George Halkett - Director of the Equestrian Center
A native of Scotland, Halkett has returned to Stoneleigh-Burnham School after a successful tenure at Albion College. While at Albion, Halkett designed and oversaw the construction of a state of the art equestrian center, recruited students and helped the school achieve certification as a British Horse Society International Certificate program.
Throughout his career, Halkett has been active in competition and instruction. He served as a member of the Queen’s Household Cavalry in the British Army, competed internationally and coached students to international competitions including the FEI Samsung International, Volvo World Cup and the International Intercollegiate World Championships. During his previous tenure at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Halkett helped coach students to four national titles in three years including the Interscholastic Equestrian Association National championship title in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the Interscholastic Dressage Association National championship in 2002. In addition the Stoneleigh-Burnham team brought home a silver medal at the Northeast Junior/Young Riders Dressage Championships in 2003.
Mina Payne Wiliams '78 - Director of Riding
Director of Riding Mina Payne Williams is a
Stoneleigh-Burnham alumna and has been working at the School since 1979.
Mina was recently named one of the top 50 riding instructors in America
by the American Riding Instructor Association. As a junior rider, Mina
was a serious Medal and Maclay competitor and won many classes
throughout the northeast A-rated circuit. As an adult she became
involved with eventing and dressage, competing through the preliminary
event level and third level dressage. Currently, riding is still an
important part of Mina's day, however it is the teaching about which she
is most passionate. She has been a licensed riding instructor and
professional horsewoman for over 25 years, having coached many riders to
national recognition. Recently under her tutelage Stoneleigh-Burnham's
equestrian team won the Upper School National IEA Championship title for
four consecutive years and in 2004, a Stoneleigh-Burnham student also
won the National IEA Leading Rider Award. Mina's diverse competitive
background with experience in equitation, hunters, jumpers, eventing and
dressage has served the School and its students well over the years.
She is an active member in the USEF, USEA, and IEA. She serves as horse
show manager to Stoneleigh-Burnham's numerous competitions and oversees
the School's ever popular Bonnie Castle Summer Riding Camp.
Marilyn Bennett - Riding Instructor
A native of Connecticut, Marilyn Bennett has shown
extensively throughout the New England show circuit. She has primarily shown in
the jumper division with her own horse, Abbey Road. She won several jumper
classics on Abbey as well as qualified for and rode at the Capital Challenge
Show in Maryland and the Marshall & Sterling Finals. Marilyn graduated from
the University of Connecticut in 2010 where she majored in Animal Science. As
an undergraduate she was team captain and lead Open rider for the University of
Connecticut’s IHSA team. After graduating, Marilyn managed a barn and spent
time travelling with Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) and the Vermont Summer
Festival. Marilyn is proud to be a member of the Stoneleigh-Burnham School
riding community and is excited to teach new skills and useful techniques to
her student riders.
Stacy Bond - Community Riding Director
Stacy is a 2000 graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a B.S in Equine
Science/Management. She has been a licensed riding instructor since 1994 and
part of the Stoneleigh-Burnham Equestrian Center since 2005. While at
SBS, Stacy has been the barn manager and currently is the community
riding instructor. She has experience teaching Hunters, Jumpers, Dressage, Low
level Eventing, Driving and Vaulting.