It was a successful trip to St. Louis for the Stoneleigh-Burnham School equestrian team earlier this spring. 

The Owls competed in the 2025 Interscholastic Equestrian Association Dressage National Finals and performed well, as the Stoneleigh-Burnham D1 team was named the Reserve Champion in the Upper School Team School Champions category. 

Lili Green was a standout performer on the Owl squad. The freshman took home a first place trophy in the Varsity Open Dressage Test (Team) while adding a fifth place finish in Varsity Open DSE (Team). She was also the reserve champion in Varsity Open Dressage Test (Individual).

“It was a really cool experience,” Green said. “All of us rode so well. A lot of riders got second, third, fourth. We were all consistently placing high which was great.”

The Stoneleigh-Burnham squad flew into St. Louis on the Friday of the tournament and it was a quick turnaround before Green had to compete.

Green — who is from Shelburne Falls — was the first out to compete at 7:30 a.m. that Saturday, the first competitor to go in the Varsity Open Dressage.

What is an Open Dressage Test? The dressage test is designed to demonstrate a horse's training and suppleness, showcasing its ability to respond to the rider's aids and perform movements with balance, rhythm and harmony. The test consists of a series of movements that the horse and rider must execute in a specific order within a designated arena.

Being the first to go, Green did not have the benefit of seeing others before her to get an idea of what the judges were looking for.

“It was pretty hard because I didn’t see anyone else go beforehand,” Green said. “I didn’t know who I was going up against or what score the judge would give.”

To make things more difficult, this was a competition where each rider did not have any experience with their horse beforehand. The only look Green had at her horse came from the warm-up rider, which gave her some insight into how it would behave.

“In this discipline of riding, you just pull a random horse,” Green said. “You get there and ride without any other experience with it. This is pretty new to me as well. Before coming to Stoneleigh, the only horses I knew are the ones I owned so this was different for me. I watched the warm-up which was a great way to see what the horse might be like.”

Green performed quite well under the circumstances. She said she was pleased with the horse she had and felt good after her run where she was able to perform all the moves she wanted.

“I got very lucky with the horse I pulled,” Green said. “He was perfect. I had to ride well of course but he was straightforward and a fancy mover. Open is the highest level of IEA so there’s more fancy movements you have to do. My horse was perfect.”

As the first to go, Green saw her score get posted and when she saw she received a 72, she knew she would be in the mix to take home first place. In equestrian, anything above a 64 is considered a good score.

“I was very happy with my score,” Green said. “It was stressful just watching other riders go and see their score uploaded. I just stayed in first and ended up winning the class which was surreal. It was surreal knowing that getting first contributed to the team’s success as well. I wasn’t the only one who was joyful. The whole team was excited which meant a lot to me.”

Green began riding when she was 4 years old and fell in love with the sport right away. When she was eight, she took her first dressage lesson and decided that would be the event she would focus on.

She qualified for nationals after a strong performance at a qualifier at Mount Holyoke College. To qualify, you have to place first or second in your division, which typically features over 15 riders. Green did that to clinch her spot at nationals.

Green wasn’t the only standout at nationals. Senior Ava Hafner took fifth place in Varsity Intermediate Dressage Test (Team), fourth in Varsity Intermediate DSE (Team) and eighth in Varsity Intermediate DSE (Individual).

Freshman Mena Eichelberger placed fourth in JV Novice Dressage Test (Team), third in JV Novice DSE (Team) and placed in the top 12 in JV Novice DSE (Individual). Sophomore Aden Ackah took second in JV Beginner DSE (Team) and placed in the top 12 in JV Beginner DSE (individual).

Eighth grader Summer Scott rounded things out with an eighth place finish in Future Intermediate Dressage Test (Individual).

“It’s such an amazing environment at Stoneleigh,” Green said. “The barn is the best place on earth. Being there with all your friends makes it even better. I used to ride and still do ride at a training barn that is mostly adults so having kids my age at the barn was new to me. It’s nice to have them there.”

Green has been competing throughout the summer, just returning from New York where she earned her first qualifying score for regionals. She’ll be heading to Vermont later this month to train and compete in a three-day show.

Going into her sophomore year at Stoneleigh, the goal is to be back at nationals next year.

“I would love to qualify for nationals again,” Green said. “It was an amazing season last year and I’m hoping I can keep that up for the rest of my high school career. I have a lot to strive for in this sport.”