Members of Meadow Creek Vaulting Club (MCVC) are looking forward to wrapping up the year with a few fun events at their training facility now that the 2014 competitive season has wrapped up for them.
The club is also running a recreational program that got started in early October. Practice sessions will run during the fall/winter/spring months for the groups.
As for the competitive athletes, the winter months will serve as training time to prepare for the new year, and they already have many exciting plans for 2015 and beyond.
This year marked an exciting year and the club reached outstanding results at the provincial, national and international competitions they attended.
The October 3-5 weekend marked the last competition of the year for the MCVC. The club attended the 2014 AEVA provincial championships in Ponoka.
Several of the club members were in the running for provincial and zone titles. Dallyn Shields finished the competition on top in Division B Canter, and took home the Provincial Women's Championship title. Heather Latimer took home the bronze medal in Division B Canter.
Both vaulters competed on Jake, lunged by Angelique van der Sluijs.
In Division D Canter, competing on Phlynnigan with Angelique lunging, Avery Malone placed second. Charlotte Axani placed third, Tiffani Matheson fourth and Emily Stevenson placed sixth. The Zone 2 champion title was awarded to Emily Stevenson, and the Zone 3 champion Title to Charlotte Axani.
MCVC club members also took part in the 2014 VaultCanada National Championships in Langley, B.C. The club returned home with top honours in two divisions.
Angelique and Jeanine successfully defended their National Pas De Deux title, for the third year in a row.
The sisters competed with their equine partner Phoenix and lunger Rebecca Marland (from Rocky Mountain House). The partnership has been working together since 2012.
In the Individual Women's Division, Jeanine van der Sluijs won the National Championship Title together with her horse Kavalia and lunger Angelique van der Sluijs. Also competing in Langley in non-championship divisions were Heather Latimer and Dallyn Shields.
As reported by the Albertan earlier, club members were part of Team Canada that trained and competed overseas at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France and made history in Canadian vaulting.
The vaulting championships were held in Week 2 of the games, September 2-5.
Angelique and Jeanine van der Sluijs competed in the Pas De Deux division on a borrowed horse from Scotland –- ILPH Islay, lunged by Liz Mackay.
The sisters finished the competition in 10th place.
Jeanine also competed as an individual at the games partnered with ILPH Islay. Jeanine placed 23rd in the highly competitive class. The van der Sluijs sisters and Dallyn Shields were also part of the first-ever Canadian squad that represented Canada in France.
A squad is made up of six vaulters that compete on the same horse, with up to three vaulters on the horse at one time. The Canadian squad had a tremendous competition –- together they portrayed Disney's Sleeping Beauty –- and finished the event 10th out of 17 nations.
The Meadow Creek Vaulting Club would like to thank all of those that have made this past year as successful and exciting as it was.
