The nervous crowd watches her step into the horse, anxiously waiting for her success in the following exercise. With facility she stands up in her hands, raises up her leg and with absolute perfection she accomplishes the needle.  Riding a horse can be difficult; being a dancer and a gymnast is also a very demanding job. Now, imagine trying them all in one. Vaulting or Equestrian Vaulting is the combination of dance and gymnastic performed on a horseback.

TCS Sophomore, Camila Medina was introduced to this sport from the age of ten and since that age she hasn’t been able to quit. Medina practices Vaulting four to five days a week between three to four hours each day. Every practice is divided in three essential parts; warming up jogging and stretching, practicing exercises or a choreography in the horse. Finally, they finish by stretching, scratching and cleaning the horses hoofs.

How it all started

“My family and I have always enjoyed horses; essentially I grew up alongside them. Since I was little, I’ve been interfacing a considerable measure with them in equestrian sports, yet I got the opportunity to meet Vaulting on the grounds that my horseback riding mentor prescribed that to enhance the seat on the horse we should begin to practice Vaulting, and there I stayed,” said Medina.

Since that day, Medina has been practicing and perfecting this sport for a period of five years. Improving each day on her weaknesses such as corporal expression and developing musicality, and strengthening her impeccable technique and capacity to enhance basic exercises because of her wide flexibility. When Medina was introduced to this sport, discipline and sacrifice were two of the small things she would be confronting.

“Vaulting is a very demanding sport, where the physical and mental component of the turner, the human warmth of the coach and team and the conditions of the horse must speak the same language so that the progress becomes a reality,” said Maria Adelaida Restrepo, Medina’s mother.

Her Success

Medina has succeeded in this sport, due to the dedication and huge passion she feels for the sport. Currently she is in two star level representing Colombia in a national and international sense.  

“Since June I’ve had issues with the horse and the trainer, so I have not possessed the capacity to prepare as thoroughly as some time recently, yet the last outcomes were first national place with the Colombian team and represented Colombia in an international competition in Ecuador where I completed in tenth place,” said Medina.

Great competition scores, implicate a lot of hours of practice meaning less hours of school or time for completing school’s homework and responsibilities. For Medina creating a balance between both disciplines has been relatively easy, due to her organization and time management.

School vs. Vaulting?

“Truly, it has been simple for me to have the ideal harmony between Vaulting and school since I have figured out how to be extremely organized and to manage my time efficiently,” confidently says Medina.

“Any activity outside the school that is practiced with discipline and regularity, teaches the optimal management of time. The concentration is greater, more effective, and you have to acquire clear objectives and precise strategies,” reveals Restrepo.

Medina wasn’t only organized with her homework but also incredibly responsible with his teachers, constantly reminding them to send her the work they needed her to complete and other things that involved grades.

“Camila’s organization is impeccable,” said Elena Echavarría, Medina’s friend.

“If I’m being honest, Camila managed it much better than I did, because when you are a teacher, it’s hard when you have a student that’s out all the time, to make sure you remember what that student needs. Camila was extremely responsible with it and she was always checking in to make sure I’ve gotten her work, and that would keep me on track,” stated Emily Butterworth, Medina’s 9th grade English teacher.

In this process, everyone that surrounds Medina has collaborated her to reach where she is right now. TCS, has been a great support to Medina and to his family.

“The support of the school has been unconditional. The collaboration by directors and teachers has greatly facilitated the sports process. The presentation and advance planning of their outputs by training or competition, makes it easier for Camila to distribute the time to deliver the work on time,” said Restrepo.

Managing a perfect balance between the sport and the school isn’t the only extreme thing she has to manage in her daily life. Vaulting is considered a high-risk sport, meaning that injuries, fatigue, physical and mental tiredness play a big role.

Not all smiles and rainbows

“The most difficult thing in this process is the recovery of the injuries. Physically we work and recover, however the competitive objectives are postponed and the entire process must be re-evaluated. I have also seen her fatigued and stressed because in times of competition, training intensifies in frequency and time, increasing physical fatigue, in turn, the time for tasks decreases and she must optimize it,” said Restrepo.

Even though not every day is a good day, and Medina has passed through difficult situations where she wants to quit, she is still standing and hopes to return to the sport now that it’s a great source of her own happiness.

“Vaulting turned out to be a piece of me. Despite the fact that it takes a considerable measure of my time and need to figure out how to deal with my life entirely unexpected from an ordinary individual, it is what makes me happy,” responded Medina.