ELYSBURG, Pa. — Raelyn Snyder and Allegra Hart are practicing this mixture of gymnastics and dance while on horseback at the Mountain Laurel Equestrian Center in Ralpho Township. They're getting ready for the 2024 FEI Vaulting World Championships in Bern, Switzerland. They're the first team from the East Coast to make it to the championship.
"We're doing the Pas De Deux division, so there's two of us on the horse for a two-minute routine, and I'll be at the base, so I'm lifting my partner Allegra up in the air, tossing her in the air, and catching her, we do some individual based exercises," said Raelyn Snyder, Elysburg.
Snyder has been vaulting for 13 years. Newswatch 16 interviewed her when she was five years old. She started competitively vaulting about three years ago.
"I've been training in Florida through the winter with Nicholas Hansen, and we've been working on improving Lightning since I bought him as a green broke vaulting horse, and we just continued working towards getting to the top level," added Snyder.
Hart is a North Carolina native. The two connected after Hart borrowed Snyder's horse, Lightning, for a regional championship last year. Shortly after that, the duo started practicing together.
"I love flipping, and I am very strong-willed and just will try anything pretty much, and luckily, she's never dropped me or anything, so I have all of this trust in her," said Allegra Hart from Mebane, North Carolina.
Hart and Snyder will be scored on several things during their routine. Their coach, Nicholas Hansen, and their horse, Lightning, will also be scored.
"The rest of the score is up to the girls, and 40% of that is the artistic score, so how well they can interpret the music, how well the music goes with the horse's movement, and then the rest of the score is down to the degree of difficulty and the actual moves they put in and how well they're executed," said Nicholas Hansen, Allegra and Raelyn's Coach.
Snyder and Hart will compete in Switzerland from July 15th to the 21st. They have a GoFundMe set up to raise money for their trip. The total cost is $25,000. Click here to donate.