Tucked in among fields and farms of West Suffield sits the Copper Hill Equestrian Center, home of the Copper Hill Vaulting Team.
Kristen Soto, owner and coach, describes equestrian vaulting as “gymnastics and dance, in harmony on horseback.”
When new riders arrive, Soto says they are sometimes a little timid or afraid, but the fear quickly goes away. “In two weeks they're standing all the way on top of my 17-hand horse,” she says.
“They start trotting and then they're a little bit scared to try it,” she says, “then all of a sudden that's nothing. And then they do it at the canter, and every level it just pushes them a little bit more and more.”
Brooklyn Rinaldi, 10, discovered vaulting soon after her family moved to Granby, and they visited a local farm day. “I just fell in love with the horses. I just knew that I had to be involved. So I started riding and then I just instantly fell in love,” she says.
Working together with the horse is how riders make beautiful routines, says Bronze medalist vaulter Rachel Richard, 18, of South Windsor.
“I was 11 or 12 years old when I started. I had been doing gymnastics and horseback riding for a long time, gymnastics since I was very, very young — and horseback riding since I was six or seven,” Richard says. “Now, coming into my sophomore year of college, I think I'm going into my eighth year.”
The eleven-and-a-half acre farm holds a 40-stall barn where 16 young women on the vaulting team learn the art and craft of equestrian vaulting. It’s a sport with a bright future. Equestrian vaulting will make its debut as an official Olympic sport at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics in Australia.
