MEET SAHARA

Sahara Weil is a 16 year-old student in year 11, enrolled in the Distance Education Program. This enables her to train and compete at international meets, whilst undertaking her final two years of study. 

Sahara lives on a farm in rural Bellingen NSW, with her mum and sister. Unlike other Australian vaulters she lives over 10 hours away from any clubs, horses, training facilities and coaches. Her commitment requires her to travel over 28 hours round trip on public transport once a month, to Sydney and then onto Scone where she lives and trains with her lunger for a week. 

WHAT IS EQUESTRIAN VAULTING

Against all odds, Sahara is Australia’s best junior vaulter, a sport very few people in Australia know anything about, even in the equestrian world!

Equestrian vaulting is a combination of gymnastics and dance on a cantering horse. Vaulters are required to have a combination of incredible strength, flexibility and balance to complete their routines atop a moving platform.  

Equestrian vaulting is huge in Europe, where they have the best training facilities, coaches, lunger’s and horses. Europe also hosts the majority of international competitions.

As a result of this Sahara bases herself in the best vaulting club in Italy for 3-5 months each year, to train and compete, a very expensive but necessary process, if she is to have any chance of being a top 10 Junior vaulter.

Living away from home for that length of time is a big sacrifice, and shows her determination and drive to be the best. 

ITALY

In March this year Sahara travelled alone to live and train in Italy where she hoped to qualify for the Junior World Championships next year in Stadl-Paura, Austria on the July 30^th – August 3^rd. 

THE AUSSIE BATTLER THAT SUCCEEDS

Her preparations were less than ideal, as her vaulting horse died 7 months prior and she hadn’t been able to train on a horse during that time. She then injured herself badly during training fall and was unable to vault for 2 months prior to departing for Italy. 

Sahara had to qualify twice Europe, in two competitions, to qualify for the Junior Worlds. She had just two weeks to prepare for her first competition in Italy and not only did she qualify for the next class up, she came second out of 38 vaulters from around the world, in her first international competition! 

Three weeks later, Sahara competed in Budapest, Hungary, having had very little preparation time to train for the higher class she was now entering. A class that requires higher risk moves and a greater degree of difficulty that normally takes 6-12 months for competitors to learn and train before competing.

ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE !

Sahara competed in Budapest, getting a qualifying score to represent Australia at the 2025 World Championships next year, an incredible achievement, given the quality of the international vaulters there and the very short time she had to prepare for this, a real testament to her talent and tenacity. 

RAISING THE PROFILE OF THIS SPORT

Sahara is a fierce competitor and a great sport, and she hopes that if she performs well at the Worlds next year, that she can help rise the profile of Equestrian Vaulting in Australia for the next generation of young vaulters coming through. 

TRAINING TO WIN

Sahara will be competing against the best vaulters in the world next year. These girls train 6 days a week since they were four years old, and take this for granted, Sahara has to work hard for what she gets. Sahara has only been vaulting competitively for three years a testament to her drive and talent.   

STRATEGIC APPROACH

If Sahara is to have any chance of being a real contender next year, she will need to train intensively and strategically, because this Aussie battler doesn’t have what all her competitors take for granted, access to the best training facilities and coaches in the world. 

She will return to Italy in December for two months and then again for three months in May to train and compete in her preparations for the prestigious Junior Worlds in Austria next July. 

YOUR HELP

Your donation will help Sahara’s intensive training and competition meets - both in Australia and Internationally, and then the finale - to compete in the Junior World Championships at the end of July 2025 in Austria. 

INSTAGRAM

If you would like to see what this crazy, beautiful sport looks like you can follow Sahara @saharaweilvaults.

Many thanks for your support, because every bit helps, and every bit is greatly appreciated.