LOCAL vaulters Fleur and Ivy Sykes will get a chance to show off their skills to thousands of people when they perform at the Sydney Royal Easter Show which begins on Friday.
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Performing with them will be their mother, Gina, who is a lunger (the person who controls the horse), and their clydesdale-quarter horse Noah.
And though the stage will be prestigious, their accommodation will be more humble.
"We will be living at the show for three weeks," Ms Sykes said.
"We will be living on-site with the horses."
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Ms Sykes says vaulting - which she describes as "gymnastics on horseback" and which features somersaults and cartwheels, among other moves - is one of the oldest equestrian sports and one of the safest.
The Sykes, all members of Bathurst and District Equestrian Vaulting, will be part of the VaultAire team at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which will perform just after noon in the Sydney Showground Stadium each day of the show.
The Sykes will also be part of the nightly performance at the stadium.
"Last year, on the Easter weekend at the show, we performed in front of 30,000-odd people," Ms Sykes said.
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Both Fleur and Ivy are used to their sport taking them places.
Fleur was the 2018 intermediate national and NSW champion, and will fly to Germany in May to get a qualifying score to compete in the Junior World Equestrian Games in the Netherlands, while Ivy was the 2018 novice NSW champion.
Noah, meanwhile, is one of the smallest vaulting horses in the country, according to Ms Sykes. But he is comfortable with his rider performing elaborate tricks on his back.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show will run from April 12 to 23 at Homebush in Sydney's west.
