The famous physicist and genius Albert Einstein once said “to raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”
I contend that that exact same type of imagination from the American vaulting community will mark real advances in our sport and will help markedly grow vaulting across the nation in the next five years.
We have approximately 215 days to go until the opening of the World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky. How can we be continuing to use this once-in-a-lifetime event, on our own soil, to help drive explosive growth for our sport?
It takes a village. Because while our elite-level vaulters are at the metaphorical top of the pyramid, we all must remember that a strong pyramid is built from a wide base, and in the AVA’s case that base is grass-roots vaulting—the beginners and the recreational individual and team vaulters who will keep American vaulting strong and continuously building over the years.
Just so the extrapolation is clear, even if we Americans end up performing extremely well at the upcoming WEG, we will not be able to continue to do so at the next WEG, and the WEG after that, unless we continue to build our base of vaulters nationwide, and increase vaulting exponentially at the base level.
There are many, many AVA members who are using their considerable imagination to help us build vaulting in new areas across the country. Like Region X, which, through the incredible chutzpah of Ariane Panahai (vaulting coach for the Noblesville, Indiana Spirit Equestrian Center) applied for and was accepted into the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago this past November. Ariane sent in the application not because she thought she had the perfect parade horse, the most advanced vaulters, and a lot of money for such events, she did it because she simply believed that vaulting had to be seen by a lot more people in her region in order to create interest.
Twenty-two vaulters, ages seven to 24, from walk to gold levels, from four separate clubs spanning Iowa, Indiana and Michigan, showed off their skills and showmanship on both the horse and barrel down Chicago’s famous State Street. 350,000 spectators cheered them on. The group was bookended by big marching bands in front and back (ah, a “Perfect Storm”!), and performed in the cold drizzle, but spirits were high from start to finish as they showed their vaulting stuff to an appreciative and amazed crowd.
The parade, broadcast nationally to approximately 75 million households, is one of the largest and oldest in the nation, and the television announcers were excited about the vaulting performance, remarking to each other that they were “amazed this wasn’t in the Olympics!”
And just as amazing? Well, how about the fact that the hard costs were about $625 (not including vaulter travel), and garnered almost 90 seconds of national TV coverage, newspaper coverage, and many, many hits to both the local clubs’ websites, and to a special club website that Ariane registered to the AVA specifically for the Chicago area.
It takes imagination and some chutzpah “to regard old problems from a new angle,” and Region X is a great example of doing that. Here’s a great YouTube video that Annie Rouvillois, the VP of Region X, sent me. It points out the power of SHOWING vaulting, and also points out that YouTube, and viral marketing, is the quickest way to get the word out! The video was done by vaulting parent Dale Gaumer for Spirit Equestrian Center’s vaulting club, and even shows some of the great TV coverage, as well as lots of vaulters having LOTS of fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pADC1CEV5CU
How can you and your club publicize vaulting in your area? What could you do to get vaulting noticed more often and by more people? What are your own “new possibilities”? Ariane, and all of Region X, I salute you for this publicity “home run,” and I encourage everyone to think out of the box on how to get our great sport noticed!
What’s worked for you? Click on the “comments” section below to spread the word on what’s been successful for you and your club!
Sheri Benjamin
AVA President
sbenjamin@americanvaulting.org