When Erin Ryan and Eliza Wark-Chapman talk about Nexus Vaulters, they do not start with scores or medals. They talk about a group of athletes from different clubs who have stitched their lives together around one shared dream, to represent Australia at the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
Nexus is a squad of seven vaulters who blend the strength of gymnastics with the softness of dance, all performed on the back of a cantering horse. They grew up in the sport together, and many of them first came together in the bright lights of the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2018 and 2019, performing nightly as part of a vaulting display team.
“We all kind of grew up in the sport together,” Eliza says. “That show definitely formed a whole other bond.”
For Eliza, vaulting started when she was seven, the classic horse-mad, gymnastics-obsessed kid who was always going to love a sport that combined both. She has now been vaulting for around twenty years, recently returning to the high performance end of the sport, where she competes at Advanced and CVI2* level.
In 2024 she was NSW Advanced Champion and National Advanced Champion, building on her 2023 title as Equestrian NSW Senior Vaulter of the Year Over 25.
Erin’s story echoes that commitment. She was dragged into vaulting at six by her older sisters and has never really left. Today she also competes as an Advanced/CVI2* vaulter in individual, Pas de Deux and squad, alongside coaching and lunging at her local club and helping to introduce vaulting into a high school sports programme.
Their shared history is part of what makes Nexus feel different. In January 2023, a clinic with a visiting American coach lit a new spark. A small group of Australian vaulters were invited to train as a squad, which is still relatively rare here, where most vaulting is individual. That week of working together, and feeling what was possible, was enough.
“Erin and I were chatting and just went, this is actually really fun, we should do this,” Eliza says. “I said, well, you know what, let’s go to worlds.”
The dream was not entirely new. As a teenager, Eliza had been part of the Australian junior squad heading for the 2015 Junior World Championships, only to break her ankle at the final qualifying event and miss the chance to compete. Other future Nexus members had brushed up against the top level too, but for one reason or another, things had not quite aligned.
This time they wanted to build something with strong foundations. Rather than rushing for the 2024 Worlds, they set their eyes on 2026, deciding to give themselves three and a half years to grow the horses, the squad skills and the mental muscle it would take to compete on the world stage.
They began at the beginning. They had talented individual vaulters, but some of the horses were new to the sport and the athletes had limited canter squad experience. They went right back to basics, teaching horses to love the work and teaching themselves to move in unison as a true team.
Two and a half years on, that patience is paying off. Nexus have now qualified to compete at the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen and are proud to call themselves the Australian squad heading for the world stage.
A big piece of that journey has been the horse most Australian vaulting fans now know simply as Rusty. Registered as Spring Time Rustic Stomp, Rusty is a warmblood cross thoroughbred gelding and the quiet heart of the squad. He carried the team in their winning CVI2* squad freestyle performance at the 2025 Sydney CVI. Earlier in February, the Great Southern CVI was also won on Ronnie, a Sydney Vaulting Group horse.
“Rusty is just an amazing old boy” Eliza says.
Rusty is also 23, which means his training is managed with real care. In the lead-up to major competitions, he is limited to a small number of vaulting sessions each week. The rest of his work focuses on cross training, from trail rides and hill work to flat schooling and pole work. The team are very clear that the horse is an athlete in his own right and his wellbeing sits at the centre of their decisions.
“The temperament is absolutely the biggest thing,” Eliza explains. “If a horse is not happy or suited to squad, we do not ask them to take squad. They have to enjoy what they are doing.”
Rusty is joined by other equine athletes in the Nexus herd, including an off the track thoroughbred, a warmblood cross Irish Sport Horse and another warmblood cross thoroughbred. Each brings a slightly different feel and stride, but they all share that calm, generous temperament that makes vaulting possible.
Training Across Postcodes
If you picture a traditional team sport where everyone trains three nights a week at the same oval, Nexus is the opposite. Tegan is based in Canberra, some of the squad live around Sydney and Eliza and Ivy are in the Central West. Work, study and coaching commitments sit around that again. Simply being in the same place takes planning. “We make sure we get together at the very least twice a month and do a full weekend of training together,” Eliza says.
On top of that, every team member has their own individual programme, which includes time on the horse, barrel work and gym sessions. The training section of their website sums it up neatly, each vaulter focuses on physical strength, flexibility and technical skills during the week, alongside multiple in-person squad trainings each month.
Technology helps bridge the distance.
