Celebrating 20 years as a vaulting club, the Woodside Vaulters know how to put on a show.

The third of a series of five U.S. Trials for the team spot was held at the Portola Training Center in Menlo Park, California. The facility was set up in the early 1960s for training Thoroughbreds that would run at Bay Meadows (1938-2008), Tanforan (which closed in 1964) and Golden Gate Fields (still operating).

Still remaining, in addition to the more than 40 acres of riding trails, is one of the original 5/8th mile oval tracks, now in use for onsite conditioning and warm up. The current owners, Wendell and Kevin Chambers, ended the Thoroughbred training aspect about two years after purchasing the site in the early 1990s. Now a premier location for equestrian training and competitive events of all disciplines, the center has hosted competitions in top level show jumping, dressage and . . . vaulting!

Of course, vaulting was the main event the first weekend in June as all five top teams that have declared for the World Equestrian Games were ready to once again demonstrate their artistry. This was in addition to attracting individual competitors vying for the top spots on the USEF ranking list. The mood was expectant; we were going to see great vaulting.

Storytelling was the thread for the teams with the F.A.C.E. vaulters boldly holding their first place position in the round of compulsory exercises (7.637) and cementing the win with their freestyle (8.800) version of Romeo and Juliet. They took it to a whole new level--and an increase in the scoring numbers from the last trials. A new move here, an extension of another there. It’s almost expected that the audience will see something they haven’t seen before from the F.A.C.E. team, such as spinning the flyer up there 15 feet in the air, instead of just a lift!

In securing the second place on the podium, the Woodside team again told their Lion King fable in the four minutes allowed, showing that they, although a young team, also have the strengths and creativity to stay up at this level of competition. A fourth place performance (6.889) in compulsories and the high scoring freestyle (8.267) assured that they are still very much in this competition for the spot to WEG. Coach Isabelle Parker isn’t letting them rest either. They will be off to the CVI2* in Chilliwack, BC, Canada, soon after this competition is over.

When asked how she keeps this group so focused, she says that, “This year, I really feel like hard work pays off. Most of my team has never competed on an A team before. They are just soaking it up. You can't wipe the smiles off of their faces.”

One of the team’s two flyers, Siddhartha Kreaden, is emphatic in her agreement. “I just LOVE it. It's so much fun. Why? Why do I love it? Because I love being with the team, I love being around people, showing off. I'm a people person. A horse person. I love horses.”

That’s a great description of the enthusiastic attitude present at the Woodside barn.

The Mt. Eden team and Sunny Boy, lunged by Emma Seely, did a great job on their compulsory segment (7.125) but was not quite up to their usual standards for the freestyle portion (6.973). It compromised their scores to some extent but not their desire for that coveted place on the U.S. WEG Team.

Vaulter Kalyn Geisler is coming back from an injury and so the team is easing into their top moves. Husband Kenny Geisler, who is also on the team, had said at the Garrod’s competition two weeks earlier, “ We’ve got big stuff coming as soon as Kayln’s back on. We’ll put it right back up to where it was.” It takes a little time for that to happen. But it will. That’s a given.

It’s a little more difficult for both the Epic and Sundae Rush Teams. Formed to make an attempt at the WEG spot, their vaulters must do a bit of traveling to even get to practice. With vaulters from San Diego or east coast, getting together for practice time in California is a little less regular and much more intense. Working on compulsories at home on different horses, taking the time to get accustomed to the team horse and moves, plus all the traveling, make their performances even more amazing. Sundae Rush, vaulting on Sovira lunged by Ingrid Hamar, had a good compulsory round, taking a third place (6.945) to the F.A.C.E. team (7.637), and Mt. Eden’s close second. A strong freestyle (7.953) for the Sundae Rush team secured that final third spot on the podium. Bringing on their new horse, Stanford, Epic pulled out the stops to come in fourth in the freestyle (7.173) but it wasn’t quite enough to recover from the compulsory effort (6.784) which resulted in being on the low end of the team event. Final scores: F.A.C.E. 8.219, Woodside 7.578, Sundae Rush 7.449, Mt. Eden 7.049, and Epic 6.979.

In another effort for ranking scores, individual women blended musicality with strength and security as well as connection with their horses to bring their scores to a new high. While the scores are creeping up and up--the placings compared to the previous trials at the Mt. Eden event remained exactly the same. Mary McCormick with a strong first place at 8.699, in second Alicen Divita 8.496, Megan Benjamin 8.321 placed third, then Katharine Wick 7.993 and Elizabeth Iaonnou 7.975.

These scores, the highest so far in this year’s events, will be combined with the next two highest for each vaulter. The highest scoring three vaulters plus an alternate will represent the U.S. But there’s more to come, so these final three highest scores can change after any recognized event, including international CVI2* competitions. Invitations have been issued to the U.S. vaulters for Chilliwack, BC, Canada; Krumke June 25-27 and Aachen July 9-11 in Germany.

Devon Maitozo added a run at the individual top spot at this competition. With a final score of 8.426 he succeeded. In second place after the final bell, Kenny Geisler again showed his strengths over the field of male vaulters with a 7.437. Patrick Stevens (7.138) and Kristian Roberts (7.137), separated by only 0.001 points, will have to dig deep to continue their run for the top. Stevens will attempt to do that at the upcoming CVI2* events so he has a busy summer ahead of him. Roberts intends to up his training, saying that competing as an individual is somewhat different than working with a team. “The training I would have to say, is a lot more strenuous. You know you have a lot more things to do. You go on a horse more, you work out more.”

With two more selection trials on the West Coast, including FACE Off July 17 and 18th in Somis, California, the opportunities are wide open.

See the video produced by the students at Ex'pression College of the Digital Arts of the Mt. Eden and Woodside teams in practice and at the May Garrod's Spring Classic.