As the California State Fair heads into its final days, fairgoers have had opportunities to view a variety of entertainment from many Hollywood-themed attractions and concerts to children’s shows and the Demolition Derby. Among these crowd-pleasing amusements is one of the fair’s “mane” events, horse vaulting.

Regularly performing at Cal Expo’s Cavalcade of Horses, about a dozen horse vaulters dressed in Hollywood-themed attire have been drawing many “oohs” and “ahs” from their audiences. And well represented among these entertainers are four vaulters from Fair Oaks.

Dressed in Hollywood-themed costumes and performing acrobatic maneuvers on horseback, these Fair Oaks performers represent a popular equestrian show, which features well-trained female performers from the group, Nu Balance Vaulters.

Jump to Vaulting
The veteran of the Fair Oaks vaulters is 23-year-old Jami Pressley, who began performing as a vaulter at the State Fair six years ago.

Although Pressley, who portrays Marilyn Monroe and Sweeney Todd in this year’s fair, did not have a fortunate beginning to her life, she has proven herself as a person with great passion and a strong will to succeed.

“I was born with a congenital heart defect and I have had two open heart surgeries and I was allowed to do sports after my last surgery, so I joined vaulting,” said Pressley, who began riding horses nine years ago.

Also bringing her talent to this year’s horse vaulting show at the fair is 13-year-old Emmy Weiner, who is performing in a lead role as Capt. Jack Sparrow from the blockbuster film, “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Weiner, who is riding the high of earning an American Vaulting Association bronze medal at an event held in Citrus Heights last June, described a few of the crowd-pleasing moves that the vaulters perform on the horses.

“There’s the ‘Shoulder Stand,’ when you hold the handle [on top of the horse] and put your shoulder down on the horse and hold your legs up, so you’re like standing on your shoulder on the horse,” Weiner said. “Then there’s a ‘Needle,’ when you put one leg in the air like you’re pretending to do the splits in the air, and then a ‘Leap Jump’ is just a jump off of the back of the horse and then back down [on the horse’s back] softly.”

But of course, such acrobatic moves take time to perfect, said Weiner, who has been vaulting for the past four years.

Although the casual observer may not be able to tell, Weiner added that she still has a lot to learn about vaulting, noting that she plans to learn more difficult moves such as “The Cartwheel.”

In addition to vaulting, Weiner, who is a student at Sacramento Waldorf School, also enjoys knitting and playing cello and basketball.

Big Leap Forward
The youngest of the Fair Oaks entertainers is 11-year-old Carmen Sault, who is drawing much attention with her portrayal of Annie from the musical by the same name.

Although she is heading toward her fourth year on a saddle, Sault has only been a vaulter for about a year. Nonetheless, her vaulting skill level has achieved a status high enough to allow her to perform in the fair for her second straight year.

Sault was able to achieve her level of success as a vaulter at a faster pace through her prior experience in dance and gymnastics programs.

“I don’t think I would have been able to do vaulting as well without having done [dance and gymnastics],” Sault said. “And I love vaulting, because I can be around the horses and I can also do gymnastics, because I still love gymnastics.”

Another very young Fair Oaks vaulter is Hannah Mattingly, who portrays Tracy Turnblad from the musical, “Hairspray,” and an orphan from “Annie” in this year’s fair. But at the age of 12, she is far from a rookie at this sport.

“I have been riding and vaulting for six years altogether,” Mattingly said. “I was pretty scared [vaulting] at first, but now I’ve been vaulting for longer, so it’s not as scary. But I really enjoy being out there. It’s really fun.”

Those who have had the opportunity to see Mattingly perform at the fair know that she is most fitting in her role as Tracy Turnblad, who she describes as someone who is “always happy and fun and energetic.”

Mattingly, who said that she hopes to one day be a Hollywood actress and win an Oscar, described her love for the fair and her appreciation for those who attend her group’s performances.

“I love the fair, because it is very fun and the people are very interested in what we do and they ask us questions and I love performing,” said Mattingly, who also has interests in volleyball and singing. “[The audiences] clap for us and they cheer and I really like that.”

Not Horse Play
Although these four Fair Oaks vaulters have personal satisfaction in their accomplishments at this year’s fair, they are also quick to show their appreciation for their coach Michelle Solorzano, who founded NU Balance Vaulters on her Citrus Heights property 18 years ago.

Praising her coach, who helped her gain the experience necessary to perform at the State Fair, Pressley said, “[Solorzano] is amazing. Not only is she our coach, but she is also a friend that we can always go to and talk to. We’re like a giant family.”

Mattingly added, “Our coach works so hard for all of us and she is so caring and she always helps us a lot with everything.”

Solorzano, who founded Nu Balance Vaulters 18 years ago, equally praises her students and adds that they often demonstrate unselfish acts through fundraising events, in which they donate 100 percent of the money they raise toward heart disease research and the fight against Huntington’s disease.

“This [fundraising] is the neatest thing,” Solorzano said. “They grew up and decided they got a lot in their lives, a lot of spoiling, a lot of places, travel, everything and signing autographs, feeling like stars. So, they wanted to give back.”

The vaulters’ fundraising activities include earning about $1,500 per year selling scarves, hosting crab feeds and performing special vaulting events.

“We do anything and everything to fight for cures,” Solorzano said.

Farm Fresh
In a similar manner in which these Fair Oaks vaulters show appreciation for their coach, they also speak about the community in which they live in with much admiration.

Sault, a native of Fair Oaks, said that she enjoys that many Fair Oaks homes have large yards, while Mattingly said that she enjoys the music in the park and the Fair Oaks Fiesta.

Also commenting about Fair Oaks, Weiner said that she enjoys the community’s many trees and Pressley added that she likes the town’s nice atmosphere and the many friendly people.

And all four Fair Oaks vaulters agree that the free-roaming chickens in the town’s center, Fair Oaks Village, are one of the community’s most attractive features.

“I love chickens,” Sault said. “I own 11 of them and we’ve named all of them.”

The Fair Oaks community’s strong affection toward chickens can most easily be recognized through its annual chicken festival. This year, the festival will be held in the Fair Oaks Village on Sept. 20, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Although the State Fair is nearing completion, the public still has eight opportunities to see the fair’s horse vaulting program. The vaulters will perform everyday at the fair through Labor Day, Sept. 1, at 4 and 8 p.m.

For more information, visit www.nubalancevaulters.sampasite.com.