Outside of vaulting, every member is either studying or working. Erin coaches and lunges at her local club and volunteers on weekends. Eliza coaches riding and vaulting while juggling roles at a small school in the Central West. Tegan is now utilising her degree in Canberra as of June 2025. Others are support workers, students and creatives.
It is a lot of hats to wear, but the shared goal keeps them aligned.
Older Vaulters, New Pathways
Both Erin and Eliza are passionate about what happens to vaulters once they leave the under-18 age group. Vaulting in Australia is still a young sport in more ways than one. Most participants are children and teenagers, and once full-time work, further study and adult responsibilities arrive, many drift away.
Eliza herself had a five year break from vaulting after a second ankle surgery and a period where she did not have a suitable horse or training group. She continued coaching vaulting during this time.
Her way back was as unexpected as it was exciting, a stunt double role on the film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga that required her to vault on a horse again. She rang Ivy to ask if she could come out and practise on Rusty, and from there the spark that became Nexus was re-lit.
That experience colours how she looks at the sport now.
“A lot of older vaulters are also coaches,” she says. “People talk about getting them qualified so they can give back, but they are often the ones who need the support and coaching to keep going with their own journey.”
Erin agrees and adds another important piece, accessibility. She would love to see more pony clubs and riding centres pick up vaulting as a casual, fun option alongside their regular programmes.
“There are so many kids who would love it,” she says. “It does not have to be competitive to start with. Vaulting can give kids so many skills and so much confidence, no matter their physical level.”
Both athletes would also like to see more open conversations about the mental side of sport, especially during those transition years between school and adulthood. They see real value in better access to sports psychology and mental skills support, to help athletes manage self-doubt, pressure and change in a healthy way.
The Horse at the Centre
From the outside, people sometimes question how the horses feel about a group of humans climbing, lifting and balancing on their backs at canter. For Erin and Eliza, horse welfare is non negotiable and sits at the heart of both their communication and their training decisions.
The Nexus training philosophy is very clear on this point. The horse is another athlete in the team, with its own training plan, including groundwork, ridden work and lunging, in addition to vaulting sessions. The squad has been involved in developing several horses now competing at national and international level in Australia, along with younger horses coming through.
Their website and social channels place the horses front and centre and they are open about the care that goes into keeping them happy, sound and confident. For a horse like Rusty, that means a careful balance between work and rest, variety in his schooling and a structure that sets him up to enjoy his job.
Asking the Community to Come Along
Reaching the FEI World Championships is not just a physical and emotional journey, it is a financial one. Competing overseas involves significant expenses, including horse hire and fees in Europe, coaching and lunging, competition entries, travel and accommodation.
To help cover those costs, Nexus Vaulters have created several ways for the community to get involved. Their official channels invite supporters to: follow their progress on social media, sponsor the team through tailored packages and brand deals, and engage by coming to watch them at local competitions and displays.
Sponsorship options range from straightforward financial support through platforms such as the Australian Sports Foundation and GoFundMe, to product support and collaborative promotions that showcase a sponsor’s brand. Benefits can include logo placement on uniforms and promotional materials, acknowledgment at competitions and regular social media features.
Nexus Vaulters are grateful for the support of their current sponsors and partners: Capricorn (Australia) Pty Ltd, Hawkesbury Horse Riding Lesson, Heritage Horse Park, VaultAire, Vaughan’s Hay Supplies, Rogan Equestrian, Peter Haynes Perspectives, Wimbledon Gold Honey, and the many individuals and supporters who back them through club connections and community support. A special thanks to Val Ryan, Tara McKiernan, Gina Sykes, Kerri Wilson and Lyn Lynch.
For those who are curious about the sport itself, Erin and Eliza are quick to say that new faces are welcome. Whether someone is a parent of a keen child, a riding instructor, an adult who would like to learn to lunge, or a club thinking about adding vaulting to its offerings, the first step can be as simple as sending Nexus Vaulters a message. From there, they can point people to their closest club or talk through how to get started.
“It may seem like an inner circle from the outside,” Eliza says, “but honestly, just reach out. We are all pretty crazy passionate about the sport. If you want to be involved, we will drag you in somehow.”
As they head towards 2026, with qualification in hand and plans to travel to Europe early to train with international horses and coaches before Aachen, Nexus Vaulters carry more than their own hopes. They are carrying the dream of every Australian kid who has ever stood on a horse for the first time and realised that, with the right team around them, the impossible might just be within reach.