In the 1960s, a homemade film of German vaulters inspired a group of Pony Clubbers in Santa Cruz, Calif., to try a new horse sport, and by 1969, Liz Searle and Jeff Ashton Moore had started the American Vaulting Association.

Thirty-five years and many international medals later, with representation on the Federation Equestre Internationale committees and a dramatic increase in the number of vaulting clubs across the nation, AVA members had many reasons to celebrate the anniversary at the annual meeting, March 4-7, again in Santa Cruz.