Welcome

It has been 20 years since Stoneleigh-Burnham School competed in Dressage at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association. Back in 2002, it was called the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Equestrian Association, and Stoneleigh-Burnham School won the team National Championship.

When asked about this year's performance, Coach and Program Director George Halkett remarked, "At the start of the 2021 – 2022 school year, a student wrote me a compelling letter to ask if we were able to start an IEA Dressage team. Along with assistant coach Abby Milewski, I decided that we could put together a team.  That said, this is a team effort that includes all SBS staff and instructors as we all play a part in teaching the students."

Over the course of the year, SBS competed in regional competitions, accumulating points to qualify for the Regional Championships held on March 6, 2022. The SBS team came away with the Reserve Regional Champions, losing by 1 point.  Coach Halkett acknowledges that It was frustrating to narrowly miss out on being the Regional Champions. It was also a gratifying finish given the length of time since our last participation in Dressage.  While the SBS team did not move forward to Nationals, three Stoneleigh-Burnham riders were Regional Champions and qualified individually for Nationals.

This year, the top riders from all over the United States competed over a week of competitions in Dressage, Hunt Seat, and Western, all held at the same venue in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA. Stoneleigh-Burnham School had three riders attending, McKenna '22, in Open dressage test and equitation, Josie '22, in JV. walk, trot, and Ashe '25, in JV walk, trot, canter.  Each rider rode against the top 12 riders in the country.

The final results for our riders were as follows:

- McKenna '22, Open Dressage Test 3rd Place
- McKenna '22, Open Equitation 3rd Place

- Ashe '25, Walk, trot canter, National Champion

- Josie '22, Walk, trot, National Champion

Congratulations to our riders on their successful return to dressage at the 2022 IEA Nationals.