A hometown crowd cheers her to a big win in the Bryan Trophy equitation feature.

Annie Cosby hadn’t had much experience in 3’6″ hunter classes, much less the 3’6″ equitation, before entering the Bryan Trophy class, held at the Deep Run Horse Show, June 17-21 in Manakin-Sabot, Va. So it was understandable that she had a significant case of the shakes during the show’s most historic and prestigious class.

But growing up in Manakin-Sabot, Cosby had long been in awe of the trophy winners, and she’d watched her older sister Marion compete in the equitation challenge as a junior. Her mother Ada Cosby, a trainer, had long been a proponent of the class, and the hometown crowd was on her side.

“It was so exciting just to be in it,” said Annie, 16.

The idea of winning the class had scarcely crossed her mind, but nearly flawless rides aboard the flashy chestnut gelding Rappahanock secured Annie’s name a spot on the perpetual trophy.

The Bryan Trophy, named for Mr. and Mrs. Lamont Bryan, is Deep Run’s signature class. In 1962, the feature debuted as a two-part horsemanship test for juniors. That year, an up-and-coming junior named Rodney Jenkins won the inaugural challenge. Showcasing some of the best junior talent, the list of Bryan Trophy winners now reads like an all-star roster.

A solid first round earned Annie a spot as one of six riders called back into the ring for a jumping test, but the over fences portion of the competition proved problematic for several riders.

In the first part of the test, riders were asked to counter-canter straight from their lineup directly to an oxer. The angle was difficult to pull off holding the counter canter, but it was the final trot fence that ultimately served as the deciding factor—it was the site of several major errors.

“I was shaking during the test,” Annie admitted.

In spite of her nerves, she laid down a solid round. She nailed the trot fence, which had been so difficult for others, and claimed the blue ribbon and her place in history.

“It couldn’t have been better,” she said. “It was so much fun. I feel so lucky. He was such a good boy.”

In addition to winning the Bryan Trophy, Annie and Rappahannock also won the Ester Edwards Memorial Trophy for the best performance in the large junior hunter division, as determined by the judges, and earned the reserve championship in the 16-17 division.

Annie began riding Margaret Luck’s Rappahannock (Rubenstein I—St. Pr. St. Dragala) two months ago. Luck, 14, also trains with Annie’s mother, but she’s continued to compete her large pony Solaris this year.

Annie showed her horse Artemis in the children’s hunters last year, but she’s had the good fortune to keep the ride on Rappahanock this season while her mother transitions Artemis to bigger fences in the first year green hunters. The mother and daughter usually see eye-to-eye, but training together does have its challenges.

“There have been plenty of times in the schooling ring when I’ve quit or she’s fired me,” Ada said, laughing. “Chris Wynn steps in, and he’s been wonderful.”

A rising junior at Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., Annie grew up around horses. A self-described “girly-girl,” she insisted on riding in skirts and dresses in her youth, so it seemed unlikely at first that she would take to the barn life.

“I’d come home from tennis and ride bareback in my tennis skirt,” she recalled.

But riding was in her blood, and by the age of 8, she’d graduated from her first mount, Fritz The Wonder Pony, to her first small pony hunter, Kryptonite. With a mother as a trainer and an older sister who also rode, Annie is well aware of how fortunate she’s been to always have quality ponies available to her.

“My sister always had to ride green ponies, but by the time I got them, they were made,” she said, laughing.

Following Through

Noel Fauntleroy, of Manakin-Sabot, also excelled on the hometown stage. Trained by Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw of Camden, S.C., the rising freshman at St. Catherine’s School in Richmond rode Tenerife and Heartsong in the small junior hunter, 15 and under, division and Island Life and Waccamaw in the large category. She took reserve championship honors on Tenerife and also earned the Edwin P. Conquest Trophy, which is awarded by judge’s choice based on the second round of every small junior class.

Fauntleroy has been riding Tenerife and Heartsong for several years, but she only recently added her mother’s horses, Island Life and Waccamaw, to her roster. Island Life and Heartsong live at home with the family in Manakin-Sabot, while the others are stabled with Danta and Robertshaw in South Carolina.

Fauntleroy, 14, made a rare jump from riding small ponies straight up to the junior hunter division with Heartsong.

“We’re proud of Noel,” said Danta. “We’ve added two more horses with different steps and different scope for her level of experience, and both Danny and I have been very impressed.”

Robertshaw himself enjoyed success at Deep Run on Lions Paw, who earned the conformation and grand working hunter championships and the Don’t Gamble Trophy for the top point-earner in the green and regular working divisions.

Lions Paw, who is named from a children’s book, is a fully homebred horse. He’s out of Caliape, whom Robertshaw also bred, out of his off-the-track Thoroughbred mare, Clarion, by his former first year green mount Absolut. Robertshaw and Danta’s now-deceased stallion, Our Diplomat, sired Lions Paw.

“He was a funny looking baby,” Robertshaw said of Lions Paw. “Now he’s 17.2 [hands] and quite beautiful. It’s been fun. It’s rare that you get to follow a line through like this, and it’s fun to keep the Thoroughbreds in the ring.”

The Deep Run Horse Show is special to Robertshaw and Danta and their canine organization Danny and Ron’s Rescue. Last year they adopted their 1,000th dog at the competition. Since then, they’ve found homes for 698 more. Their rescue work never stops, and this year they arrived at the show with 10 dogs—all of which they placed in homes—and left with two new additions.

Making Ponies A Priority

Danta and Robertshaw’s service-oriented lifestyle is also a familiar fit for 15-year-old Marisa Messina. The Mclean, Va., teen is involved in Rustic Pathways, an organization dedicated to community service across the world. Last year she went to Thailand to tutor English, help build schools and deliver meals to the needy, and just after the Deep Run show she left for Fiji for three weeks of service.

In a fitting send-off, Messina and her large pony Glenhaven Cavalier put on quite a show. The pair won the large pony and grand pony hunter tricolors, and Messina won the Susanna Rowe Challenge Trophy, the Constance Tyson Bryson Trophy, the Foxy Challenge Trophy and the Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Bryan Trophy. She also showed her horse Christian inthe large junior hunter, 15 and under,division.

Messina has been in the saddle since the age of 2, when she began riding in her mother’s lap.

“Apparently, I turned to her and announced, ‘I want to do it by myself.’ And since then I’ve been completely horse crazy,” Messina said.

Messina’s pony “Cavalier” (Downland Rembrandt—Downland Cascade) was foaled in California, and when he was only 6 weeks old, breeders Suzanne and John Moody relocated their herd to Virginia. A caravan of trailers brought Glenhaven Welsh Ponies and Cobs to Unionville, where the Messinas bought Cavalier as a 2-year-old with only 30 days under saddle.

“Cavalier is so special,” Messina said. “It’s hard to put into words.”

“He has taught Marisa and all of us about riding, about pony care, love, resilience and trust,” said Messina’s mother, Alison Graham. “[Showing horses] teaches you to believe in yourself, to accept defeat with grace and success with humility and time management.”

Messina is a straight-A student at the Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., and she also runs track in addition to riding. After practice everyday, her parents drive her an hour to the barn where she trains with Tony Workman and Tom Brennan at Winter Hill Farm in Hillsboro, Va. In her spare time, she makes and sells jewelry, and she dedicates a portion of her profits to the United States Equestrian Rescue League.