to have vaulting be a collegiate sport some day!
Enjoy college vaulting!! This will be a unique and
exciting experience that you will never forget!