You're watching Lifetree Kids!
My name is Addy Carroll.
I'm 12 years old and I'm an equestrian vaulter.
Equestrian vaulting is kinda like doing gymnastics
while riding a horse.
I've been interested in horses from a young
age.
My mom signed me up for lots of summer camps,
which had riding.
I've been practicing every Saturday and occasionally
Tuesdays for quite a lot now.
My favorite thing about vaulting is that you
can really connect with the horses because
once you get to know them you can really understand
them.
They're comfort animals.
They snuggle with you, they're really sweet,
and you can really connect with them.
Horses are one of God's most beautiful creations.
Some horses can get really big.
To measure a horse, you use a hand, which
is about 4 inches.
Horses are measured from the ground to the
top of their shoulders.
Our smallest, his name is Chunky Monkey, he's
about 12 hands and he's great for like young
vaulters because he'll let you do anything
to him.
And then our next is Fantasia.
She's about 14 hands.
She's a teddy bear.
All she does is snuggle.
And then our biggest horse is Annie and she's
18-3 hands.
That means that Annie's shoulders are over
6 feet from the ground.
That's a big horse!
When I first saw Annie, I couldn't believe
it.
She was massive and I thought, "There's no
way I'm getting on her."
She is really intimidating, just as her size
and you never really know what to expect of her.
Somedays she'll be in a good mood, somedays
she'll be more on the grumpy side.
She is our team horse so anything that we
have to do team on we mostly do it on her.
Probably the worst part is you're about to
get on and you kinda doubt yourself at first.
You're like, "I don't know if I'm going to
make it.
What if I don't?"
They're so tall, sometimes you can't reach
the top of them and that just makes you feel
even smaller.
But our coach told me I could do it and she
helps me get up and she helped me get through it.
Addy joined us as a very exuberant and friendly
vaulter.
She's always given a 110% in everything that
she does.
And she's just a natural talent.
She has progressed immensely, getting braver
in all of the moves and pushing herself to
always achieve the more challenging vaulting
moves and to also build up the team around her.
You just have to trust in God because he's
going to give you the strength that gets you
up there.
Our team, they always have to work together
in stretching and coaching each other.
There's many different moves that you can
do and it kind of depends what level you're
at and what you're most comfortable with.
The most difficult one, I'm probably going
to say is a handstand.
It's bouncy.
And then my second one is a cart wheel off
of the horse.
It's more easy once you're actually in the
air.
The hardest part is kicking up into from the
back of the horse.
Addy and the rest of the team is getting ready
for a big performance.
We're setting everything up and practicing
right now.
I've got my hair and my make up done.
Bun, as you can see.
You have to have a bun and make up--just kind
of go according to your costume.
In the Bible, book of Romans, chapter 8 verse
31, it says, "If God is for us, who can ever
be against us?"
Addy knows that God is for her.
God gives you courage and that's one of the
biggest things you need for vaulting because
if you don't have courage, it just brings
you down and you think I can't do this.
But then God gives you courage and it brings
you up and you know you can do it.
God is for you!
