First vaulting lessons on the lunge
Ready when: Road sense and stable rules (b3) and Fall and roll safely (b6) started; the age the club sets.
What the coach teaches
Vaulting is gymnastics on a horse moving in a circle on a lunge line: the rules round the horse and the lunge (never cross under the line; come in behind the horse only when told); first exercises at walk with a helper alongside: sitting, lying forward, kneeling; getting off with bent knees onto soft ground.
At home, safe only
Sit like a rider, off the pony (b2), Road sense and stable rules (b3) and Fall and roll safely (b6).
Ask the club
Whether a separate adult handles the horse; how the horse copes with noise; the ground for getting off.
What you can see from the side
The child walks in behind the horse, never across the front.
Self-check what the coach confirms
The child kneels up at walk for a slow count of 10.
Stop and get a coach when
The child walks under the lunge line, or the horse is unsettled.
awiseathlete.com/sports/equestrian/equestrian-b7