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Safety
AVA's Three Points
of Vaulting Safety
The
American Vaulting Association’s
(AVA) observation of “Three
Points of Vaulting Safety”—
- Controlled Environment
- Safety Training
- Nature of the Sport/Horse
is the basis for
its superb safety record and what makes
vaulting different from
other equestrian sports.
AVA’s “Three
Points” directly address what the
research cites as the major factors contributing
to rider injury:
- Rider loss of control
- Riding environment/suitability of the
horse
- Rider knowledge about safety
These are cited as
major risk factors with 60% of injuries
caused
by the rider losing control of the horse
and 80+% of rider injury attributed directly
to falls.
In vaulting, all
elements—horse,
vaulter, longeur, coach, facility,
barrel and other equipment—work
together to address these risk factors:
Rider
Loss of Control
 In
vaulting the horse is not controlled by
the child
but by an experienced longeur. Safety is
not
based on the child’s judgment. (Many
studies cite young equestrians being overmounted
as contributing to rider loss of control
and injury.)
Control of the horse
is ground-based on a 20-meter circle in
an enclosed arena
with special footing for the comfort
and safety of both humans and equines.
 The
fully equipped vaulting horse may look
peculiar to those used to a typical horse
with saddle and bridle. Instead of a saddle,
a specially designed girth called a vaulting
surgincle is used. It has two large leather
handles and two leather loops, called Cossak
straps, for the feet, rather like stirrups.
The surcingle has many advantages,
especially for
the less
experienced
rider. The surcingle is very safe: it is
almost impossible to fall off, and with
an experienced coach and longeur the vaulter
will easily build up her sense of balance.
Riding
Environment/Suitability of the Horse
Vaulting is performed
in a highly controlled environment—a
fully enclosed arena on the end of a longe
line
in a 20-meter circle with soft footing
(see our Facility). This decreases the
likelihood
of environmental factors that
cause riders
to lose control
of and possibly fall from their horses.
Vaulting's focus is on
working harmoniously with the horse. The requirements
for the vaulting horse decrease the
risk of the horse shying, spooking, running
away, etc,
all of which
can cause rider falls and injury.
Rider
Knowledge About Safety
 The United
States Pony Club Vaulting Handbook
states “Using
vaulting techniques, the time required
in learning to ride safely can be cut in
half. It reduces chances of injury from
a fall. Rider training is enhanced with
the improvement of confidence, suppleness,
balance and rhythm. By
increasing confidence and balance, vaulting
decreases falls;
by teaching proper vault-offs from every
position as well as good landings, it reduces
chances of injury from a fall."
Of note is the fact that
vaulting is considered a prerequisite to
safe riding in Germany. (With a tradition
of vaulting as a children's sport dating
back to
the 1930s, Germany
currently
has
over
100,000 vaulters and
a record demonstrating
the safety of the sport.) Approximately
50 percent of German riders holding competitive
licenses were vaulters in their early years.
And when American
dressage judge Elizabeth
Searle brought the sport to the
United States in 1956, she insisted on
her pupils gaining a proficiency
certificate in vaulting before
being allowed to join a riding class. The
accident rate dropped dramatically.
Attention to safety and
safety practices are part of every vaulting
practice. Vaulters practice their vault-off
and compulsory and kür moves on
the vaulting barrel prior
to working on horseback. The vault-off,
in which the vaulter learns
to
dismount quickly and with control in
the event of a loss of balance
or emergency,
greatly enhances the vaulter’s
safety.
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Vaulting