Ojai Valley School is pleased to announce the hiring of George Halkett as its new Equestrian Director. Halkett, who will start in September, replaces retiring Equestrian Director Stephanie Gustafson. He will lead operations and serve as the middle and high school equestrian team coach. Ojai Valley School offers the only equestrian program on the West Coast with onsite stables and a program for day and boarding students in grades PK-12.

“The Equestrian Program is central to the OVS experience, and George is an accomplished coach and a respected leader in the equestrian world,” said OVS Head of School Lars Kuelling. “We are thrilled our students and equestrian staff will have the opportunity to work with a top-notch instructor as we look to rebuild our competitive riding program in grades 6-12.”

A native of Scotland, Halkett has served as the Director of the Stoneleigh-Burnham School Equestrian Center for 15 years. While there, he coached students to multiple national championships, including the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) National Championship title in 2002, 2003, and 2004, the Interscholastic Dressage Association National Championship in 2002, the USHJA Reserve Champion in Horsemanship in 2020, and two IEA Individual Dressage National Champions in 2022.

Beyond his experience coaching at the middle and high school levels, Halkett has coached at multiple college programs, including leading the program at the Savannah College of Art & Design (GA) and founding the equestrian program at Albion College (MI). Early in his career Halkett was a member of the Queen’s Household Cavalry in the British Army, including riding in the wedding of Prince Charles to Princess Diana.

Halkett has competed internationally and coached students to international competitions including the FEI Samsung International, Volvo World Cup, and the International Intercollegiate World Championships. Additionally, Halkett, a British Horse Society International Senior Coach, runs the only secondary school program in the U.S. to offer British Horse Society Certification.

Our high school equestrians returned from a magnificent spring break trip to Portugal, which provided a wonderful opportunity to experience dressage on highly-trained Lusitanos in the most amazing setting imaginable! The equestrian center, Quinta do Rol, is part of a much larger ranch set amid rolling green hills that grows apples, citrus and wine grapes. “The facility, the horses, instructors and accommodations were superb and every rider came away from the experience having learned and experienced new things, from learning to canter, flying changes, tempi changes, piaffe, passage to an exhilarating ride on the beach,” said Equestrian Director Stephanie Gustafson. Students Ivy Sun, Sharon Ye, Cici Feng, Lico Chan, and Morgan Dreier toured extensively in the region, visiting royal palaces, monasteries and charming fishing villages. They finished the trip visiting Sintra and Lisbon.

With only a week to prepare after Spring Break, our combined middle and high school equestrian team—Lilli Trompke, Jaclyn Sersland, El Giguire, Hannah Little, and Anna English—hit the ground running for the annual two-day Pony Club Mega Rally in Los Angeles. The riders were judged both on their riding and stable management. For tack room organization and cleanliness the judge’s comment was “perfection.” The first day of jumping was a bit less than perfect, but the riders discussed what went wrong and managed those issues on the second day of jumping with clean rounds. Overall, OVS finished in 4th place. The team finished 2nd in Horse Management.

The OVS Equestrian program emphasizes athleticism, horsemanship, patience, compassion, perseverance, and hard work. Students learn to care for their horses, and enjoy time spent in the barn with close friends — both human and equine. Follow our latest updates from the program on both campuses on our equestrian Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/ojaivalleyschoolequestrian/

Click here to see photos from the Equestrian Portugal Trip.