Canadian Vaulting Squad Qualifies for Selection to 2018 WEG

After a successful 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Vaulting Test Event in Mill Spring, NC on April 5-8, 2018, the Meadow Creek Vaulting Club Senior Squad of Olds, AB have qualified for WEG selection.

The Meadow Creek Vaulting Club Senior Squad is comprised of:

Ryan Bracken – Caroline, AB
Avery Malone – Red Deer, AB
Averill Saunders – Sundre, AB
Dallyn Shields – Didsbury, AB
Jeanine Van Der Sluijs – Olds, AB
Angelique Vick – Olds, AB

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Supported by Chef d’Équipe, Joanne Littejohn (GBR) and lunger, Karin Schmidt (USA), the squad began competition on April 6 with the CVI 3* Squad Test. Competing on Schmidt’s 18-year-old American Warmblood gelding, Habakkuk, the team achieved a score of 6.539. They returned the following day for the first round of the CVI 3* Squad Free Test with a performance based on the classic Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. There, they saw a notable improvement with a score of 7.063. In the second round of the Free Test on April 8, the squad earned a score of 7.015 to win the Squad Vaulting Competition with an overall average of 6.872.

“Their hard winter training showed as they performed an emotional routine capturing the audience’s attention,” said Littlejohn of the squad’s Free Test performances. “We are really pleased with the team’s progress, especially at this early stage in the season. They achieved their WEG qualifying score and now need to continue to score well throughout the season to aim for selection at the beginning of August.”

In the CVI 2* Pas-de-Deux Competition, Van Der Sluijs and Shields competed on 13-year-old Charles the Great, another American Warmblood gelding owned by Schmidt. The duo scored 4.708 in their first Free Test on April 7, and 5.084 in their second Free Test on April 8. Van Der Sluijs and Shields ended on an average score of 4.896 for first place.

Van Der Sluijs and Charles the Great also showed in the female division of the CVI 3* Individual Vaulting Competition. In the Compulsory Test on April 6, they scored 7.047 for second place. The next day, Van Der Sluijs scored 5.498 in the Technical Test to move into third in the overall standings with an average score of 6.237. She wrapped up on April 8 with the Free Test, where she placed fourth (6.655) to finish in third place overall with an average score of 6.400.

“It was a nice feeling here at the test event, and great to get the experience under our belt leading into the WEG season,” said Van Der Sluijs. “It was a great way to ease into the competition season.”

Full results from the WEG Vaulting Test Event can be found here. The next WEG qualifying events for vaulting will be held in Hollister, CA on April 26-29, 2017, and in Chilliwack, BC on May 25-27.