St Mary’s School, Waverly equestrian recovers after ride at Junior World Vaulting Championship in Austria
After suffering a wrist injury, Catherine Mynhardt aims to return stronger for the 2026 vaulting season, after having a great 2025 season, including competing in Austria.
Recently having the privilege of flying the SA flag high at the Fèdèration Èquestere Internationale (FEI) World Vaulting Championship for Junior and Young Vaulters in Austria, was Catherine Mynhardt, a St Mary’s School, Waverly equestrian. The FEI Junior World Vaulting Competition is a highly competitive and prestigious event, with athletes from all over the world competing.
Catherine explained that, in order to represent SA: “I first had to compete in a Concours Voltige International (CVI) competition, with four international judges, and qualify with a score of 6.5 and above on the highest level for a junior vaulter, which is 2. I qualified with a score of 6.67 in March earlier this year.”
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She added that the top three South African vaulters were selected, along with one reserve, for the junior female category. The vaulters spent three weeks in the Netherlands training on their horses preparing for the competition.
Catherine is no stranger to competing internationally, in 2024 she competed in a CVI in Budapest, Hungary. Prior to that, she competed twice in Mauritius, at the Africa Tri Nations Cups.
The equestrian believes she performed well at the Junior Worlds Competition, especially considering her horse, Machi, was pulled out of the competition after the vet check, owing to an injury. This resulted in Catherine needing to vault on an unfamiliar horse.
“I was pleased with my compulsory round, but the horse was unhappy before my freestyle round, and did not settle enough for me to complete all my moves safely. Despite this, I took away a huge amount of experience and have come back even more motivated.”
Catherine concluded that she was recovering from a wrist injury, and would be taking a break from vaulting, but would return stronger for the next season in 2026. “I hope to compete in another CVI in March 2026, and I’m planning to represent my country again at the next Junior Worlds.”
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