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Wednesday, September 6, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Vaulting into Central Oregon’s equestrian sports scene
By Kathryn Godsiff
Correspondent
Equestrians in Central
Oregon have no excuse for
boredom. Activities vary
from trail riding to classic and
cowboy dressage. Carriage
driving, show jumping,
eventing, high school eques-
trian team, 4-H, Pony Club,
cattle work and just enjoying
a pasture pet are all enjoyed
by local horse enthusiasts.
One activity not on offer
until now is the venerable
discipline of vaulting. Long
established in Europe and
included as one of the 10
equestrian disciplines at the
World Equestrian Games,
vaulting is usually described
PHOTO PROVIDED
Ruthanne Steere hopes to create a
vaulting club.
as gymnastics on horseback.
Its origins stretch back at
least two thousand years to
Roman times and military
training. More recent history
includes vaulting as part of
equestrian acts in circuses.
Nowadays, participants may
vault competitively or purely
for recreation.
Ruthann Steere, who grew
up in Michigan, recently
arrived back in Sisters
Country with her husband,
Paul. She is prepared and
qualified to teach and encour-
age children and adults who
wish to engage in a safe, con-
trolled, and lovely-to-watch
equestrian activity. She is
a certified vaulting instruc-
tor with a wealth of experi-
ence and a love of the dis-
cipline. Her business, Hope
Mountain Vaulters, is based
at a property near the Sisters
Rodeo grounds, owned by
Ann and Greg Christmas-
Dale. Steere’s aim is to estab-
lish a vaulting club in Central
Oregon where participants
may vault for fun or fame.
“Vaulting is a very diverse
sport,” said Steere. “You can
start at age 2 and go to 102.”
One of her favorite groups
in a previous club was the
Golden Gals, a group of
senior women who put their
age-related fears on hold and
learned to execute the flowing
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movements that are vaulting.
Just to be clear, the vault-
ing horse in this equestrian
sport is not stationary while
the participant hurtles toward
it at speed, leaping over its
back in a powerful and grace-
ful movement. The horse, a
live one with a broad back,
calm demeanor and steady
gaits, is traveling in a circle
around the coach, attached
to a line called a longe
line and moving at either a
walk, trot or canter. As the
vaulter develops skills, more
gymnastic movements are
incorporated.
Some beginning lessons,
however, do take place on a
vaulting barrel and the use
of the barrel in the winter
enables Steere to continue
to teach indoors while the
weather is inclement.
Those who wish to com-
pete find that the vaulting
world is quite small but very
friendly, supportive and fam-
ily-oriented, Steere said.
She noted that in Germany,
youngsters are required to
take a couple of years of
vaulting lessons before com-
mencing a riding career. It
instills a solid base of balance
and unity with the horse.
Steere began her athletic
career as a gymnast when she
was a toddler. Discovering
horses at an early age, after
PHOTO PROVIDED
Vaulting is a family-oriented slice of the equestrian world.
the death of her father, she
saved up to buy her first horse
at age 13, then began vaulting
at 15. Her mother told her to
choose between gymnastics
or horses, and Steere was
delighted to find a discipline
that combined the two.
She attended Asbury
College in Lexington,
Kentucky, attaining a degree
in equine management and
outdoor recreation adventure
leadership. Several vaulting
clubs that she helped estab-
lish in Kentucky are still
active.
A summer internship at
Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch
near Bend brought her to
Central Oregon in 2013.
Two years later she returned
to visit the ranch and met
another summer intern who
would become her husband.
Paul is now on the staff at
Crystal Peaks while Ruthann
is getting the vaulting club
going. The couple live on site
at Crystal Peaks.
Classes are set to begin in
a few weeks. More informa-
tion can be found at www.
hopemountainvaulters.com
or by phoning Ruthann at
859-230-1710.