2006 World Equestrian Games

Canada's Vaulters demonstrate strength, agility and dedication at 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games

Aachen, DE - August 25, 2006 - Following his Freestyle in Round 1 of the FEI World Male Vaulting Championship, Colin Schmidt (Chilliwack, BC) said, "It went as planned; the goal was to be free. The horse could not have been better for me. And a big thanks to Kurt (Isensee) and his horse. He trained Pikero.

"The essence of my freestyle is harmony with the horse and an increased degree of difficulty. The difficulty comes from the freeness of my stances - no holds," continued Schmidt, Canada's sole male vaulter at the Games. A considerable of his portion of his performance was 'hands off' and the only contact with the horse was with his feet as he flowed from movement to movement.

Canada also fielded three female vaulters. Following their Round 1 Freestyles, Susan Barron, Vaulting Chef d'Équipe, said, "All three of the female vaulters are young in terms of international competition. This is their first truly international event."

Fourteen-year-old Jessica Townsend (Surrey, BC) is the youngest of the three and, in her first international competition, scored the highest of the Canadians. Pleased with her performance, and that of her leased horse, Duke, she said, "I'm happy it went so well. The most important thing for me is that things do go well. I've learned lots of new things to try (by watching competitors from other countries)."

Hannah Marland (Rocky Mountain House, AB) performed her Freestyle to music from Willie Wonka. "Overall it was pretty good. It was a bit shaky. I'm not ecstatic, but I'm not disappointed. Caveman (the horse) was a bit excited going into his first World competition. I love watching the other competitors, and I'm ready to go back and train," she said following her performance.

Alisa Porter (Chilliwack, BC) also performed on Caveman. An unfortunate slip broke the rhythm of her routine, leaving the vaulter disheartened. Schmidt, Porter's brother and trainer, said, "She trained very hard and gave everything she had. It was coming together and several things were very solid. She is disappointed, but she will be back."

On the previous day, all four vaulters had competed in the Compulsories. Schmidt said, "Overall, I've made a big improvement in my compulsories. This is the first time, since 2002, that I've competed at this level." Regarding Marland and Porter he said, "It was the best tests ever for both of them," said Schmidt.

Townsend's performance was not her best but Susan Barron indicated that the youngster would be more focused for the Freestyle, which she was.

The scores from both the Compulsory and Freestyle are averaged to determine competitors' placings. Unfortunately, the list of the top 15 competitors to progress to the next round did not include any Canadians.

"These are our World Championships," said Barron. "The base number of Vaulters in Canada is small, about 100, compared to 60,000 in countries like Germany. The goal was for our competitors to have good, clean performances."

Vaulting is hugely popular in Europe, evidenced by the packed spectator seating and the exuberant fans for each competition.