Mckeira Cumming

Mckeira Cumming

Mckeira Cumming on CP Xena. Photo credit : Damien White Photography

Mckeira began vaulting when she was eight years old. She had only ridden a horse a few times and had begun nagging her mum for riding lessons for some years. She was also very keen to do gymnastics but there are so many hours in a day and the family coudn't fit it all in. The solution at the time was vaulting where she could do both in one session a week. Mckeira's mum, Darani, had done some vaulting in her own riding career so she agreed that vaulting could be good to develop balance, harmony, suppleness and an independent seat for her riding. By Mckeira's second vaulting session, she was already standing up with great confidence on a huge, sure-footed 16hh Percheron.

After that, Mckeira began her vaulting career at an RDA centre on the Gold Coast. From that moment there seemed to be no stopping her! She had always been really shy about performing in front of lots of people and even more about being judged but by her first vaulting competition that didn’t seem to bother her anymore. As she explained, “I’m not alone out there! I’m with my horse”.

Mckeira recently starred in her school’s musical production as ANNIE. When the final curtain was called and the production finished Mckeira took her ANNIE performance from one stage to the next, deciding to perform as her favourite little girl in the red dress for her Freestyle in the Championships.

Mckeira has just begun her give weeks lead up to the Championships with some members of the Australian team at a five day clinic in Denmark at Lasse Kristensen’s, one of the most successful vaulting trainer/lungers in the world. Along with over 100 vaulters from all over the world, she is training on European horses and being trained by a line up of world champion vaulters and coaches. Then this will be followed by a few days in Krumke, continuing the training with her squad and watching the best junior vaulters in the world at the German Junior Championships. Then its back to the Netherlands to train on Wim and then begin training at Cologne with her Squad and her individual horses three days a week for three weeks prior to the Championships. When she is not training on her horses, she will be training on a mechanical barrel and cross training in gymnastics and dance. She has also learnt to prepare mentally with yoga and meditation with on eof her coaches Ali Divita.

Date of Birth : 27/09/1999

Age at FEI World Championships for Juniors : 15

Horses for the Championships : 1. Wim 2. Flash Back 2

Lungers : 1. Meta Jans (NED) 2.Alexandra Knauf (GER)