By Khalida Sarwari
Vaulting has taken Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ioannou to places most high schoolers can only dream of–from Germany and Belgium to Denmark and Holland.
But it was a trip to Lexington, Ky., recently that was the most exciting for the Saratoga High School senior. That’s where she was crowned the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s 2013 vaulter of the year.
According to Adrienne Stang, a registered judge for USEF, Lizzie received the honor based on her cumulative score at all USEF competitions last year.
“She’s the highest scoring vaulter in the United States,” Stang said, “and she still is at the top. She’s No. 1 on the ranking list.”
Lizzie attended the Jan. 11 ceremony with her mother, Sheila Ioannou, and her longtime coach, Emma Seely, who was named USEF’s coach of the year. Her horse, Uffe, was recognized as the USEF horse of the year.
“I was pleased because it is a recognition from her peers,” Sheila Ioannou said about her daughter’s accomplishment.
Lizzie said winning the award has boosted her confidence.
“It’s a pretty big deal for me,” said the 17-year-old. “I started at the lowest level that you could. It’s taken me a long time.”
In recognition of Lizzie’s accomplishments, USEF engraved her name on a trophy. But it is hardly the first such award Lizzie has received. Last year, USEF named her the national women’s champion and her club, the Mount Eden Vaulting Club, was also named national champions.
Seely, head coach of the Mount Eden Vaulting Club, attributed the club’s success to the camaraderie among the six female members. Having a horse as dependable as Uffe has also helped, she said.
“I’m really proud of the team and of Lizzie and of their hard work,” said Seely, “and it’s great for the club to have them there. The club’s been around a long time, so it’s nice to show the time and energy that’s been put into it.”
Lizzie, especially, has been “at the top of her game at every level she’s competed in,” added Seely.
“She’s a worker. She doesn’t run on talent alone,” she said. “She works very hard to stay fit. She’s self motivated and always has been, really.”
Stang, who resides in Saratoga and has judged Lizzie since she was a child, said 2013 was really Lizzie’s year.
“She was so special last year,” Stang said. “I’ve judged her since she started, but last year everything came together. Her personality and gorgeous smile just showed through. Her performance was wonderful. Her quality of stretch and strength was exceptional.”
Stang recalled that at one competition in Virginia, Lizzie’s performance left the audience speechless.
“The crowd was just totally silent. You couldn’t hear anybody take a breath. They were so enamored by what she was doing on the back of a horse.”
Lizzie is a 10-year horse vaulting veteran who got her start at Garrod Farms in Saratoga, a short distance from her house. She noticed one day they had a $10 drop-in equestrian vaulting class on Saturdays and asked her dad to take her. After just one class, she was hooked. “I fell in love with it,” she said.
“Growing up as an only child, it gave me older people to guide me,” Lizzie said. “Now I get to play that leadership role.”
Lizzie was “at the right place at the right time,” her mother said. “When she was little, she was good at following directions, so the older girls sort of chose her. She hung out with the big kids, and that’s how her skills developed so quickly.”
It helped that at the time Lizzie was already involved in gymnastics, which she said helped her develop her vaulting skills. Her favorite thing about the sport, Lizzie said, is that it combines gymnastics and horses.
“You get to work with not only other teammates but also an animal, which is a pretty big deal. Doing stuff on top of a being that’s moving, it’s pretty invigorating,” she said.
To prepare, Lizzie does cross-training consisting of pilates, gymnastics and acrobatics.
Lizzie is one of about three vaulters at her school and the only one who competes at both the national and international level. The sport is described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, with origins that stretch back at least 2,000 years.
An internationally competitive sport, vaulting has taken Lizzie to several European countries for training and competitions.
“We partially own a horse in Denmark that we train on and take to European competitions,” Lizzie said.
It’s not just horses she meets around the world but people, too. “The vaulting world is pretty small, so I’m friends with a lot of vaulters from different countries,” she said.
Although neither vaulting nor gymnastics run in the family, it has become a family affair over the years. Her mother helps the team with fundraising, and she and Lizzie’s father attend most of her competitions–“even though I don’t watch her compete because it makes me nervous,” Ioannou admitted.
Next month, Lizzie will be traveling again, this time to Denmark to train for the upcoming season of competitions. She is working hard to qualify for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, this fall. The competition is the Olympics of equestrian vaulting, Lizzie said.
But past that, Lizzie said she doesn’t know what the future holds for her. She has applied to colleges across the country, but because vaulting is concentrated in California, she may not be able to continue with the sport if she selects a college out of state.
Wherever she attends, Lizzie plans to study business and obtain an MBA. She also wants to continue traveling.
“The travel experiences vaulting has given me have opened my eyes to the world,” she said. “It kind of showed me the world and new perspectives and how different cultures live.”
Said Lizzie’s mother, “She’s become the person she is because she’s been involved in the sport. It’s really been fabulous for her to have that experience growing up.”
Saratoga’s Lizzie Ioannou powers her way to vaulter of the year award
