Pierson Graduate Lignelli Will Represent U.S. at Nations Cup Equestrian Event in Belgium

The past few months have been a period of change and transition for Alexa Lignelli.

The 17-year-old, who graduated from Pierson High School in June, is at the start of her freshman year at Columbia University. But she has remained committed to her competitive horseback riding career, and recently earned one of the top honors for a young American showjumper.

Earlier this month, the United States Equestrian Federation announced the athletes selected to represent the U.S. Jumping Teams at the 2025 FEI Youth Jumping Nations Cup Final held September 19-21, in Lier, Belgium, at Azelhof Equestrian Centre.

Lignelli is one of five riders on the young rider team (there is also a junior rider team, made up of five other riders).

Both teams will be led by Chef d’Equipe and Olympic Games veteran Anne Kursinski and Team Leader Erin Keating.

Lignelli will compete with her horse XO Zadora, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare.

The 2025 FEI Jumping Youth Nations Cup Final will take place in Lier, Belgium, featuring pony, children, junior and young rider classes at the championship level for each different category. The U.S. Junior Jumping Team will jump at a height of 1.40 meters, while the U.S. Young Rider Jumping Team will compete at 1.45 meters. Each team will contest two qualifying rounds early in the week to compete in the Youth Nations Cup Final for both sections on Sunday, September 21.

This will be Lignelli’s second time representing her country in the Nations Cup, although last time she was chosen as an alternate for the junior team. She did end up competing at the event, after another rider had to pull out. She proved her worth by winning every class in the individual competition.

This year, Lignelli has leveled up to the young rider division, where the fences are slightly higher, and was chosen as a regular team member, not an alternate. She’s looking to repeat that kind of success with strong performances both in the individual and team portions of the competition.

Lignelli spoke about being chosen for the team, the morning before boarding her flight to Belgium.

She had put in a lot of work in the days leading up to the trip, making the necessary preparations to take a week off from school, just a few weeks after the school year started.

“The qualification process is very rigorous,” Lignelli said of what it takes to be chosen for the team.

She explained that both Kursinski and another team captain, DiAnn Langer, keep track of all the riders who have applied for the honor, to see how they perform at big shows like the Winter Equestrian Festival, the Devon Horse Show, and what’s considered to be the culminating event of the season, the North American Young Riders Championship.

Lignelli had a fantastic year with several of her horses, but admitted that XO Zadora has been special. She bought the mare from showjumper Amanda Derbyshire over the winter, after seeing XO Zadora compete in Florida and becoming smitten with her. Zadora wasn’t for sale at the time, but eventually Derbyshire sold the horse to Lignelli.

Zadora helped Lignelli accomplish a lifelong dream of winning the high junior jumper championship at the most recent Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania. Lignelli then went on to make an even stronger case for her inclusion on the team by earning the silver medal at the North American Young Riders Championship, sharing the podium with her eventual Nations Cup teammates Skyler Wireman, who won gold, and Olivia Sweetnam, who took bronze. Lignelli had ridden with Sweetnam since they were small and competing in the pony divisions together.

“It was a real full circle moment,” she said. “We were all so excited. We said, ‘We’re going to Belgium.’”

Balancing the demands of competing at such a high level in a sport that requires so much time and travel with the desire to aim high academically hasn’t been easy, Lignelli said, but both pursuits have always been important to her.

She credited the staff and administration at Pierson High School for making it possible. Many young riders who compete at Lignelli’s level opt for homeschooling or private schools and tutors because the sport requires them to be away from home and on the road so frequently, especially during the winter, when the show schedule forces everyone south to Florida.

After attending Sag Harbor Elementary School, Lignelli switched to a private school in Palm Beach for middle school, but by the time she was ready to start high school, she found herself back at Pierson.

“When I was talking to the administration there and was outlining what I do, I did not expect them to understand,” she said. “You kind of have to experience it to know it. But I talked to [Assistant Principal] Michael Guinan and he outlined the International Baccalaureate program, which is why I chose to go to Pierson.”

The IB program is academically rigorous, with a schedule akin to taking all AP classes. Lignelli said the school was willing to work with her need to be away from home more frequently than the average student and still pursue academic excellence.

“I found [Principal Brittany Carriero] and Mr. Guinan to be so supportive,” she said. “I did have to work hard to uphold teacher relations. One of the most important aspects in balancing the two was communicating with my teachers, letting them know, ‘Hey, I’m here, I understand what’s going on.’

“It’s a never ending game of trying and discipline and hard work,” Lignelli said. “But I’ve always challenged myself academically.”

She added that attending a small public school, with a close-knit, family type environment was also a great atmosphere for growth.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better high school experience,” she said.

Lignelli also credited her parents for supporting her in both her academic and athletic pursuits.

Equestrian showjumping, especially at a high level, is a lot like Formula 1 racing, where there is an entire network of support behind the horse and rider that are often invisible, much like the team that supports racecar and driver. Lignelli keeps her horses in Greenwich, Connecticut, and said that her trainers, Lillie Keenan and Diego Perez Bilbao, barn manager Zack Will and professional rider Gugu Malta de Abreu have also been essential to her success.

“I know my team always has my back,” she said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

Of course, once they enter the show ring, it’s time for all the preparation to take over and for Lignelli and her horse to execute. She said Zadora is one of the best she’s ever had.

“She’s a well-oiled machine, with so many buttons,” Lignelli said of the mare. “I compare her to a sports car. She’s so complex, so you have to be really focused on her.”

Lignelli admitted having a preference for mares. They can sometimes have a reputation for being spicy and hard to handle, but also often have a reputation for being tenacious and determined competitors once they get in the show ring.

“All of my horses are girls — that’s my thing,” Lignelli said. “I just feel like they have such a fighting spirit. When I form a relationship with these girls, they really fight for me. And it’s not a one-way street. With Zadora, I have to perform for her, too. I feel like I have to meet her expectations sometimes.”

That’s exactly what Lignelli is hoping to do this weekend in Belgium, and in the future as well. She said her longer term goal is to continue representing the U.S., eventually on senior level teams. But for now, she’s taking it all in stride, with a holistic approach to the future.

“I also have goals academically, too,” she said. “For me, having just begun [at college], it’s more of a day-by-day experience of understanding where I’m at.”