Melanie Ford is a fourth-year communication sciences and disorders major at Georgia. She’s also a national caliber equestrian — but not as a member of the Bulldogs’ NCEA-winning varsity equestrian team. Instead, she is an equestrian vaulter, which means that she competes by performing gymnastic and dance moves on the back of a horse.
Ford has qualified for the past three U.S. teams for the Fédération Equestre Internationale Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters, earning a silver medal in 2021, and was just shortlisted for her fourth, The competition will be held July 30-Aug. 3 in Austria.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: You’re on the shortlist for the 2025 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters. How are you preparing to secure your place on the final team?
A: Since January, I’ve had my routines established, and I run them on the horse like three times a week. I also train a lot on the ground, and with body weight, so that I can easily transfer it to the horse and maximize my horse time. But right now, it’s just like a balance of training and trying to recover so I can sustain consistency.
Q: How does being on the shortlist motivate you as the tournament draws closer?
A: It’s cool to see all the other people on the shortlist too, because I’m actually friends with a lot of them, and it’s a good group of people. So I think now that we have a shortlist, it’s almost established a community. And yes, we’re all very competitive, but we also support each other. And I think now that I’ve made the shortlist, obviously I’m one step closer to going to [the FEI World Championships]. And I think it just helps me realize that I can do it, and that I have been consistent enough in the past to show that to the selectors. And so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.
Q: How do you handle the pressure of high-level competition?
A: Immediately, when I get to a new facility, I look at the competition arena, I memorize what color the seats are, what the lights look like, where the people will be sitting, where the judges are, where I’ll be standing when I’m about to compete, and what the warm up looks like. That way, there’s nothing that surprises me, and that I already feel comfortable and familiar. Then from there, I visualize myself performing in that space. And so before I even get in the competition, it feels like I’ve already been there and I’m comfortable there. I’ve already done my preparation.
Q: What lessons have you learned from past competitions that are helping you prepare now?
A: The biggest thing is that you have to do it for yourself. I remember one coach [I had], her name is Kristina Boe. She is from Germany. She is a multi-world champion. I had a bad competition. It was the competition right before [the 2021 FEI World Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters]. She sat me down, and she told me, ‘You can’t think about all the people back home who want you to do good.’ Like, ‘You have to do it for you, and nobody else.’
Q: How do you build trust with your horses?
A: I like to just spend a lot of time with them on the ground, walking them, letting them eat grass, chilling, sitting with them, grooming them, and so that way I get to know their personalities. Every horse has their quirks, and I’ve understood from a young age that this is a horse sport. Horses sometimes get scared of things that may not even be there. I understand that’s a risk that I’m taking in the sport. I think, just learning how their personality is so I can adapt my routines, or how I am around them, is most important… If they’re experienced, and I know their history, then I do trust them.
Q: You have the chance to again represent the U.S. this summer. What does it mean to you to represent the country on the international stage?
A: I think since vaulting is smaller in the U.S. right now, it’s not like going to the Olympics for gymnastics in the U.S. It’s very different. Some people don’t think we’re going to perform as well as maybe Germany or France. Those are the big countries that do well in vaulting. I think, showing our uniqueness and what we have to bring to the table, and also showing that we have a lot more obstacles coming from overseas we have to learn. Like how to get along with a new horse and then compete on that horse within like a month, whereas some of the other [athletes from other nations] have been training on their same horse for their whole life. And so showing that not only we can do good, but we also do good and we have all these other challenges is a cool part of qualifying as the U.S.
Q: What first inspired you to participate in equestrian growing up in Fort Collins, Colorado?
A: I think my mom always knew I liked animals and stuff. She let me just do some riding. My coach there would incorporate [vaulting] into my lessons. Vaulting is also really good to help people learn riding, learn body awareness, where they are on the horse, and gain muscles that they need to do riding. And I ended up liking vaulting. Little Melanie was a big performer. She was very smiley on the horse. That’s where I was outgoing because I was very shy. But there [on the horse], I felt safe and able to show myself.
Q: Where do you see your equestrian career going in the next few years, especially if you make the team for the 2025 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Juniors and Young Vaulters?
A: This summer, I think making the team would be cool for me, and one last chance to show who I am as a vaulter on an international stage. I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to be doing after the championships. I hope that it goes well, but my goal for the championships is to put my personal best out there and leave the ring with a good feeling from me and my horse. I have always put school first. And as it’s going to be essentially my senior year in college, I’m not entirely sure if I will continue after this year. There is a lot of potential for me in the vaulting world. But I think the most powerful thing you can do as an athlete whose identity is solely like in your sport is also then find yourself in life… I definitely may take a step in the direction of focusing more on my career, especially since I’m going into helping professions.
Ethan Wilcox is a student in the undergraduate certificate program at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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