“It’s an ‘Us’ Sport Rather Than a ‘Me’ Sport”
Mother-daughter vaulting athletes Kim and Ciara Doyle say the sport has brought them closer to each other and to their horses.
by Kim and Ciara Doyle
Kim and Ciara Doyle are making the equestrian discipline of vaulting a family affair. The mother-daughter team discovered the sport at a free vaulting club in their home state of Kentucky. “I thought it was basically just trick riding, but then I really started learning about the sport,” said daughter Ciara.
Today, Ciara and her mom, Kim both train and compete with Fleur de Lis Vaulters, a nonprofit vaulting program in Lexington, Ky. They spoke with US Equestrian together about their shared love of the sport, what they’ve gained from it, and the bond they feel with their extended family: the vaulting community.
Ciara’s story
I liked gymnastics when I was younger, but I wasn’t very good at it. With vaulting, you don't need to know that much gymnastic stuff. Vaulting combines all the most fun things I could have thought of when I was younger: gymnastics, dance, and horses. And it all works together.
I’ve never actually been good at dancing; I still can’t dance. But when I feel connected to my freestyle music, I can access those emotions and put them into my vaulting.
Ciara Doyle in together at Fleur de Lis vaulters in
Lexington, KY.
I always had a good seat when I was younger, but I never really understood how to always keep a good seat until I started vaulting. When you’re riding, if you don’t have a full connection, you can kind of cheat and go into a half-seat. But in vaulting, where you’re standing, it’s a lot more obvious when you don’t have connection with your horse. In vaulting, the stand is your normal riding seat, but elevated, so everything your hips would be doing if you were sitting in the saddle, your feet are doing in the stand. I feel vaulting has improved my riding and my harmony with the horse.
It's also been cool to be able to turn our own riding horses into high-level vaulting horses. I never knew how to train a horse before this, and training horses for vaulting is just so different. I find it interesting, and it’s very nice to see a horse grow and have them grow along with you.
The horse that we have almost fully trained, Tiny, couldn't even lunge for years because he was so unbalanced. He couldn't balance himself at all, and he would just lean on you. It takes a lot to teach them to keep a consistent gait the whole time and to ignore what the vaulter is doing while maneuvering around on their back.
I started vaulting at age 12 and had been competing for about three years when my mom got involved. Vaulting and competing with my mom could be a little frustrating sometimes at first, because vaulting was my getaway time. But now that we’re training together, I like that it’s an “us” sport rather than a “me” sport. It’s definitely improved our relationship, as well as our connection with the horses. It helps a lot that we both have a goal with our horses that we can work toward together.
Along the way, I’ve learned that my mom was willing to do so much to help with my vaulting.
Kim’s story
I had been watching Ciara in practice for several years. I had always loved gymnastics and dance when I was younger, and I loved horses and riding. But watching her, I would always say to myself, “Wow, if only I’d known about this when I was younger, I would have absolutely loved it.”
Then one year our coach, Mikhail Proctor, had a Mother’s Day vaulting practice. I did it, and I just got addicted.
trainer Mikhali Proctor at Fleur de Lis Vaulters
in Lexington, KY.
I was 45 when I started. I did buy into the myth that I was too old to try this until I actually did try it. Then I thought, “I can do this. I’m not going to be as good as a teenage girl, but I can do it.”
I’ve lost flexibility as I’ve aged, so I have to work a lot harder on the fitness and the strength. I have to spend a lot of time in the gym and do a lot of riding to keep myself well balanced to be able to keep up with the teenagers. But I hope it’s an inspiration to other people to realize that you’re not too old to start an equestrian sport.
People in vaulting have been very welcoming. I’m not what you typically see in the vaulting arena, and people show a lot of admiration. I just encourage them to do it. I do occasionally see other vaulters my age out there, and we always have an immediate bond.
Vaulting is a small community, and everybody knows and supports each other. You know all the vaulters and vaulting horses, and when you hear of a horse in another state that has passed away or has an injury, people let other clubs borrow their horses. I can’t think of another sport where people would just say, “Oh, sure, get on my horse.” It’s such an inclusive and inviting discipline.
When I was younger, I used take a free horse off the racetrack, retrain them to event, and sell them when they were going nicely. It was the only way I could afford to do the sport. Now I’m on horses I’ve been on for years and have spent a lot of time with. I think I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of my horse as my teammate and partner. You have such a connection with them.
" You're never too old. Just go out there and do it." - Kim Doyle
In vaulting, the horse has to listen to the lunger rather than what’s happening on its back. That’s the main difference in training a vaulting horse: they’re not listening to your cues; they’re listening to the lunger. And they have to keep their balance when people are doing moves on their back, neck, and croup. They have to see that as not a big deal. So there’s a lot of mental training, but there’s also a lot of fitness training to teach them to carry themselves with all that going on.
Now, even when I jump my horse who we’ve been training for vaulting, I find he has a steady, more adjustable canter
horses," Ciara Doyle (right) says vaulting with her mother Kim. " It helps a
lot that we both have a goal with our horses that we can work toward
together."
going into jumps. So I think the vaulting has helped them, too, and I think they enjoy the cross-training.
This year, Ciara and I are competing in team freestyle together, where up to three people can be on the horse at a time. This is a great way for us to spend time together. I think half the allure of it is that we are doing something together. My husband is a farm manager, so we’ve always lived on farms and hung out at the barn together. But competing and training your horses together has made it that much better.
I’ve seen Ciara grow so much, as an athlete and a person. The artistic nature of her freestyles has really blossomed. And to see her confidence and love of the sport — I just love watching that.
What would I tell people about vaulting? You’re never too old. Just go out there and do it. And I promise horses keep you young.