Fuel Billy’s Freight: Vaulting with Elizabeth 🇫🇷

Aim

Elizabeth and Billy 🐎 are representing Great Britain at the European Equestrian Vaulting Championships in France at the end of July!

What's this all about?

My name is Elizabeth and I am 16 years old.  I have been competing in Equestrian Vaulting for five years and I am so proud to have been chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2026 European Equestrian Vaulting Championships in Le Mans, France at the end of July. Equestrian vaulting is an entirely self funded sport in the UK and as anyone who is involved in an equestrian sport knows, horses are expensive!  While I do not have my own horse, the horse I vault on, who is called Croilla Billy and owned by my coach, will be travelling to France with me and I am hoping to raise some funds to help towards the cost of his transport and care over in France.

Why Equestrian Vaulting?

One of the most common questions I get asked when I say I compete in equestrian vaulting is "how on earth did you get into that?".  Back in 2019 my older sister and I watched a show on television called 'Heartland'.  It was set on a ranch in Canada and one of the characters was a trick rider.  I thought it was so cool and I asked my mum if I could start trick riding or vaulting.  She said that if there was a club close enough I could do vaulting (a lot safer than trick riding and actually the safest of all equestrian disciplines).  Well, fortunately for me, there was a club in Kinross, only a few miles away from my house.  I went along for a taster session and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.  I loved it from the moment I started and have never lost the joy of the sport.  I competed with Kinross Vaulting Club in Individual, Pairs and Team events from 2021-2025.  In the last year I moved to Pegasus Vaulting Club in Killiecrankie as I wanted to compete internationally and the club were competing abroad.  I now compete for individual and team with Pegasus and have been so blessed to have wonderful coaches and vaulting horses throughout my 5 years vaulting.  

But what is it?

The second most common question I am asked is "what is equestrian vaulting?'.  It is described as gymnastics/dance on a horse as it is lunged in a circle.  Before equestrian vaulting I was involved in acro classes, highland dancing and circus skills.  All of these classes helped my vaulting as you have to perform to music and interpret the music in your freestyle. You have to be strong and flexible to control your movements on the horse and you have to work with the horse and lunger as a team to ensure you are soft on the horse and in harmony with the horse's movements.  It is the perfect blend of horses, dance and dramatic performance that I like!  

Is it difficult?

Equestrian Vaulting requires a lot of hard work, determination and perseverance.  I have fallen off more times than I can count when perfecting new moves and training with my team mates.  I travel to Killiecrankie on average twice a week to train (which is a two hour round trip for me) and train for 4 hours (average) a week on the horses.  At home I have a barrel with handles to train on and I complete strength and conditioning exercises regularly.  The training before you get on the horse is just as important as the training on the horse.  At the club we have a moving barrel which mimics the movements of the horse so we can practise moves to be soft before we move on to the horse.  We practise routines in walk at the beginning, progressing on to canter once we are secure.  Like all sports involving animals things don't always go to plan so it is important to have the right mindset so you don't give up or get disheartened.  While winning competitions is great, and what we all aim for, I try to focus on bettering my own score at each competition rather than on what place I come. 

But who are you?

I am a sixteen year old girl just beginning S6 at my local school.  I enjoy dancing (especially highland dancing), listening to music, playing with my two dogs, eating Wingstop (best ranch dressing ever!) and  watching the sunset.  I am taking a mixture of advanced highers and highers in my final year at school and also learning how to be a barista (I'm going to need a job to fund my vaulting!).  I am house captain for my school and recently was awarded full colours for sport.  I have no idea what I would like to do in the future but I don't like to look too far ahead anyway.  I love helping younger vaulters and plan to do my coaching certificates this coming year.  I love choosing music for my freestyle and spend hours listening to music for this purpose.  I am current (and past) Scottish Champion for one star junior and have also previously won the British Champion Individual, Pairs and Team title for one star. This is my first season in two star and the first time I have been eligible for selection to represent GB on an international stage.   

So why do you need donations? 

As previously mentioned Equestrian Vaulting in the UK is self funded and the cost to transport a horse abroad is a lot!  Billy has competed at the European Championships before so I feel in very safe hands but he needs lots of care and attention to ensure he is safely transported across the water and well looked after when he gets there.  From freight costs, vet bills, feed, stabling and groom/lunger costs he is not a cheap date!  This alone without any personal costs will be in the region of £4000.  I am not expecting to raise all of this but to raise a portion of this cost with the help of your donation would be amazing and I would be so very grateful.  It would help me to fulfill a dream and ambition of representing GB in equestrian vaulting internationally on a big stage where I will be surrounded by others who love the sport as much as I do. Thank you for reading if you have got this far!  Please do not feel any obligation to donate, a share of this page would be equally appreciated.     
 (Photo credits to Ross Simmons and Photo Les Garennes)

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made