The Mt. Eden Vaulters, of Saratoga, Calif., dominated the first day of the Kentucky Cup Vaulting at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Kentucky Cup is the vaulting test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games next September.

Vaulters representing the Mt. Eden team, of Saratoga, Calif., are leading the all four individual divisions and both of the team competitions.

In Thursday’s individual competitions, each vaulter performed exactly the same one-minute routine of seven exercises, while in the team competition each of the seven members performed twice, performing a total of four exercises each. Judges from Germany, Italy, and the United States evaluated them.

Mt. Eden vaulters are standing first and second in the women’s CVI 2*, from a field of 20 starters. Mary McCormick, 26, of Woodside, Calif., nipped Megan Benjamin, 21, of Saratoga, Calif., by 7.826 to 7.781. Benjamin is the reigning World Champion, and McCormick is an accomplished international competitor