The FEI Vaulting World Championship for Juniors 2021 is about to take place in Le Mans, France, from 28 July to 01 August. We have not only listed the qualified participants for you but also gathered some insights about competing vaulters and their journeys to the championships.

List of the qualified vaulters for the FEI Vaulting World Championship for Juniors 2021:

> Germany

Squad: VV Ingelsberg Junior I
Individuals Female: Mona Pavetic, Paula Waskoviak, Gianna Ronca
Individuals Male: Philip Goroncy, Simon Stolz, Bela Lehnen
Pas de Deux: Liesbeth Erna Fraatz & Finn Gallrein, Lily Warren & Arne Heers

> Austria

Squad: VG Seefeld
Individuals Female: Verena Brabec, Katharina Feldhofer, Anna Weidenauer
Individuals Male: Paul Ruttkovsky, Adrian Silberer
Pas de Deux: Katharina Feldhoger & Anja Huber, Anna Weidenauer & Paul Ruttkovsky

> Switzerland

Squad: Team Tösstal
Individuals Female: Anja Schneider, Leonie Lindsbichler, Michelle Bruegger
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: Elena Herter & Jasmine Horat

> Netherlands

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Anouk Bangamu Arachchige, Charlotte Seidel, Renate Maas
Individuals Male: Sam dos Santos
Pas de Deux: Sam dos Santos & Elise van de Ven

> France

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Maelys Marmin, Oceane Gehan, Isabella Dabat
Individuals Male: Louis Dumont, Tom Menand, Baptiste Terrier
Pas de Deux: –

> Argentina

Squad: Equipo Argentino de Volteo
Individuals Female: Natasha Arrizabalaga
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: –

> Hungary

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Rebeka Karna, Dorottya Gonczy, Zita Nyulasi
Individuals Male: Karoly Konstantin Habsburg-Lothringen
Pas de Deux: –

> Spain

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Marta Simo Alvarez, Lucia Schonwaldt Alarcos, Mari Pau Caules
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: –

> Sweden

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Olivia Neilands, Nora Sandberg Muller, Julia Lindquist
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: –

> Slovakia

Squad: NZ Topol’Čianky
Individuals Female: Sara Šolteszova, Ivana Cigaňova, Soňa Janigova
Individuals Male: Andrej Menňhert
Pas de Deux: –

> Italy

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Marika Anselmi, Giorgia Fanucci, Griorgia Varisco
Individuals Male: Tommaso Sclauzero, Antonio Popolo
Pas de Deux: Sofia Grippa & Greta Gemigniani

> Great Britain

Squad: South Scotland Selection
Individuals Female: Araminta Younger, Ursula Levett, Romilly Hayton
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: Ellie Bairstow & Imogen Bexon

> USA

Squad: Ascent Squad
Individuals Female: Melanie Ford, Hallie Dudley, Kylynn Ghafouri
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: Persephone Brown & Danica Rinard, Peyton Daley & Aria Deshpande

> Canada

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Averill Saunders, Megan Leeper, Jacynda Row
Individuals Male: Daniel Klotz-Dedora
Pas de Deux: –

> Czech Republic

Squad: Junior Team TJ Slovan Frenštat
Individuals Female: Tereza Czyžova, Adela Kotolova , Lucie Kubikova
Individuals Male: –
Pas de Deux: Adela Kotolova & Barbora Travničkova

> Poland

Squad: –
Individuals Female: Zuzanna Wrzalik, Julia Slemp, Roksana Naumiuk
Individuals Male: Jakub Slemp, Jakub Roguski
Pas de Deux: –

We have tried to gather as much information as possible. However, if we are missing someone, please let us know!

Startlists and results will be available at Vaulting Results. You can follow the events live on ClipyMyHorse.

Get to know

Averill Saunders

Photo: Jerry Yang

My name is Averill Saunders I am 17 years old and am from Canada!
My journey obviously had some ups and downs due to COVID-19 as I’m sure all vaulters can relate to but I was beyond lucky to have my own vaulting horse that allowed me to continue training through all of the lockdowns, once travel restrictions loosened up I was able to head down to the United States to train with the Pacific Coast Vaulters as well as come to the Netherlands to prepare for the championships on Nienke De Wolff’s horses. I began my qualification process shortly after the championships in 2019 my main intention through my training was to improve on my performance at the previous championship!
The qualifying process in Canada was definitely very different than what I was used to, we dropped the minimum qualifying score from the previous 6.500 to a 6.000 in order to allow more athletes the opportunity to be able to qualify and represent Canada at the 2021 event.

As well as the drop in the minimum score all of the competitions we would usually attend had been moved to virtual competitions with the same two judges for both.
My main goal for the championships is to make in into the top 15 and represent Canada in the second round, no Canadian female individual has done that yet so I’d be beyond honoured and proud to make that accomplishment!

I’d just like to say good luck to all the other competitors and congratulations on your qualification! I am looking forward to getting back in a competition arena and watching so many talented people do what they love! I think it’s important for everyone wether you are at your first world championship, have an opportunity to compete as a junior again or this is your last championship as a junior just to really have as much fun as you can and enjoy the experience!

Sára Šoltészová

My name is Sára Šoltészová, I am 18 years old and I am representing Slovakia.
Last year was different than the others, not just because of the pandemic situation but it also brought us new possibilities and challenges. We started to train with a new horse Walter Winnie, the youngest horse in World Championships, and it’s also his first year when he competes at international competitions.

Slovakia had their own qualification criteria and I am happy that also my team-mate Soňa Janigová managed to accomplish them and can compete on World Championships for the first time.

We don’t have specific goals for this Championships but we would like to get to the finals and when everything works out we will be pleased. The rest we will see in competition because we have the young horse but we are going to do our best and enjoy the competition as much as we can.
I would really like to thank everyone who supported me and helped me to get where I am right now. And also a big thank you to my mum, my lunger and my team because they always believed in me and never gave up. And can’t forget on our 2 horses Leo da Vinci and Walter Winnie ❤
Thanks to vaulting I am living my dreams 🙂

Melanie Ford

Photo: Tim Sutherland

Hi! I’m Melanie Ford, I’m 17 years old and I’m from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

My journey to the World Championships was magical to put it simply. I have been training for quite awhile and now seeing all my hard work start to pay off it has been pretty incredible. I started my journey in the beginning of 2020 with my coach, Christoph Lensing, and horse, Romeo. The selection season then ended with an emotion filled freestyle in my hometown before leaving for Le Mans. It was a great way to end an amazing season.

The qualifying process in the USA started in October 2020 and ended in June 2021. This year the U.S. did something different for the qualifying process. We had to do 2-3 USEF competitions, then a short list of 8 athletes was made for Juniors. Those athletes were then required to go to two observation events. At these events you were further observed by the selection committee who then made the decision. For me the qualifying process in the U.S. felt very organized and really prepared me well for worlds.

My goal for the world championships is to connect to people in a personal way and really show them the beauty of the connection between horses and people.

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Norman Vincent Peale