Australian vaulter Ginger Kennett is preparing to tick off a major goal when she lines up to compete at CHIO Aachen in Germany later this week.
The 21-year-old from Picton, NSW – who represented Australia at the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning – says it’s “a dream come true” to compete at the prestigious multi-disciplinary event.
“I was fortunate to attend Aachen last year as a spectator, nursing an injury I sustained during training here in Europe, but this year I am fit and well to compete,” says Ginger. “I am very excited and grateful to be here with such a supportive family and team in the lead up and preparation to competing at the 2024 FEI Vaulting World Championship for Seniors in Bern, Switzerland [16-21 July].”
As vaulting isn’t an Olympic sport, World Championships are held every two years – and on every second occasion, they align with the World Championships for the other FEI disciplines, as they did at Herning in 2022.
Ginger explains that her equine partner for CHIO Aachen, Goldjunge, came highly recommended as a steady and solid horse for this season. “I trialled him earlier this year in April at CVI Ermelo in the Netherlands, and everything fell into place perfectly in such a short time for available training – although there is always an adjustment getting used to a different horse and movement.
“He’s a great horse and we connected very quickly as a team. He is an absolute cantering machine! He is also surrounded by a wonderful supportive family, which is very important to me as there are lots of ingredients to make a successful campaign.”
Ginger’s lunger at Aachen will be Goldjunge’s owner, Jacqueline Schönteich. “Jacqui has a wealth of experience on the world stage of vaulting, having competed with some of the best vaulters in the world as a combination with Goldjunge,” says Ginger. “Jacqui provides me with the necessary patience, confidence and professionalism in training and in the competition arena. We get along very well and have become good mates!”
Multi-talented
Ginger first began vaulting recreationally when she was nine years old. “My passion for the sport of vaulting has just grown from there. Coming from an equestrian background has helped me over the years, and together with my mum [Georgie] who lunges for me, and the support of my family, we committed to the sport and developed an independent facility [Wellington Park] where I train.”
Ginger has represented Australia on several occasions, including the 2019 Junior World Championships in Ermelo, Netherlands, and then her first international Senior Championship at Herning in 2022 at age 19.
Not just a vaulting enthusiast, Ginger also loves the sport of eventing – however this year she says vaulting has been her focus. “I have had limited time to event this year as doing both disciplines can be very contrasting, and vaulting has consumed all of my time and commitment recently.”
That being said, Ginger says she is keen to get back into the sport in the future. “I think I will always be able to realign back into the discipline of eventing at any age and I look forward to doing that in the future.”
Furst Maximus
For the past 18 months, Ginger has been busy training at home with her young vaulting horse Furst Maximus, who has steadily progressed to CVI3* level. “I was fortunate to compete with him in the Great Southern CVI held at Sydney International Equestrian Centre in early April, where I placed first in the CVI3* Individual Female class and obtained my qualifying score for CHIO Aachen and the Senior World Championships in Bern.
“This was his first ever international competition, and I am very proud of him and all the work I have done together with my mum to develop such a horse.”
Looking to the future, Ginger has her sights set on taking Furst Maximus to Europe for the 2025-26 season to gain further experience with the atmosphere of international competitions. “Together our goal is to represent Australia at the 2026 World Championships [held at Aachen] with my own horse and my mum as my lunger.”
You can watch all the action from CHIO Aachen via ClipMyHorse.TV
