The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced that Elizabeth Osborn of the Woodside Vaulters equestrian vaulting club has won the prestigious title of Vaulter of the Year. Osborn’s coach, Isabelle Bibbler Parker, was named USEF Coach of the Year. Osborn and Parker will receive their awards on January 16 at a ceremony during the USEF’s Annual Meeting in Cincinnati, OH. The USEF, based in Lexington, KY, is the national governing body of equestrian sport in the U.S.

Osborn is the 2008 USEF/American Vaulting Association (AVA) Gold Level Reserve National Champion. During the 2008 National Championships, she also earned an AVA Gold Medal with Honors, achieving the highest level of recognition in the sport in the U.S. by earning top scores from two international judges on her compulsory exercises and freestyle moves.

Parker, Head Coach of Woodside Vaulters, commented, “I am very proud of Elizabeth for winning this award. Her achievements this year were very impressive. She consistently performed at a high level during a long and demanding competition season in the U.S. and Europe. In particular, at the 2008 World Vaulting Championships in Brno, Czech Republic, in August, she was the highest scoring vaulter on the U.S. team, which placed first in the compulsory round.”

In the women’s individual competition at the World Vaulting Championships Osborn placed eighth overall. Earlier in 2008, Osborn placed in the top five in several international vaulting competitions (Concours de Voltige Internationale [CVI]), taking fourth place in Saumur, France, fifth place in Krumke, Germany, and fifth place in the invitation-only CVIO in Aachen, Germany.

Eighteen-year-old Osborn, from Menlo Park, is a 2008 graduate of Menlo-Atherton High School and attends the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH.

Parker also is a highly accomplished vaulter as well as coach. She represented the U.S. in international competition for five years, and earned her AVA Gold Medal in 1992. Parker has coached four National Champion A Teams and the U.S. team that won the Bronze medal at the 1998 FEI World Equestrian Games in Rome, Italy. She is a member of the USEF Vaulting High-Performance Committee (VHPC) and Chair of the USEF VHPC Education Training Camps. Parker lives with her husband and two daughters in Redwood City and is Chief Operating Officer of the Summit Institute, Redwood City.

Equestrian vaulting is the sport of gymnastics and dance on the back of a moving horse. Vaulters perform compulsory moves and freestyle routines choreographed to music. The athletes are judged on form, performance, level of difficulty, harmony with the horse, and other criteria.

Woodside Vaulters, founded in 1990, provides year-round instruction in recreational and competitive vaulting, emphasizing horsemanship, safety, team-building, communication skills, and confidence between horse and vaulter. For more information, visit www.woodsidevaulters.org.