General Questions
Short answer, Yes.
We’re committed to providing a safe environment for all of our vaulters and while that primarily applies to physical safety, we also take the vaulters emotional wellbeing into account as well. To ensure that both of those aspects are well looked after, we set a minimum age of 5 years old to start equestrian vaulting with us here at Oak Hills.
Our aim with the minimum age is to ensure that each vaulter is physically able to perform the exercises within a given class, but also have that they are emotionally able to handle instruction and can listen and be attentive throughout an hour long class. Our clubs overall goal is to provide a fun and safe environment for all and we feel the age limit plays a big part in making that a reality.
Not at all.
Equestrian vaulting is unique because it blends a variety of sports. Encompassing equestrian sports, gymnastics and dance, we welcome new vaulters from any background and in no way have any pre-requisites for vaulters before starting with us. As our club and vaulters continue to grow, we look to other sports for inspiration and often find ourselves connecting with other unique sports and individuals to find new moves and training techniques.
Throughout Europe and even here at our home, Oak Hills Stables, vaulting is used as a pre-cursor for dressage and other equestrian disciplines. Teaching the basics of horsemanship, a good riding seat and the all important lesson of how to execute an unplanned dismount from a horse, vaulting is used to gain a solid equestrian base before advancing through into other equestrian disciplines while not requiring the vaulter to know all of the technical aspects of training or horsemanship.
Possibly our most asked question.
Our schedule varies depending on the season and because of that we quite often have a waitlist in place. To ensure the best learning environment for every vaulter, we limit the amount of vaulters enrolled in each class and try to make sure we have full classes before opening new ones. As much as we would like to teach equestrian vaulting all day everyday, it’s not possible at this time so we try to work with everyones schedules as much as we can to make a class time work.
In saying that, the general schedule throughout the school year consists of classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4pm onwards. Classes are capped at 7 to 8 students per class and start at 1 hour per week. For the latest class times and to find out current availability, the best option is to contact us and we can let you know current times or if we need to add you onto our waitlist.
It varies between classes, but our recreational classes start a $45 per month. That covers one hour long lesson a week. As the length of the class increases and we add additional horses and lungeurs, the cost increases as well, but none of our individual classes are more than $55 per month.
As vaulters begin to advance through their equestrian vaulting career, the option of joining a team becomes available as well. Team classes start at $35 a month and are an additional class to the vaulters individual class. Team classes range in duration depending on the level of the vaulter and will run anywhere from an hour to two hours.
My First Equestrian Vaulting Class
Everyone gets a little excited when it come to their first vaulting lesson, but relax, one of the benefits of equestrian vaulting is that you don’t need much to get started.
We believe a big part of having effective class time is being comfortable. To ensure you are ready for your class, we suggest some kind of stretchy pants like sweat pants, leggings, or spandex to allow for free movement and the range of flexible exercises your vaulter is likely to be performing.
As far as footwear goes, when you’re starting out, any soft soled shoes like converse, water shoes, or dance shoes with no heel will suffice. A number of our first timers will even wear just socks through their first few lessons until they can get a feel for what they will be doing on the horse and also allowing themselves a chance to see what a vaulting shoe looks like before purchasing something. Any of the above will allow your vaulter to fully participate in their lesson.
Lastly, we always advise our vaulters to prepare for the weather conditions. Our facility can get quite hot during the summer time, so be sure to bring plenty of water if the weather has been warm. And likewise, if the weather has been cool, be sure to bring warm clothes. We always recommend layering your outer layers, that way if you get too hot during class, you can always take a layer off and still be warm. At the end of the day, if you’re comfortable, we think you’re going to get the most out of your class time, so make sure you’re ready for the elements and come ready to have a great time.
All classes take place in the large white arena on the west side of the property. It’s the first building you’ll see once get to Oak Hills. The facility itself sits on the border of city and county lines and can often be difficult to get to so we’ve taken the time to add our location to all of the major navigational applications, but you can find detailed directions on our contact page.
Once you’ve found the arena, your coaches will likely be right inside the doors. The majority of our classes are based on the south end of the arena, but when multiple classes are running, your class may move down to the north end of the arena. If you’re having difficulty locating your class, be sure to ask, there will be a number of a staff on hand to help point you in the right direction.
Recreational classes will give each student the opportunity to learn skills on stable, safe, equipment called the vaulting barrel, as well as the live horses from the very first lesson. These classes will include a warm-up and stretch period; working on fundamental gymnastics exercises such as handstands, cartwheels, and the beam. Although some of this may look like “play time,” our activities build strength, confidence, team work, and coordination!
Our coaches will then then move the students onto the vaulting barrel to ensure that each student is confident in knowing what they will be expected to perform on the horse. Vaulters will then move to the horse for the last 20-30 minutes of class time. Each child will have independent work time, as well as one-on-one interaction with the coach for work on more difficult skills.
Fantastic! We’re glad you enjoyed it.
All of our classes run of a weekly basis, so once you’ve got your class day and time, we’ll see you here at Oak Hills Vaulting at that same time each week.
If you do happen to miss a class, don’t stress. We allow all vaulters to be able to join other classes to make-up missed classes. We try to match the vaulters skill level with an appropriate class, so be sure to talk to your coaches if you have to miss a week and we’ll find the best time for you to get your lesson made up.